A leaky pipe at home may seem like a small issue at first. Yet if untreated, it can wreak havoc on the entire house, warping walls, flooding rooms and damaging the structure’s foundation.
The same can be said for the “leaky pipeline” in the tech world, which continues to impact women at every stage of their careers, and prevents both companies and the industry from reaching their economic and innovative potential.
In September 2020, for instance, women made up 47 percent of the workforce, but only 28.8 percent of the tech industry. Although that number has gradually increased over previous years, CNBC reported that it would still take 12 more years for women to reach gender parity in tech.
What’s the holdup? In the scientific journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution,” Kathleen Grogan diagrammed the “leaky pipeline” common in STEM and marked out six major areas in which biases and barriers can be found: graduate employment, quality letters of recommendation, the allocation of startup funds, grants and grant renewals, manuscript acceptance rates and recipient rates for major awards.
In the tech sector specifically, Built In’s research has shown that the leaky pipeline might be at least partially due to a “broken rung” in the career ladder, which results in fewer women in entry-level tech positions being promoted to managerial positions. Unfortunately, this gap is a larger issue for women of color.
So what are companies in the tech world doing to address the leaky pipeline? We sat down with Delphine Bernard of Kinship and Selena Castenada of One Drop to get the good news on how these leaks can be fixed moving forward, leading women and the tech companies they work for in a much brighter direction.
The Pandemic's Toll on the Leaky Pipeline
- In September 2020, when closed schools necessitated at-home remote learning, 865,000 women left the workplace, four times the amount of men. This regrettable trend continued in the months that followed.
- NPR reported that the workplace exodus has set women back a generation, with the share of women in the workforce whittled down to the lowest levels since 1988.
- While 916,000 jobs were gained in March, according to the National Women’s Law Center only about one-third of those jobs went to women.
Delphine Bernard is CFO of Kinship, a platform that uses data, tech and empathy to improve pet care. Bernard is proud of the fact that her leadership team is 50 percent gender diverse, and has created a culture that propels women forward with full support for their future careers.
What are you doing as a company to create a supportive and inclusive culture where women — particularly women of color — can thrive?
First, it is important to show diversity at every level. I’m very proud to be part of a leadership team that is more than 50 percent gender diverse. Second, we try to create a space for women to connect and support each other. Our Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) allow women, parents, caregivers, LGBTQ, Latinx and Black associates to help build these connections, especially during these challenging times when bonding has been harder while working remotely. Our ARGs partner together on important issues and amplify voices.
What perks or benefits do you offer that support your efforts to retain more women?
Our talent team did an amazing job last year reviewing our entire set of benefits to make them more inclusive. We have parental leave, unlimited PTO and a very flexible way of working.
I’m a working mom and very open with my team about my kids and family priorities. Our parental leave and family leave policies aim to ensure that everyone can spend time with their families as needed — with broad definitions to include modern family groups or a new animal member of the family.
Our parental leave and family leave policies aim to ensure that everyone can spend time with their families as needed.”
What programs or initiatives — either internal or external — do you have in place to support the continued growth and success of women in the tech industry?
This year we started our intern program (affectionately named Kinterns), which is especially focused on women and BIPOC. We are also currently looking at other initiatives such as STEM camps and conferences to support women in the tech industry.
At One Drop, a digital platform that uses machine learning to assist people with health conditions, People Operations Generalist Selena Castaneda believes that creating an environment where women can succeed involves taking specific action with initiatives and groups. To that end, One Drop’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have resulted in a wide variety of supportive employee resource groups (ERGs), monthly meetings to discuss best practices and a leadership team that is 50 percent gender diverse.
What are you doing as a company to create a supportive and inclusive culture where women — particularly women of color — can thrive?
Here at One Drop, we truly value creating a culture of inclusivity and diversity. In order to internally support our women and women of color, we’ve been implementing strong DEI initiatives company-wide. This includes the launch of our various ERGs to support employees who identify as a member or are an ally to groups such as AAPI, Black, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, women and parents. One Drop creates an environment where women can succeed and are encouraged to hold leadership positions. Currently over half of our leadership and management positions are held by women. Managers gather monthly to meet and share best practices, roadblocks and discuss development opportunities and initiatives for themselves and their new hires.
One Drop creates an environment where women can succeed and are encouraged to hold leadership positions.”
What perks or benefits do you offer that support your efforts to retain more women?
At One Drop, we offer a variety of perks and benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees. We offer unlimited vacation days in an effort to accommodate the lives of our employees, as well as, to encourage work-life balance and to prioritize mental health. Our paid family leave policy and 529 college savings plan are in place to assist working caretakers. Additionally, One Drop offers a monthly wellness stipend to our employees to support and promote their individual health initiatives. Employees have the autonomy to choose health and wellness initiatives that are relevant to them and their needs.
What programs or initiatives — either internal or external — do you have in place to support the continued growth and success of women in the tech industry?
One Drop values the continued individualized growth and success of our employees. In an effort to support our employees, One Drop offers a yearly professional development budget. Our employees are encouraged to take advantage of this benefit and are given the autonomy to choose the area or skill set they would like to develop. Our ERGs are an additional area of support for the women of One Drop, with frequent meetings, continuous support and information in our Slack channels. We have various groups to acknowledge the intersectionality of our team.
