More women in tech

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I've seen hundreds of teams implement diversity and inclusion initiatives with the aim of increasing gender diversity.

Not all diversity and inclusion initiatives are created equally, of course. Some are a huge waste of time, and others are so simple you wish you would have done them sooner.

As the co-founder and CEO of a company, I want to see more women join tech companies. There are many things these companies could be doing to improve their hiring practices. Here are several to consider. and ties hanging out in the office? Make sure the pictures that represent your team, both on your website as well as all external websites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn, include a variety of inclusive photos or photos highlighting a greater variety of aspects of your company culture.

Sixty-one percent of women in tech say they wouldn't work for a company without paid family leave, yet many startups offer little or no maternity benefits.

Provide paid benefits to new parents to limit turnover due to childbirth. If you can afford less than you'd like to offer, revisit this and other benefits annually and make small increases as you go. Also take note of benefits your state provides that can be added on top of any that your company provides. ity. Not every article you write will be a masterpiece or go viral, and that's OK. The important thing is to make yourself heard. If you do get attention, it will help your recruiting efforts.

And even if you don't, you'll still have shared your perspectives with others.

It's nearly impossible to conduct an entire interview process without knowing the candidate's gender, but aim to have at least one step in the process that can be blind, meaning the person reviewing the candidate is not shown the candidate's identity in any way.

Once in a while, advance a female candidate to the next step of the interview, even if she has failed the current step.

Collect feedback from the subsequent interview step and assess if perhaps there was bias responsible for her having been rejected at the previous step. If the candidate satisfies the subsequent interview step, you'll have learned you might have bias in your interview process.

And if you find she's still not qualified or not the right fit, you'll have confirmed your vetting process is effective.