What’s the ‘Broken Rung,’ and How Can Your Company Fix It?

According to a brain scan study by Adrianna Jenkins at Harvard University, most people tend to hire someone who looks like them or they would like to be friends with. In the tech industry, where 2018 data from the Center for Investigative Reporting shows that 59 percent of executives are white males, that can put women at a disadvantage when interviewing for roles in management. 

This is the so-called “broken rung” many women in tech might face when it comes to early management opportunities. According to a McKinsey study in 2019, for every 100 men promoted or hired at the manager level, only 72 women were hired or promoted to manager. 

To change those numbers, some companies are being proactive. Veronica Setzke, a director of people ops at cloud marketplace company Pax8, said the company is focusing on training opportunities, mentorship programs and affinity groups designed for women to excel in leadership. When more women are in upper management, they can help each other as well.

“It’s great to rise, but even better to pull your sister up alongside you,” Setzke said. 

Below, Setzke and more leaders from local Colorado tech companies break down the programs and policies they are implementing to empower women in the workplace. 

 

Veronica Setzke, the director of people ops at cloud marketplace company Pax8, said she hopes to see women make up 37 percent of the company’s workforce by the end of 2021. To do that, Pax8 is focusing on training opportunities for women to develop professionally and empower fellow women colleagues.

 

How many managers at your company identify as women, and to what extent are you meeting your goals for gender diversity in your management team?

We have 29 amazing women leaders. They directly manage over a quarter of our workforce. Tech industry averages are far below our 27 percent female workforce, but we need to do better. We need to continue to seek women who want to work for us and grow into leaders. We need to continue to develop, support and grow our women talent into leadership. 

By the end of 2021, I would like to see us get to 37 percent. Why not? We are growing at a pace that I think we can do it.

Additionally, we are working against the newest statistics that tell us that COVID-19 is harshly affecting women in the workplace. Pax8 leadership has been working tirelessly to make sure that women employees are getting the flexibility, coaching and support they need to stay with us. This challenge is not just a problem for our individual contributors but also for our management team.

 

Pax8 is committed to growing women in tech.”

 

What programs and policies are you using to ensure that women have an equal chance at making that “first promotion” to a management position?

I'm really proud of the work that Pax8 women leaders are doing to grow our women and women in leadership. In just the last year, we've created a WingWomen affinity group, started a mentoring program for new Pax8 women, created specific training for women on growing their careers and begun working with leaders to target women for our “Aspiring Leaders” program. 

Pax8 is committed to growing women in tech. For women to get their opportunity to move into management, we are focusing on training for women. We know that women believe they have to meet 100 percent of the qualifications to apply for a job. We also know that women use language and have behaviors that get in the way of people seeing them as leaders.

Our training is intentionally designed to help women get out of their own way in these situations. We are also focusing on how to bring others up with us once we do get into management. It’s great to rise, but even better to pull your sister up alongside you.

 

Describe the results of those policies, and how you have iterated on them over time.

Our last year of growth has been phenomenal and exciting. It’s also meant that we are seizing on opportunities to measure and assess in areas we've never measured or assessed. Understanding how our new initiatives are impacting growth and opportunity at Pax8 is definitely in its infancy, but in the last six months, we’ve seen a lot more women joining the organization and progressing in and toward leadership. 

 

At accounting management software company Xero, Director of People Experience Jana Galbraith said employees get first access to internal promotion opportunities. “Empower Women,” a company group, meets quarterly and features guest speakers while allowing women to collaborate, connect and support each other. 

 

How many managers at your company identify as women, and to what extent are you meeting your goals for gender diversity in your management team?

At Xero, we believe a diverse and inclusive workforce is of the utmost importance because it ensures our own people thrive and also reflects the incredibly diverse needs of our customers. We also recognize that gender is not binary, so we’ve framed our measurable objectives for gender diversity as a minimum of 40 percent women and 40 percent men, with the remaining 20 percent open to allow for flexibility and acknowledge that there’s a range of gender identities among our people. 

As of January 1, 2020, the Xero Board was 43 percent women, our global leadership team was 42 percent women and 43 percent of our global employees were women.

 

What programs and policies are you using to ensure that women have an equal chance at making that “first promotion” to a management position?

We created a group within Xero U.S. and Canada called “Empowered Women” where women can collaborate, connect and support each other. The group meets quarterly to hear from guest speakers and focuses on helping women at Xero strengthen their skills and confidence.

We have ensured that new positions are posted long before the Colorado Equal Pay Act makes this a requirement. This allows all employees to have visibility into promotional opportunities as well as lateral moves that could benefit their career development. 

We’ve also changed our parental leave benefits to ensure a more equitable approach for women and men. All primary carers, regardless of how they become a parent, are entitled to parental leave payments equivalent to 26 weeks. If an employee’s partner has a child, or if they adopt a child or bring one into their care, they are entitled to up to six weeks of paid partner’s leave. 

It can be difficult for new parents to return after time away, so our new policy enables employees to stay connected. Employees can return for up to 10 keeping-in-touch days, paid at their usual salary, and they can choose how they want to work for the first two months.

 

We are proud of these commitments we’ve made to support diversity and inclusion and gender equality in the workplace.”

 

Describe the results of those policies, and how you have iterated on them over time.

As of October 1, 2020, our parental leave benefits have been available to permanent employees globally, regardless of gender identity, how they become a parent or how long they’ve been with Xero. 

We are proud of these commitments we’ve made to support diversity and inclusion and gender equality in the workplace. Our efforts were recognized in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation and transparency.

 

With 60 percent of managers identifying as women, Danielle Stage, a portfolio experience manager, is surrounded by women on both the C-suite and direct report levels at luxury hospitality company Inspirato. To keep that percentage growing, the company started lunch and learns and mentorship programs to help employees with professional development. 

 

How many managers at your company identify as women, and to what extent are you meeting your goals for gender diversity in your management team?

Currently, 60 percent of our managers identify as women and that number is growing. As an organization that is predominantly women, we want to ensure our leadership mirrors the demographics of our employees.

 

I support my teams and assist with exposure to different parts of the job.”

 

What programs and policies are you using to ensure that women have an equal chance at making that “first promotion” to a management position?

All of my reports are women. My feedback process for both men and women is exactly the same. I have created a continuous feedback culture. All of my reports have a one-on-one with me every month where we talk about career development, opportunities within our department and opportunities across the organization. 

When our employees come to me and express interest in growing in their careers, I take the conversations on a case-by-case basis since every employee is unique and has a different vision for their career path. I support my teams and assist with exposure to different parts of the job, for example inviting them to meetings and helping grow their perspective of the business. 

I also help employees gain the experience needed to grow in their roles and in their departments. I work with my teams on behavioral competencies and hold open discussions about what our employees want to accomplish in their roles and in their careers. Inspirato has defined career bands that have proven to be very helpful with employee growth. This structure provided by Inspirato has helped me as a leader work most effectively with my employees.

 

Describe the results of those policies, and how you have iterated on them over time.

The results of these changes have been quite positive. In terms of our diversity and inclusion efforts, we have started a couple of programs to involve our field teams with headquarters in Denver to promote connections across the organization. We created a lunch and learn program where employees have a chance to join a Microsoft Teams call with a leader in the company to have an open discussion about any topic. 

We have also instituted the “Mountain Mentorship Program,” which gives our field employees the opportunity to spend time in Denver and gain exposure to other departments here at Inspirato. We have completed two rounds of the program so far and have received nothing but positive feedback.