The process of instilling a strong culture is often a natural step in the progression of startup growth. It's easier to start small and learn from your failures early on, but as you increase headcount, maintaining a sustainable culture that reflects your values can prove to be a challenge. That's why it's important to consider the value of creating a gender-balanced team from the very beginning, and being gender-balanced equally across all roles, whether technical or not. Hiring a female office manager, receptionist, and marketing associate to counterbalance a male-dominated technical team just won't cut it anymore.
It's no surprise that teams composed of both sexes yield better results than teams of a single sex, and when surveyed, people prefer to work on a gender-balanced team. Support for this is key in advancing workplace culture as well as our economy, especially with advocates like Kellan Elliott-McCrea, Etsy CTO, and Ben Parr, who both recognize the need for more men to recognize women. Recognizing there is a dearth of women in certain technical and leadership roles, and making a conscious decision to promote gender-balance, will help propel our society and our economy forward.
Now, the onus is on the startup sphere, not just the corporate giants — it's us little guys who will be able to adapt quickly and reap the benefits of a more balanced culture.