As companies honor Women’s Equality Day, it’s essential to recognize the progress women have made in various fields while acknowledging the challenges that persist — particularly in the tech industry.
Women in tech have been at the forefront of innovation from the earliest days of computing, but even as many companies acknowledge and work to address existing disparities, implicit bias can continue to hinder women’s growth.
What is Implicit Bias?
Implicit bias, also known as unconscious bias, is a prejudice or stereotype individuals hold about certain groups of people that they aren’t consciously aware of having.
Implicit bias’s subtle yet pervasive effects mean women may find themselves facing doubts about their capabilities, having their ideas overlooked or even seeing their contributions attributed to others. This bias can be particularly insidious because it is often unintentional, making it harder to address and correct.
“Bias is difficult to tackle because the topic is so charged and fraught with challenges,” Beverly Leu, a senior software engineer at Chime, said. “I try to overcome this by excelling in my work, speaking up in my areas of expertise, approaching assumptions with curiosity, reflecting on what is legitimate feedback, building strong networks and advocating for myself and others.”
The impact of such bias extends beyond individual experiences, contributing to the broader issue of gender disparity in tech. According to statistics from WomenTech Network, women hold an underrepresented 35 percent of employees in technical roles, with a greater disparity among leadership positions.
Cultural change within the tech industry is essential for addressing the deeper issues that give rise to bias, but encouragingly, there are signs of progress as hiring disparities continue to shrink and companies commit to investing in women in technical roles.
“Cultural issues tend to be symptoms of deeper problems, and teams that don’t address them deteriorate over time,” Leu said. “Changing perceptions takes time. Sometimes, change is happening behind the scenes, and sometimes, it’s best to move on. Mindsets are improving, so finding good teams is becoming easier.”
This shift is crucial for creating environments where all employees can succeed, regardless of gender. Leu and Taskrabbit’s Director of Engineering Katie Verbeck shared reflections on the progress they’ve both seen as women in engineering and how their companies support advancement for the women excelling on their teams while building a more inclusive and equitable industry.
Chime is a mobile banking app with features like no hidden fees, early direct deposit and automatic savings.
Describe your experience as a woman in tech. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have you overcome them?
Being a woman in tech has been transformative. It’s taken as much emotional work as technical. I explored other roles but love coding. Getting to work with smart teammates and making whole systems out of letters and blank pages is thrilling and worth fighting for. In the end, the struggles helped me find my voice and strength so I’m glad for who it’s made me.
“In the end, the struggles helped me find my voice and strength so I’m glad for who it’s made me.”
What are your professional goals, and how has Chime enabled you to pursue them?
My goal is to be an engineering leader, but first, I want to build a scalable platform from the ground up. I believe having that experience will help me better lead teams through similar goals. I also want to help create healthier, more equitable tech cultures. Bias leads to assumption-based decisions and teams are more efficient when driven by facts and merit.
Chime has already allowed me to build a scalable platform. I had advocated for a change in experimentation services, so when an experimentation platform team first formed, I was offered a chance to lead it. A female engineering VP, Angie Ruan, even insisted that my position be explicitly documented and acknowledged. Chime’s commitment to equity and diversity made that possible.
Chime’s amazing L&D program also allowed me to explore the management role as an individual contributor. A mentor from that program challenged my belief that improving culture required being in leadership, which inspired me to pursue my final goal by contributing to culture through resource groups like ChimeHers and Eng Women. There aren’t many women in the staff role at Chime and reaching for that might be my new goal now.
How does Chime celebrate and empower women?
Chime highly values inclusion and diversity. It hires diversely at all levels and supports a number of community resource groups like ChimeHers that create events and spaces to foster community among the women at Chime. Our annual International Women’s Day brunch is an established company tradition. Morning yoga, flower arrangement and chunky-knit blanket workshops are just a few of the fun events held to connect the community.
An engineer named Deedee Chiang started the subgroup Eng Women, which Senior Director of Engineering Emily Anderson sponsors as a company executive. Our technical founder, Ryan King, has also been a huge advocate for the group, committing support for events, conferences, speakers and even an Eng Women Day. Eng Women has organized focus groups on women’s work experience and career advancement frustrations to advise on opportunities to improve.
Outside of this, Chime has partnered with TechWomen in the past to mentor rising female STEM leaders from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. These women are inspiring and have taught us more than we teach them. It’s a rewarding honor getting to be part of their journey.
All opinions and thoughts shared in this article are personal views and independent of Chime Financial, LLC.
Taskrabbit is a platform that matches users with help on furniture assembly, moving and other services.
Describe your experience as a woman in tech. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have you overcome them?
At Taskrabbit, I’ve grown from engineering manager to engineering director. I love the complexity of people and process challenges, and I feel privileged to have had opportunities to grow. While many people I’ve worked with — particularly here at Taskrabbit — have been wonderful human beings who ensure a compassionate, inclusive and safe work environment, being a woman in tech has had its challenges.
I have often been one of the only women, if not the only woman in engineering. I’m lucky to now be surrounded by fantastic female engineers and engineering leaders at Taskrabbit. In my experience, it can be challenging to change the narrative of those who see me as a novel addition to the team meant to check the box of diversity. My main job is leading engineering teams, and I’m also happy to advocate for all things diversity and inclusion. Balancing representation and fulfilling my engineering leadership duties is tricky. I do my best by setting regular goals and capturing what matters for me, my team and my company. I also try not to turn down opportunities (like this one!), even when they might be out of my comfort zone.
“It can be challenging to change the narrative of those who see me as a novel addition to the team meant to check the box of diversity. Balancing representation and fulfilling my engineering leadership duties is tricky.”
What are your professional goals, and how has Taskrabbit enabled you to pursue them?
I thrive in an environment where I continue to learn and grow. My recent professional goals have focused on enabling my team to succeed. When my team is happy and able to define and achieve their goals, I’m happy. I am passionate about optimizing team performance by reducing blockers, refining processes to best suit their needs and providing coaching. I love seeing my team cultivate an empowered, collaborative and transparent culture.
I attribute much of my career growth at Taskrabbit to the opportunities available. Taskrabbit encourages us to take ownership; if you see value in working on something, you can! We have a number of resources to support career growth. We have individual learning stipends that can be spent on things like coding courses or manager development books, and a department-level learning and development budget for larger workshops, such as training engineering managers on engineering metrics. Every year, Taskrabbit creates space for career conversations between individuals and their managers. These discussions often continue in regular one-on-ones, providing ongoing support and guidance.
How does Taskrabbit celebrate and empower women?
We have an affinity group for women at Taskrabbit, which, alongside our other affinity groups, fosters a diverse and inclusive workspace. There are also other benefits for women, such as a reproductive health stipend and parental leave. Taskrabbit truly cares about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at all levels and has a task force focused on creating a sense of belonging and inclusion within our internal and external communities.
With flexible PTO and remote-first policies, Taskrabbit cares about ensuring a positive work-life balance. I’ve had two children during my time with Taskrabbit, and navigating being a new parent during the throes of a pandemic was made so much easier with the support of my team. I am grateful for how easy it is to put my family first when I need to. On the rare occasion when my toddler is home with a cold and crawls onto my lap during a meeting, she is always greeted with smiles.
