Sales and Technology are both male-dominated fields. And at StorySlab, we’re right at the intersection of the two. The way to change the culture is the same as the way to start making any meaningful difference: listening. So we asked four women working at StorySlab what companies can do to create a culture that lifts up women.

Kathleen Paluso, Director of Project Management

Create a culture of work-life balance. Be cognizant and supportive of parents needing to take time to pick up kids/deal with kids’ appointments, etc. Support men that want to take this time to be present in their kids’ lives too!

Seek out and hire women and BIPOC. Ensure that women and BIPOC’s voices are heard. Look around the room and access for inclusivity. 

Imposter syndrome is a common problem in tech. Combat this by publicly recognizing the knowledge and contributions of women and BIPOC.

Justyna Valencia, Customer Success Agent

Going a step beyond and not only actively encouraging and supporting women internally to pursue leadership roles but also equipping them with the proper development tools for success is key. 

To better support working women, I always loved the idea of having on-site or near work-site childcare centers and/or fitness centers to accommodate a more balanced work/home lifestyle. As a working mom, having these amenities nearby or on-site eliminates the guilt of having to leave early or work late. 

Priyanka Dutta, Quality Assurance Technician

Encourage women to take up leadership roles to provide more inspiration to women employees and make them more responsible. 

Track performance by assessment of productivity and not by how many hours were put in.

Provide paid maternity leave, medical insurance for specialized annual checkups for women, and flexible work arrangements for work-life balance.

Also, to reiterate what Justyna mentioned, companies having fitness centers and offering contributions toward it would create a healthy and balanced life for all employees.

(Thanks to StorySlab for asking our thoughts and having such an inclusive environment.)

Kate Erwin, Director of Content Marketing

Make sure to use non-gendered language. Phrases like “tech guys” and “sales guys” imply male is the default and alienate women. It inadvertently signals to women that they’re not welcome on that team.

And the same thing with behavior. Replace one-upmanship with advocacy. Encourage vulnerability and openness. Make sure that masculine traits aren’t the sole benchmark of success by which everyone in your company is judged. Welcome different types of personalities and perspectives as this diversity will only make your team stronger. 

And obviously invite women into conversations that impact them and then listen to them. If you accidentally interrupt, apologize.

Start Where You Are

Ask the women working at your company what you can do, whether it’s small changes that individual team members can make or larger, company-wide changes that take leadership support to make happen.

Change isn’t a light switch. Start where you are and make progress slowly but surely. Challenge yourself and your team and eventually, day by day, male-dominated industries like Sales and Technology will become more inclusive.