A Peek Into Zignal Culture: Women At Zignal

We all know the data: The more diverse the workforce, the more successful that enterprise tends to be. And yet there is a dearth of women in critical leadership roles, especially in technology (just 28 percent of engineering roles are occupied by women).

At Zignal, we’d like to be known as a “best practice” kind of place for hiring, nurturing and retaining our female employees.

I sat down with Loretta, Senior Data QA Engineer and a Women at Zignal Group co-founder to learn more.

What prompted the creation of the Women at Zignal Group?

We wanted to get ahead of the issue and make sure that women get the opportunities they deserve within Zignal. Research has shown that women are less likely than men to discuss and share their achievements (the old “nice girls don’t brag” stereotype). That can really hold us back – understanding who’s performing and their results plays a huge role in deciding who gets a promotion. We’ve really focused on helping members feel more comfortable sharing their successes more broadly with the company in ways that feel authentic and natural for them.

What other plans does the Women at Zignal Group have?

No matter the individual, when there is a clear progression for growth within a company, people are more likely to stay. We want to make sure this is the case for women at Zignal. One of the ways we are trying to open up these avenues for advancement is through a mentorship program. I got into the field of QA at a former company thanks in part to a mentor.

What is needed for the group to succeed?

The group should not have to be the only one advocating for female employees. All groups like this need executive support to be successful. We’ve been lucky in that our two founders, Josh Ginsberg and Adam Beaugh, have been very supportive. They promote our group in all-hands meetings, take the time to talk with us, etc.  Next up for us: we want to start bringing in subject matter experts to talk to the group about their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned.

What is the group already doing?

We’re attending meetups around San Francisco that promote women in tech and have plans to host a Girl Geek Dinner. We’ve also started tracking the retention and hiring rates of women in the company — we want to make sure that both of these numbers continue to climb.