The ‘Balance’ Audit: An Honest Inventory on Gender Equality at StubHub
By Rachel Williams, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion
--
Balance.
In today’s complex climate, it’s a topic that is as universal as it is elusive. When seen through the prisms of business, gender and cultural politics, “balance” doesn’t have one definition. It has many.
In my role as Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at StubHub, creating a balanced climate means creating balanced teams, balanced leadership, balanced compensation, and balanced career growth.
What does this balance look like to me? It means having gender- and cultural-equitable teams, where a multitude of voices and perspectives collaborate to further our innovative work. It means having strong and accomplished female professionals in important leadership roles. It means creating a company culture that is not overwhelmingly skewed to one perspective, culture or gender. It means that anyone who has the talent and the wherewithal to work at StubHub will be judged by the quality of their work and their career potential.
But this is just one person’s perspective on “balance.”
#BalanceForBetter is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic and political achievements of women — and a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
The timing of this event got me thinking: What does balance mean to my colleagues at StubHub?
I asked members of StubHub’s Product & Technology team to get their honest thoughts, experiences and predictions on this important topic. They did not disappoint.
As the answers from my colleagues will show, while we are making tremendous strides in creating a balanced work climate, the quest for balance will likely be an ongoing one. It is a quest we are excited to be on. Here are some of the things we spoke about:
1) The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Better the Balance, Better the World.” In an ideal world, what does a “balanced” workplace look like? How close is your current work environment to that ideal?
Anna Belani, Director of Global Technical Program Manager (Bilbao, Spain):
To me, a “balanced” workplace is one where we have an equal number — if not more — of women in each of our groups, like P&T, marketing, business, legal, finance and sales, among others.
I think StubHub has a lot more women in leadership positions and emphasizes gender equality in an ongoing basis. Simply looking at Sukhinder Singh Cassidy [StubHub’s President] and her leadership team meetings, and the number of women who lead and represent their teams is a reflection of this.
George Loyer, Director of Technical Operations (San Francisco, CA):
Balance means that we see more diversity in tech businesses that are commonly dominated in numbers by men. Leadership is often also dominated in numbers by men and a better balance would increase diversity in gender as well as in all other dimensions.
To me, StubHub is not well-balanced. We haven’t reached the ideal goal by any measure. We are making efforts to move in the direction of increasing diversity and I’m seeing the positive effects every day.
Vaishali Gandhi, Head of Data Engineering & Delivery (San Francisco, CA):
An organization that allows an individual to grow their career and fulfill their family duties is a “balanced” work environment. In today’s world, finding this balanced work environment is very difficult. I am fortunate to work for an organization like StubHub. I have a very crazy work life and an even crazier home life. I truly believe that both lives feed off of each other, which I owe my success at StubHub to.
Marilyn McDonald, Head of Product, Design, TPM & Interim Co-CTO (San Francisco, CA):
A “balanced” workplace boils down to two important topics: people and inclusion.
The people are all “different” from one another yet united towards a common outcome. “Different” isn’t exclusive to gender. It includes where you grew up, where you worked, where you’ve lived, and the different ways you cognitively process everyday things — to list a few. The workplace needs to be comfortable and “inclusive” for everyone.
Laukik Watve, Head of Engineering & Interim Co-CTO (San Francisco, CA):
Balanced workplaces have multiple dimensions: Culture, gender, race, ideologies, and orientations. There are the introverts and the extroverts; the married-with-kids types and the single-with-pets types. There are those with seniority and those who are green.
On a “balance” scale of 1 to 10, we are around a 5. We do well in some areas, but we all have deeply-rooted unconscious biases, which will take time to fix. We need to keep chipping away at the problems by setting meaningful goals and measuring ourselves towards the same standards.
Cecily Yam, Product Manager (Shanghai, China):
In a balanced workplace, one doesn’t “feel” the need to fulfill the defined professional roles according to conventional gender/race/religion expectations. It’s everyone’s behavior, attitude and mindset. We understand these cultural differences and we respect that in daily interactions. I will say that my current work environment is a more balanced environment than most of the other companies in Asia that I’ve seen.
2) How can the tech industry as a whole achieve more gender diversity?
Anna Belani:
We need to give everyone a chance to be heard. Cultivating this type of “all voices on deck” work environment makes possible the emergence of leadership teams that can leverage diverse strengths while integrating a group’s full potential.
George Loyer:
The industry needs to combat unconscious bias in hiring and promotion as well as in managing equitable pay. A recent New York Times article highlighted research that showed balance eroded significantly when personal computers became commonplace. Boys were reinforced by their parents more than girls for learning BASIC programming skills and even in playing games on computers.
This translated to an incorrect perception by both boys and girls when they got to college that the boys were ahead and that the girls would not be able to catch up. Research showed that by the end of the degree programs in computer science, women had closed the gap because the programs were so rigorous that the supposed “advantage” boys started with did not exist.
Tech companies are in a good position to give much greater support to organizations that encourage and reinforce all children’s interest in the fields that bring them to tech jobs.
Pete Peterson, Head of Global Product Design (San Francisco, CA):
We need to encourage participation in conferences that are centered around women in tech. We should continue developing young female talent through our great internship program. Sukhinder has regularly invited female executives and leaders to StubHub for talks, which has already made a huge impact.
Laukik Watve:
I believe there are two parts to the solution:
a) Top of the funnel
I believe the answer starts in schools and at home with good parenting. Explaining and setting up a meritocratic culture and nothing else. Grooming and coaching kids and students to grow more compassionate and accepting of differences, while at the same time striving for excellence in their field would go a long way to fix the root cause of the problem.
b) Groom existing talent
We need to make a conscious effort to groom and up-level our existing diverse talent. This might seem inefficient in the short-term. In all actuality it is driving a longer-term investment in the individual, in our company and in the tech industry as a whole.
3) Could you describe how more gender balance on one of your teams has made you better at your job?
Marilyn McDonald:
Two words: conscious action. Workplaces are skewed in favor of men. Don’t take my word for it. This comes from a 2017 McKinsey Report.
For instance, men are more likely to think that their workplace is equitable. 50 percent of men think that women are well represented in leadership positions. But 1-in-10 senior leaders are female. In other words, 50 percent of men think 10 percent female representation in leadership positions is “equitable.”
On the other hand, women see a workplace that is less fair and offers little support. For instance, 33 percent think women are well represented in leadership while 49 percent of women think their company is doing what it takes to improve diversity.
So, what can we do? Make a commitment to diversity. Educate your team as a way of making everyone better, not from a punitive perspective.
Pete Peterson:
We find comfort in the familiar. When we’re surrounded by those who make us think and evaluate differently, we grow.
Laukik Watve:
At a Girl Geek Dinner, I learned from a female engineer that before she speaks, what she is about to say has already gone through several iterations in her head. This stuck with me. Since then, at many of my engineering meetings, I’ve become increasingly cognizant of whether all the feedback and insights have been shared by my team or if an engineer is holding back for fear of embarrassment or rejection. I want to make sure that I’m doing my best to hear everything my teammates have to say.
4) How has the influx of female leadership influenced or changed how the company works?
Vaishali Gandhi:
I believe it shows hope. When I listen to our president, Sukhinder, she truly makes me feel that we will overcome the obstacles. I see her walking the walk and not just talking the talk. I see that she is working at providing transparency and it is encouraging.
George Loyer:
I’m seeing that the women we have chosen for leadership roles at StubHub are bringing their unique experiences and skills to their roles. One great example: Yao Morin has brought significant big data experience to StubHub and has transformed what was once a fragmented team into a very focused group bringing big data to serve our customers and our business.
Anna Belani:
For me, I see strong female leadership in Audrey McIntyre, Lauren Waugh, Marilyn McDonald, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, and Yao Morin. Each person has influenced me with respect to how I view my own potential. Seeing confidence, leadership, accomplishment and a daily drive to stay above the line and be pragmatically optimistic — despite the odds — encourages me to stay the same for the people I engage and work with.
Marilyn continues to inspire me with how seriously she takes “women supporting women,” not just for specific events like Grace Hopper but on an ongoing, day-to-day basis. She continues to find ways to lift women up and inspire them to reach their full potential.
Marilyn McDonald:
Sukhinder is the first female president I have had the pleasure of working under. She is a powerhouse. She is direct, driven and fully herself. She gives me hope and proves there is no limit to what I can achieve. For me, the biggest thing to change is the willingness to “lift as you climb.” In many companies, there are not just challenges with women getting equal treatment, but there is also poor behavior between women themselves.
But I have seen the exact opposite here. Women are supportive of each other. I have several people who have been my rock through the last year: Wendy Collins, Jill Krimmel, Mazzy Cameron and Rachel Williams. They are always willing to give feedback, pull me up and have a good belly laugh. It makes a huge difference!
Pete Peterson:
Our leaders show the way and demonstrate what’s possible. I have a young team who see their senior leaders operate at the highest level; this is inspiring and motivating. Most of all, I hope it can show how realistic and achievable it is for both genders.
