In the tech industry, fostering diversity and inclusivity is more than a noble goal—it's a necessity for innovation and growth. Lauren Peate, CEO of Multitudes shares her insights and experiences in attracting and retaining more women in tech. With a background that includes Silicon Valley and the Middle East, Lauren provides insights on how to attract and keep more women in the industry. She talks about effective hiring strategies, the power of storytelling, and the importance of cultural competency and leadership development. Lauren points to the article "Leaky Pipelines or Broken Scaffolding? Supporting Women’s Leadership in STEM" from the Stanford Social Innovation Review, which highlights the challenges women face in STEM and suggests ways to support their growth. Through Lauren’s experiences and practical advice, we explore how to create a more inclusive tech environment for everyone.

This is one of a series of Stories from the Field, resources and insights from tech industry professionals, shared to help employers of interns and grads shape and grow our industry.

More storytelling 

Attracting more women into tech involves highlighting the meaningful impact that technology can have on the world. Lauren Peate emphasises the importance of storytelling, stating, "Telling more of those stories of how tech is being used for good, telling more of the stories of the already diverse people in tech doing good things too." By showcasing narratives that focus on the positive contributions of tech, rather than just profit or fame, we can inspire a broader range of individuals. Lauren notes that current stories often centre around flashy, venture capital-backed startups, which are usually male-dominated. Instead, we should amplify stories of diverse individuals using tech for social good. "And so just the net positive benefit of reminding people that there are people out here doing it, it's possible. And, we need more of us, there's always room for more who want to use tech for good." This approach not only attracts women but also other underrepresented groups who seek meaningful work. As Lauren observes, both Millennials and Generation Z are particularly drawn to careers that offer impact and purpose, making this storytelling strategy vital for engaging modern talent.

Recruitment and Retention Strategies

Lauren shares some effective strategies that her company, Multitudes, has implemented to attract and support diverse talent: Over the past three summers, they have hosted three interns that were funded through the Callaghan Innovation R&D Experience Grant, all of whom were women in highly technical roles such as software engineering and data science. "Out of our three interns, all were women and all were in technical roles like software engineering and data science," Lauren highlights. This success in attracting a diverse pool of applicants can be attributed to Multitudes's clear social mission. "We can say, look, we're building this to make tech more equitable and inclusive. So that attracts people who care about that and maybe are from diverse backgrounds themselves," she explains.

In their recruitment process, they emphasise their core values by asking candidates about their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. "For us, the key value is, do you care about diversity, equity and inclusion? And we've had a bunch of the women and people of colour who've come through that process and said that they applied in part because we asked that question," Lauren notes. This approach has resonated particularly well with applicants from marginalised groups, who appreciate knowing that these values are integral to the company culture. Additionally, Multitudes actively shares job postings within communities of underrepresented groups, including university groups for women in tech and Slack communities for diverse professionals. "We always do sharing and shoulder tapping to make sure we're getting a diverse set of people too," Lauren adds. This intentional outreach ensures they receive applications from a broad and diverse set of candidates, further supporting their goal of building an inclusive tech environment.

Structured Recruitment Process

Lauren also emphasises the importance of a structured recruitment process to mitigate bias. "So I think the first thing even before we put out the call for applicants is having the competencies written out in advance. We know from the research that if you set the criteria in advance, there's less room for bias." By defining the necessary competencies before meeting any candidates, Multitudes ensures that their evaluations remain objective and focused on the skills and qualities that are essential for the role.

"Whereas if you wait until after you've met people, our brains will mould the criteria often towards the traits of the white people and men in the applicant pool. It's unconscious, but we know that that happens," Lauren explains. This practice helps to counteract unconscious biases that might otherwise influence hiring decisions. Multitudes crafts job descriptions and the recruitment process around these pre-set competencies. "We write those in advance, we set up the hiring process to assess for that and make sure each competency is assessed somewhere or maybe multiple points along that process," she adds.

Culture Addition Over Culture Fit

Another key aspect of Multitudes's recruitment strategy is the focus on finding culture additions rather than culture fits. "Who's a culture add rather than a culture fit. I find it really helpful, because I want to bring in people who are complementary to our team." This approach prioritises adding diverse perspectives and skills to the team, rather than simply hiring people who fit the existing company culture. This strategy not only enhances diversity but also fosters innovation and growth within the company.

Onboarding and Support

Once new hires join Multitudes, the company places a strong emphasis on effective onboarding and continuous support. Lauren shares one of her favourite onboarding practices: "Within a couple days of a new hire starting, I find a way to publicly appreciate them." This practice helps new employees feel valued and recognised early on. Additionally, good onboarding documentation is crucial, as it helps new hires understand company norms and practices, ensuring a smoother transition into their roles.

Lauren provides an example of how they support remote team members: "One other example I can give, is a person who just started is working remotely in a different city from anyone else. And so we set them a nice little welcome package for the first day just to say, ‘hey, we know you're joining.  We're not going to get to see you in person, but here's something to show that we're thinking of you’." Such thoughtful gestures help new hires feel included and valued, even from a distance.

Furthermore, Lauren stresses the importance of comprehensive onboarding documentation: "This is the boring but important stuff, having good onboarding documentation so that they are able to get up to speed on the company norms and practices." This is particularly crucial for those who may not find it as easy to integrate into new environments: "Someone who's part of the majority group, someone who's extroverted, someone who's neurotypical, it'll be easier for them to just figure it out. Whereas other people, it probably needs to be better documented."

By setting clear competencies in advance, focusing on values alignment, and emphasising culture addition, Multitudes creates an inclusive and supportive environment for all employees. This comprehensive approach not only attracts diverse talent but also helps retain them, ensuring that they thrive within the organisation.

Supporting Diversity within Teams

Lauren reflects on the unique challenges faced by individuals who are the sole representatives of their demographic on a team. She shares insights from research conducted several years ago, which revealed a significant dynamic in group interactions. "There was a really interesting piece of research... they would group people together and then they would see, they would give them a conversation topic and just see who spoke." The findings were telling: "Let's say for example, you had a group of all white people and just one person of colour, or it was similar if you had a group of all men and just one woman, you give them a conversation topic, you basically don't hear from the woman or the person of colour at all, and it just ends up being everyone else talking."

Lauren notes that the dynamic changes dramatically when there are at least two people from the underrepresented group. "As soon as you add a second person, so as soon as there's two women in the group or two people of colour in the group, then all of a sudden the share of voice gets a lot more proportional, and you hear more from the women and people of colour in the room." This underscores the importance of not allowing individuals to be the only representatives of their demographic, as it significantly impacts their participation and sense of belonging. "It was this really interesting insight of how unconsciously giving someone a peer where they can see or know, “this person's like me,” really helps them feel like, their voice will be more valued, or that someone else will back  up their views."

In practical terms, Lauren suggests connecting individuals to others who share similar backgrounds or experiences, even if they are not within the same immediate team. "If someone is the only one of a demographic group on a team, maybe you're not hiring two people on your team, but you can always connect them to somebody outside of the team." She shares an example from her own experience: "When we hired someone who was the only person of their demographic on our team, we looked for other people to connect them to. In that case, we did happen to have a contractor who was from the same demographic group and had done really amazing work for us." Connecting these individuals not only helps them feel less isolated but also fosters a supportive environment where they can thrive.

Lauren believes this approach is crucial for addressing the challenges faced by those who are the sole representatives of their demographic on a team. By creating connections and ensuring that no one feels completely alone in their experience, companies can better support diversity and inclusion within their teams.

Promoting Cultural Competency

Lauren emphasises the importance of cultural competency within the workplace. At Multitudes, they have made deliberate efforts to foster an environment that is welcoming and inclusive for Maori and Pacifica individuals from the start, even before they had any full-time hire from these groups. "We start and end our day with the karakia... and whenever a new team member starts we give them a copy of a Te Tiriti Q&A book," she explains. These practices help provide context and foster a sense of belonging among team members.

The team has also engaged in multiple Te Tiriti trainings over the years to enhance their understanding and practice of cultural competency. "We've done over the years a couple different Te Tiriti training sessions as a team," Lauren shares. This ongoing education is part of their commitment to creating an inclusive workplace. Additionally, Multitudes has incorporated principles of indigenous data sovereignty into their data practices. "We work with a lot of data about individuals that can be sensitive, so we knew from the beginning that it was important for us to think about data ethics. As we researched, we realised that the indigenous data sovereignty movement is world-leading in how it approaches ethical uses of data – it offers great principles for anyone who wants good data ethics."

After doing a training with academics in the indigenous data sovereignty space, the Multitudes team was inspired to create its own data ethics principles, to ensure that their data practices are ethical and respectful of all individuals, particularly those from marginalised groups. "We did that training not just to make sure we were thinking about data in terms of impact on Maori and Pacifica but actually because it makes our use of data better for everybody." This approach has helped them build a foundation of cultural competency that benefits the entire team.

Lauren acknowledges that while they have made significant strides, there is always more to learn and improve. "Even before we employed someone  full-time, we were trying to make sure that we're building an environment that is a good one for Maori and Pacifica to work in. We welcome accountability on how we’re doing too,  because we're always growing on this journey." She also highlights the importance of allyship and the role of majority groups in creating a welcoming space for marginalised individuals. ”It’s not about asking people from marginalised groups to change to fit in; it’s about how to get the people from the majority groups to create a welcoming space for people who are from marginalised groups."

By fostering cultural competency and promoting allyship, Multitudes is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where all team members can thrive.

Leadership Development

Lauren also addresses the critical aspect of leadership development within tech. "How do people become leaders?  First, they need to be in their career for long enough to get there, but second, they need to have people backing them," she explains. This highlights the importance of retention and support systems in nurturing future leaders. " There's an article about the pipeline problem in tech for women in tech. And it shows that the real issue  is leaky pipes –  women leave tech roles at twice the rate that men do ." (See more info on the Leaky pipe article below)

Creating a supportive environment is crucial for retaining women in tech and helping them advance to leadership roles. "Creating a good environment means we keep the women around. They actually enjoy being in tech for longer," Lauren notes. Furthermore, she emphasises the need for backing and mentorship in leadership development. "Who's going to back these people and help them become leaders?"

Lauren advocates for hiring practices that look beyond traditional experience to find potential leaders. "When I'm hiring for a senior role, if I only look at the people who've already done that exact role, especially if it's an engineering leadership role, or some other tech leadership role, it is going to be mostly men." She encourages taking chances on individuals who are "hungry, not proven," as this can open up opportunities for those who may not have had the chance to demonstrate their potential in a previous role. "Being willing to take people who are hungry, not proven suddenly means the role can become a step-up opportunity for someone who hasn't done it before, but maybe has amazing potential and will work really hard for it."

This approach is key for those making hiring decisions. "I think that the key lever for those of us making those hiring decisions is being open to the people who are hungry, not proven, and not just looking at the people who've already done that role before." By adopting this mindset, companies can cultivate a new generation of leaders who bring diverse perspectives and drive innovation.

Supporting Small Organisations and the Power of Storytelling

Lauren Peate highlights the unique challenges faced by smaller organisations in New Zealand. "We know that in Aotearoa we have lots of smaller organisations. Something I've seen is that this can make it hard to get access to good training," she says, noting that these organisations often struggle with limited time and resources. From her consulting experience, she understands that smaller teams can feel overwhelmed by the need to implement new initiatives, such as workshops or training programmes. "We don't have the time or money, here's this thing, we have to figure it out, we don't know how."

To address this, Lauren suggests a collaborative approach where larger entities or the government can organise workshops and training sessions. "I think it would be good for industry or government to offer a workshop where individuals from smaller companies can sign up. For example,  to run a Te Tiriti workshop, or another cultural competency workshop, and now small to midsize organisations can attend by just paying for the seat or two that they need," she explains. This method would allow smaller organisations to participate in valuable training without the burden of organising and funding the entire event. "I think there's a lot of usefulness in making it easy for people like me to just say, here's some money and take some team members for a few hours."

Lauren also emphasises the power of storytelling in inspiring and retaining women in tech. "There are really great bright spots in this. We so often focus on the problem, but I'm a woman in tech, I know lots of other women in tech, I know lots of Maori and Pacifica in tech," she notes. By sharing success stories of those who are already thriving or persevering in the industry, organisations can provide motivation and hope to others. "The power of that storytelling around the people who are already here and succeeding or making it work.Even though it’s hard, we are still here, we're still trying, and those stories are inspiring for other people too."

She highlights the importance of grants and funding, such as the Callaghan intern grants, in supporting smaller organisations to take risks and hire junior talent. "The Callaghan intern grants and some of those different R&D grants have done so much for us at Multitudes in the early days, helping us to take a bit of a risk and hire someone more junior." Lauren shares a success story from her team: "One of our team members now started as a summer intern and has since been promoted to her current role, running our frontend engineering. And I can tell you that if the government hadn't offered that internship grant, it would have been harder for us to justify that initial role" These grants have enabled Multitudes to grow and support new talent, demonstrating the critical role of government support in fostering innovation and diversity in the tech industry.

By fostering cultural competency, supporting small organisations, and leveraging the power of storytelling, Lauren believes that the tech industry can create a more inclusive and inspiring environment for all. "I really hope the government keeps those types of experience grants and maybe even expands it," she concludes.

Lauren Peate: Bio

Lauren Peate's journey into the tech world is a fascinating story of serendipity and passion for positive impact. "Like many of us, I landed in tech accidentally," she says. Originally from the United States, Lauren moved to New Zealand almost nine years ago because of her Kiwi husband. Her academic journey began at Stanford, nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, where tech startups and coding were all around her. Despite dabbling in coding during her undergraduate years, Lauren was not drawn to the tech scene initially. "There were a lot of people around me who were doing startups in tech because they wanted to make money or they wanted to be famous. And those just weren't things that appealed to me. I was much more interested in having a positive impact on the world," she explains.

After Stanford, Lauren's path took her to Bain in San Francisco, where she initially aimed to gain skills for nonprofit international development work. "A friend said, 'Hey, go work at Bain. You'll get some good skills and then you can go and do the impact work after.' So I ended up working at Bain in San Francisco because of that, and not surprisingly, basically all of Bain’sclients in San Francisco are tech companies." This role exposed her to Fortune 500 tech companies, blending her professional skills with the tech world. Her unique journey also includes studying Arabic and working with startups in the Middle East, driven by her desire to use her language skills and connections.

Her work with a Palestinian refugee founder who started a company to make Arabic books more accessible was particularly impactful. "He'd grown up at a refugee camp and felt like education had been his pathway to opportunity. So he started a company that made it much easier to buy books in the Arabic language. There was such a clear connection to how tech can be doing good in the world." This experience solidified her interest in tech, not just as a career but as a vehicle for social good.

Since moving to New Zealand, Lauren has continued to embed her values in her work. She founded & ran a consultancy, Ally Skills NZ, which works with product and engineering teams to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Currently, as the CEO of Multitudes, she focuses on making tech equitable and inclusive through their product. "Our vision is to make tech equitable and inclusive through our product," she states, encapsulating her ongoing commitment to using tech for positive change.

For more insights and updates from Lauren and Multitudes, don't forget to check out her LinkedIn profile and visit Multitudes.

Resources

The article Leaky Pipelines or Broken Scaffolding? Supporting Women’s Leadership in STEM from the Stanford Social Innovation Review explores the persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining women, especially women of colour, in STEM fields. It argues that the issue is not just about a "leaky pipeline" but also about "broken scaffolding" that fails to support women's leadership effectively.

The article identifies three main strategies to support the professional development and leadership of women in STEM:

1. Building an Aspirational Narrative: It emphasises the need to create and sustain a narrative that highlights the accomplishments and potential of women in STEM, particularly women of colour. This narrative should inspire institutions to invest deeply in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Highlighting successful women of colour in STEM can serve as role models and demonstrate the value they bring to the field.

2. Scaling Up Early Career Interventions: The article stresses the importance of nurturing young women's interest in STEM from an early age through classroom and extracurricular programs. These programs should showcase the broad range of opportunities in STEM and provide mentorship to build confidence and a sense of belonging. For example, programs like Girls Who Code and Project Exploration have shown significant success in encouraging young women to pursue STEM careers.

3. Creating Inclusive Workspaces: Adjusting workplace environments and policies to be more inclusive can help retain women in STEM fields. This includes revising hiring practices, offering mentorship, and ensuring that women feel supported and valued in their roles. Initiatives that promote inclusive leadership and address the systemic barriers women face are crucial for long-term change.

The article also underscores the importance of accountability from leaders and institutions to ensure these changes are implemented effectively. By framing the issue in terms of active leadership and systemic reform, rather than solely focusing on the underrepresented groups, the article provides a comprehensive approach to fostering diversity in STEM.