Many women in tech are familiar with the concept of the “broken rung.”
The term is used to describe the phenomenon in which women in entry-level positions are promoted to more senior roles at a lower rate. And while this issue reflects the widening gap between women and men in the workforce, it often feels as though little is being done to mend the proverbial ladder.
Home Chef takes this subject seriously. The company prioritizes maintaining a high percentage of women across its teams, especially from a tech perspective.
The meal kit delivery service business’s tech team is currently made up of 40 percent women, which is above the industry average. Yet according to Chief Technology Officer Katie Bevier, she and her peers want to do even better.
They want to bring its percentage of women up to 50 percent — and they’re employing the measures needed to make this possible.
“We will employ diverse hiring pipelines and equitable internal practices that show our commitment to supporting women’s growth across teams,” she said.
This level of support takes various forms, from 16 weeks of paid maternity leave to opportunities for cross-functional career progression. Bevier added that additional internal initiatives — including the Women’s Group ERG and a tech apprenticeship program — enable women to connect with each other and explore new career avenues.
Built In Chicago caught up with Bevier to learn how the company empowers women through supportive benefits and opportunities for professional growth.
What are some concrete ways Home Chef is addressing some of the biggest challenges facing women in tech?
Home Chef is proud to offer generous benefits that support women across the organization. Full-time, salaried employees are eligible for up to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. We also recently partnered with Maven, which fills in the gaps women experience in traditional healthcare, including family building, fertility and pregnancy planning, postpartum support, loss support and a travel reimbursement that can be used if care is inaccessible locally. For parents, we also offer a dependent care FSA benefit, which enables them to pay for childcare with pre-tax dollars.
We have a culture that encourages cross-functional career progression. On the tech team, we’re proud of the success of our apprenticeship program, which has enabled a number of employees from across the company to join our department after completing an engineering bootcamp. The company also supports ongoing training and education through a companywide tuition reimbursement program.
What other initiatives does Home Chef have in place to support and elevate women?
Over the years, we’ve invested in making Home Chef a great place to work for all employees. In addition to equitable compensation practices and benefits specifically supporting women, we have a dedicated DEI team and internal employee resource groups that support women and underrepresented communities, with the goal of building connection and inclusion. Some of our ERGs include the Women’s Group, Parents Group, Black ERG and HC Connect. I have the honor of being the executive sponsor of the Women’s Group ERG, and I’m also a member of our recently formed Gender Diversity in Tech committee.
We’ve invested in making Home Chef a great place to work for all employees.”
Considering technology is a constantly evolving industry, Home Chef’s tech team is committed to learning and development. In addition to the company’s tuition reimbursement benefit, the tech team has structured learning time built into our calendars for team members to explore areas of the codebase they might be interested in. Team members also have access to structured coursework through Udemy.
