Recruiting for Gender Equity
Written by Megan Murday & Olivia vonNieda
“Women belong in all places where decisions are made.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Startups shape the future, but women remain underrepresented in leadership roles. Women-founded companies raised 2.1% of all venture dollars in 2021, and the number only grows to 14.6% for ventures with women and men founders [1].
Olivia vonNieda has placed gender equity at the center of her cold brew startup, Kavnia. Their company charter promises, “We are good people who care about the planet and the people on it. Diversity is important - of people and of perspectives.”
Aligning internal team values with company branding, Olivia has created a repeatable recruitment process to build a gender diverse and equity-focused team. Lessons from her approach can strengthen gender equity within early stage teams.
1 | Create and document a standardized process
An engineer by training, Olivia wanted a repeatable hiring process that streamlined recruitment and embodied Kavnia’s values. The playbook includes guidelines for writing the job description without biased language and replicable steps to ensure a fair and consistent process.
2 | Provide salary transparency
The position’s salary is always posted as part of the job description in order to provide clear compensation expectations. Kavnia also has a no negotiation policy, which candidates see before applying. The policy prevents the formation of a pay gap from gendered approaches to salary negotiations.
3 | Add an inclusivity statement to the job description
Kavnia has drafted an inclusivity disclaimer in order to communicate company values, culture, and commitment to diversity. Kavnia’s disclaimer reads, “Kavnia embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team of people from many backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We know the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. So, if you’re smart and good at what you do, come as you are.”
4 | Ask about company values
Olivia asks in every behavioral interview, “What does gender equity mean to you?” The question is not asking about support for gender equity, which could provoke a simple but less thoughtful affirmative response. Instead, answers to Kavnia’s question shed light on the depth of the candidate’s understanding of the company’s values and alignment with the mission-oriented culture.
5 | Use a quantitative rubric to assess all candidates
Rather than rely on qualitative feedback, Olivia uses a 5-point rubric to assess each candidate. The threshold for each rating is tailored to the requirements of the specific role but always includes a gauge for awareness of and commitment to company values.
Olivia’s next set of priorities as the team scales is reinforcing principles of inclusion from the onboarding process through to a regular inclusion survey. Building diversity into the early team is step one, and ensuring every voice is heard and valued is the critical step two.
[1] “The US VC Female Founders Dashboard,” Pitchbook, March 7, 2022, https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-vc-female-founders-dashboard.