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| Details |
Case Code: CLHR052
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| Case Length: 5 pages |
| Period: 2017-2019 |
| Pub Date: 2020 |
| Teaching Note: Available |
| Subject : Human Resources/ Organization Behavior |
| Price:Rs.150 |
| Organization :Duolingo |
| Industry :Technology & Communications |
| Countries : Canada, France |
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Gender Diversity Initiatives at Duolingo |
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The case study “Gender Diversity Initiatives at Duolingo” talks about gender disparity in America’s software industry, research findings on the effectiveness of a diverse workforce, and Duolingo’s strategy to increase the number of women software engineers in its workforce.
Women employees made up between 27 percent (Microsoft) and 47 percent (Netflix) of the workforce in major tech companies. But, the percentage was much lower when it came to actual tech jobs. In addition, women computer science graduates had become very selective, preferring to work in companies that had a fair representation of women employees. This was surprising in a progressive country like the US, which valued gender diversity at the workplace.
Duolingo, a US-based language learning app, experienced this situation first hand when it hired fresh computer science graduates from universities in 2017. Of the candidates selected (both men and women), only men accepted jobs at Duolingo; not a single woman joined the company. On close introspection, Duolingo’s management found that women candidates had rejected its offer as the hiring panel consisted of only men, which gave the impression that Duolingo was a male dominated company.
The company’s management, which strongly believed in having a more diverse workforce, revamped its hiring process to get more women software engineers on board. This strategy was very successful and helped Duolingo to hire an equal number of new women and men computer science graduates in 2018. Duolingo also explored ways to move beyond gender parity, looking to bring in more diversity at all levels of the organization that included other aspects such as race and disabilities.
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Issues: |
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- Understand diversity management.
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- Be aware of the benefits of having gender parity in an organization.
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- Learn strategies that can be applied to improve gender parity.
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- Know about factors that influence gender diversity.
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- Gain awareness of characteristics of gender diversity.
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| Introduction |
| Women representation in the workforce had risen steadily in the United States to 46.8 percent in 2019, but it was still significantly lower in the tech sector. Women employees made up between 27 percent (Microsoft) and 47 percent (Netflix) of the workforce in major tech companies. But, the percentage was much lower when it came to actual tech jobs . A study by Harvard Business School stated that women computer science graduates had become very selective, preferring to work in companies that had a fair representation of women employees. A March 2017 survey by Pricewaterhouse Coopers found that 61% of women looked at the gender diversity of the employer’s leadership team when deciding where to work . This had led to a shortage of skilled software professionals in the US and companies with fewer women employees on their rolls were finding it difficult to attract talented women software professionals.... |
Keywords |
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Leadership & Values; Hiring Policy; Gender Parity; Workforce Diversity; Women employees; Managing Diversity; Duolingo; Employee Productivity
* This caselet is intended for use only in class discussions.
** More comprehensive case studies are priced at Rs.200 to Rs.700 (US $5 to US
$16) per copy.
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