外国美女色情片

How Allen Lau, CEO & co-founder of Wattpad, built a majority-women, diverse and inclusive tech company

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

In the often male-dominated tech industry, it鈥檚 rare to find a company with a good representation of women. At Wattpad, women are the majority, visible and in positions of power at every level. Allen Lau, co-founder and CEO, looks to his employees for guidance and diverse perspectives on what鈥檚 needed for an inclusive environment, and wholly commits the company to achieving that goal.

By听Hailey Eisen

鈥淚 am not a woman,鈥 says Allen Lau, co-founder and CEO of . 鈥淭hat means, no matter how hard I try to be 100 per cent understanding of the female experience, the only way to really do so is to step back, listen, and learn.鈥

He has no shortage of women to turn to. Allen is at the helm of a tech company 鈥 a global, multi-platform entertainment company for stories, to be specific 鈥 where women make up the majority of employees.

Launching as a mobile reading app in 2006 (before there were smartphones), Wattpad has grown to become the world鈥檚 largest community of readers and writers. 鈥淲ith 70 million monthly users, and 4 million content creators 鈥 many of whom are female, and come from every single country in the world 鈥 it鈥檚 essential that our team reflects our user population,鈥 Allen says.

But there鈥檚 more than a business case driving Allen. 鈥淚 would say I鈥檓 a feminist because I truly believe that I don鈥檛 see any difference between men and women in terms of capability and performance,鈥 Allen says. 鈥淚鈥檓 committed to ensuring every woman on our team is empowered to have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.鈥

鈥淒&I is not a project. A project implies a start and an end, but D&I is ongoing and never ending 鈥 it changes as society changes and as the needs of our employees change.鈥

That doesn鈥檛 happen without effort. Allen and the Wattpad leadership team 鈥 50 per cent of which are women 鈥 are committed to fostering diversity and inclusion, not only as something that鈥檚 talked about company-wide, but more importantly, as something that鈥檚 acted upon in very real ways.

The stats from Wattpad鈥檚 2018 Diversity and Inclusion survey speak volumes. The company has made sure to not just focus on empowering women, but also taking an intersectional approach to diversity. The report shows that people of colour make up close to half (45%) of all Wattpad employees and 41% of the leadership team. Company-wide, 21% of Wattpad employees are women of colour, 15% are non-native English speakers, 8% identify as having a disability, 13% identify as LGBTQ+, and 3% are transgender.

The numbers are impressive, but the company is not resting on its laurels. According to Allen, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) surveys are conducted annually to help draw attention to the needs of various parties within the organization, zoom in on those most pressing issues, and address them. 鈥淒&I is not a project,鈥 Allen says. 鈥淎 project implies a start and an end, but D&I is ongoing and never ending 鈥 it changes as society changes and as the needs of our employees change.鈥

And it starts with recruiting talent. As Allen explains, the Wattpad hiring process has been developed to eliminate unconscious bias and support the company鈥檚 commitment to diversity. 鈥淔or starters, we hide the name on every resume we receive so we鈥檙e just looking at the qualifications,鈥 he says.

Allen goes on to meet with every potential hire, getting a sense of who they are as people and ensuring they share Wattpad鈥檚 inclusive values. 鈥淚f you think about it, a new employee is about to commit tens of thousands of hours to our company, so it benefits me to spend 35 to 40 minutes with them, to ensure that they share our inclusive values.鈥

鈥淲hen something鈥檚 not working I can rely on my team to tell me about it, because they know I鈥檒l listen to them 鈥 and learn.鈥

In terms of promotion and advancement, Allen strives to have a transparent process, that offers equal opportunity for growth.

As a member of 外国美女色情片 Canada, Allen says he鈥檚 happy to step forward and showcase his company when it comes to achieving gender parity. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the exception, not the norm, and sharing our experiences to help others is very important to me.鈥

Not only does Wattpad support larger corporate initiatives like 外国美女色情片 Canada, but they also support smaller, grassroots organizations. The company has worked with a variety of intersectional groups, including Women and Colour, Women in Product, and Hexagon US.

His advice to organizations that are aiming for the same diverse and inclusive culture? Invest in diversity. It costs money, time, and people resources to make a difference. And remember to stay the course, because it will get easier.

鈥淲hen we started Wattpad, we really had to make a conscious decision to put more focus on gender inclusion and diversity, but now that the ball is rolling, it鈥檚 getting easier, it鈥檚 already baked into the culture,鈥 Allen says. 鈥淪till, when something鈥檚 not working I can rely on my team to tell me about it, because they know I鈥檒l listen to them 鈥 and learn.鈥 听

What is the role of men in gender equality?Over the next year, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to. We鈥檒l be sharing the stories of allies 鈥 men who are pushing for gender equality in the workplace, or making it happen in their own business. These Champions of Change can act as visible role models, inspiring and guiding other men to follow in their footsteps. If we鈥檙e going to level the playing field, we need men to be engaged.

Explore

The two health crises facing Black people in Canada: COVID and Racism

Throughout the pandemic we鈥檝e heard the phrase 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together鈥 鈥 but are we? Looking closer, the impact of COVID-19 is not equal for all. Over the next few weeks, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to amplify the voices of community leaders, who will be sharing their unique challenges and their thoughts on how we can build a better, more inclusive future.

Read More 禄
rose

COVID鈥檚 greater impact on women and how we can rebuild equitably

Throughout the pandemic we鈥檝e heard the phrase 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together鈥 鈥 but are we? Looking closer, the impact of COVID-19 is not equal for all. Over the next few weeks, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to amplify the voices of community leaders, who will be sharing their unique challenges and their thoughts on how we can build a better, more inclusive future.

Read More 禄

COVID and People Living with Disabilities

Throughout the pandemic we鈥檝e heard the phrase 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together鈥 鈥 but are we? Looking closer, the impact of COVID-19 is not equal for all. Over the next few weeks, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to amplify the voices of community leaders, who will be sharing their unique challenges and their thoughts on how we can build a better, more inclusive future. Read the third article in the series on COVID and People Living with Disabilities here.

Read More 禄

COVID, Inequality, and Black communities

Throughout the pandemic we鈥檝e heard the phrase 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together鈥 鈥 but are we? Looking closer, the impact of COVID-19 is not equal for all. Over the next few weeks, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to amplify the voices of community leaders, who will be sharing their unique challenges and their thoughts on how we can build a better, more inclusive future. Read the second article in the series on COVID, racism, and Black communities.

Read More 禄

COVID, racism, and Indigenous communities

Throughout the pandemic we鈥檝e heard the phrase 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together鈥 鈥 but are we? Looking closer, the impact of COVID-19 is not equal for all. Over the next few weeks, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to amplify the voices of community leaders, who will be sharing their unique challenges and their thoughts on how we can build a better, more inclusive future. Read the first article on COVID, racism, and Indigenous communities.

Read More 禄

How Dream Maker Inc is making entrepreneurship more inclusive

Isaac Olowolafe Jr., President of Dream Maker Inc, a Toronto-based asset management firm, started his entrepreneurial journey at just 22 years old. Now at 36, he credits the support of his parents, wife and his community for his success 鈥 and he鈥檚 paying it forward, with venture capital investments and philanthropic support guided by a diversity and inclusion mandate.

Read More 禄

How Jeff Perera is using support 鈥 rather than shame 鈥 to guide men towards a new idea of manhood

Jeff Perera credits his upbringing 鈥 and the negative male role models in it 鈥 for leading him towards his current career: as a speaker, writer, and facilitator focused on a modern view of manhood. His approach avoids shaming men for their learned biases, and instead encourages them to support each other as they build their 鈥榚mpathy muscles鈥, celebrate their differences, and set themselves free from the stereotypes they grew up with.

Read More 禄

Building and championing Canada鈥檚 diversity story in tech

Salim Teja鈥檚 long career in tech has touched every part of the ecosystem, from entrepreneur, to investor, to corporate innovator. In his current role of President, Venture Services, at MaRS, he鈥檚 not only championing Canada鈥檚 tech ecosystem, he鈥檚 helping to guide it towards greater diversity 鈥 with initiatives in research, representation, and funding.

Read More 禄

The Role of Men

Over the last few decades, we鈥檝e made progress towards gender equality in the workplace, and shifted our focus from 鈥榳hy鈥 we should be doing it to 鈥榟ow鈥 it can be done. The path that will most likely lead to success? One that includes men 鈥 as leaders, champions, and allies. Here鈥檚 why and how we鈥檒l do it.
Over the next year, 外国美女色情片 Canada and Women of Influence are partnering to explore the role of men, amplifying our efforts by joining together. We鈥檒l be sharing the stories of allies 鈥 men who are advocating for gender equality in the workplace. These Champions of Change can act as visible role models, inspiring and guiding other men to follow in their footsteps.

Read More 禄