10 best places to work for women in technology

Recent high-profile incidents of hostilities against women in the workplace underscore some of the challenges women face in pursuing a career in technology today.

Moreover, women, who make up about 23 percent of the technical workforce and earn about 18 percent of computer science degrees, remain underrepresented in tech and are leaving the industry at twice the rate as men, in no small part due to the inhospitable work environment prevalent in technology.

Some companies, however, are leading the charge to make technology a more welcoming and rewarding career option for women. To find out which companies were having the greatest impact, Great Place to Work surveyed over 400,000 U.S. employees from Great Place to Work-certified companies and ranked companies based on four factors:

• How women rate their organizations on more than 50 metrics, including ethical leadership, respectful/fair workplace interactions, benefits, development and support.
• How women’s survey results compared to those of male colleagues, to index factors where women lag their peers, such as access to leaders/information and recognition for their work.
• How companies are creating great workplaces for all women, regardless of who they are or what they do for the organization.
• How well women are represented in each organization — in management and executive positions, and the workforce at large.

“Surveys were conducted anonymously and women’s results achieved at least a 95 percent confidence level, 7 percent margin of error for each organization. Companies needed to employ at least 50 women to be considered,” according to the Great Places to Work.

Here, we’ve narrowed the list to focus on the top 10 technology-specific companies to help you find a supportive, incredible place to show off your tech chops.

Indeed is the top job search, ratings and review site in the world. According to the survey results, 97 percent of respondents say they’re able to take time off when necessary, 95 percent are proud to tell others where they work; and 94 percent say the company both celebrates special events and is a fun place to work.

Technology solutions provider World Wide Technology serves large public and private organizations around the globe. Based on the survey results, 98 percent of employees say they’re proud to tell others they work here; 97 percent say they feel good about the ways the company contributes to the community and 96 percent say they’re able to take time off work when necessary.

Asana is a workflow management and project tracking solution that “makes it easier for teams across the world to effectively track and manage their work and projects with greater clarity and accountability,” according to the company. Based on the survey results, 99 percent of employees say management is honest and ethical in its business practices; 99 percent say they’re able to take time off work when necessary; 99 percent say management genuinely seeks feedback and responds to suggestions and ideas and that people at the company care about each other.

SAS Institute creates analytics software that helps customers address cybercrime, improve customer experiences, protect endangered species and overcome challenges in education and child welfare, among other issues. Based on the survey results, 97 percent of employees say they’re able to take time off when necessary; 97 percent say their facilities contribute to a good working environment; 95 percent are proud to tell others where they work; 94 percent are given adequate resources and equipment to do their jobs and 92 percent say people at the company care about each other.

Intuitive Research and Technology is an aerospace engineering and analysis firm with defense, commercial and government customers. The firm offers production support, systems and software engineering, product design and development, among other services. According to the survey results, 98 percent of respondents say they believe management would perform layoffs only as a last resort; 97 percent say they’re proud to tell others where they work; 97 percent say management is competent at running the business and 97 percent say they feel good about the ways the company contributes to the community.

Workday, founded by former PeopleSoft executives, makes cloud-based human capital management and financial management software. Based on the survey results, 95 percent of employees say they’re proud to tell others where they work; 95 percent say they’re given adequate resources and equipment to do their jobs; and 95 percent say people at the company care about one another and that management is honest and ethical in its business practices.

Salesforce’s CRM solutions dominate the industry, and high-profile CEO Marc Benioff has been one of the loudest voices in the fight for pay equity and transparency. According to the survey results, 97 percent of employees say they feel good about how the company contributes to the community; 97 percent are proud to tell others where they work and 95 percent say they’re able to take time off when necessary, management is ethical and honest in their business practices and that their facilities contribute to a good working environment.

SAP makes enterprise-class software, including ERP, CRM, HR and analytics solutions, as well as an in-memory database called Hana. According to the survey results, 95 percent of respondents say they’re proud to tell others they work at SAP; 94 percent believe management is honest and ethical in its business practices; 94 percent are happy with how the company contributes to the community and 93 percent feel they’re able to take time off when necessary.

Financial services software firm Intuit makes the popular QuickBooks, TurboTax and Mint products, which help small businesses and consumers better manage their finances and “reach their financial goals,” according to the company. Based on the survey responses, 95 percent of women say they feel good about the ways the company contributes to the community; 94 percent are proud to tell others where they work; 94 percent say management is honest and ethical in their business practices; 93 percent say they’re able to take time off work when necessary and 92 percent say they believe people genuinely care about one another at the company.

Ultimate Software provides cloud-based human capital management software including HR, payroll, talent and time and labor management. While it’s No. 2 on the list overall, Ultimate is ranked the No. 1 technology firm for women. According to the survey results, 99 percent of respondents say they have special and unique benefits at the company; 98 percent feel good about how the company contributes to the community and 98 percent are proud to tell others where they work.