Top Company FAQ

Yes. In addition to the Winners and Leaders, we will publicly recognize all participating companies in alphabetical order. We believe in recognizing companies that are committed to measuring their progress in building intersectional diversity in technical workforces. Companies will be notified of their results in advance of the public announcements, and confidential or individual data will never be released publicly. All Participants are also encouraged to publicize their participation and will be able to use their Top Companies badge(s) in their publicity efforts.

AnitaB.org will take all reasonable steps to maintain the security and confidentiality of the application data as described in the Top Companies for Women Technologists Non-Disclosure Agreement, which companies must accept to participate.

Data from each company will be anonymized and aggregated with data from other participating companies. Individual, identifiable company data will not be shared publicly or with any other participating companies. Peer benchmarking data will only be shared in aggregated form, and only to the extent that the data can be sufficiently anonymized. Results summarized in custom reports for each company are released solely through the Top Companies secure portal to the designated Top Companies contacts.

We will list participating companies alphabetically in the confidential reports, publicly on the AnitaB.org website, and in marketing collateral or other materials. We will notify companies of their status prior to public announcements.

All participating companies receive a numeric score for both their representation and policies and programs sections (see the Methodology section for scoring details). However, this score is not shared publicly or with other companies. The only information about your company’s submission or score that is shared publicly is whether you were named a Participant, Leader, or Winner. Furthermore, companies are listed in alphabetical order within those categories and a ranked order of companies is not shared publicly.

Any privately or publicly held company, including foreign-based companies, may participate in the program provided they have at least 100 technical employees in their U.S.-based workforce.

To ensure the statistical rigor of our analysis, companies must have at least 25 employees at the entry and midcareer levels (of any gender) to be eligible for any Top Companies awards, but we encourage smaller organizations to participate, as they can still be recognized for their participation and will receive all other benefits of participation.

We will consider developing a separate category for companies smaller than 100 technologists in the future. If you are a small company and interested in helping inform our efforts, please contact us!

No. AnitaB.org connects, inspires, and guides all organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. Companies that participate have come from a wide range of industries, including tech, financial services, internet services, food & beverage, consulting, and media. All companies that employ at least 100 technical employees should consider participating.

We compare organizations that are alike in their workforce and structure so that we can provide meaningful analysis. Currently, we do not include academic institutions in that comparison, however, we have opened the program to government institutions.

Any company with at least 100 U.S. technical employees may apply. The company does not need to be associated with AnitaB.org or any of its other programs.

Relevant dates for Top Companies 2023 are as follows:

January 9 — Submission period opens; Partners emailed submission access code
May 31 — Submission period closes
July 31 — Companies notified of award status and badges
First day of GHC — Public Key Findings and Insights Report & Dashboard published
Winners announced during GHC Opening Keynote
September 29 — Companies receive confidential individual benchmarking report

The technical labor market looks very different across countries, with variances in the number of graduates and the challenges they face in industry at each career level. We believe the results of this program are most meaningful if we focus on specific labor markets.

Increasing the representation of women in all technical roles is critical to a company’s innovation. Reflecting the constituency of AnitaB.org, our definition of the technical workforce consists of all technical occupations in computing and information technology, and is based on position, not department. The definition of technical employees covers four categories: (1) engineering, research and development, and technical design; (2) IT engineering and support; (3) technical services, technical sales, and technical marketing; and (4) technical management and leadership. The definition is based on a combination of our previous research, ongoing review with industry leaders, and a detailed review of standardized lists of positions pertaining to technical roles. Refer to the Definitions page for detailed descriptions and examples of these categories.

Yes, the data include exempt and non-exempt employees of a company, as long as they are in a technical function per the AnitaB.org definition. It does not include temporary staff members, regardless of whether they are contracted through a third-party agency or retained directly by the company.

AnitaB.org is committed to providing independent evaluation based purely on the metrics submitted by each participating company, regardless of whether the company participates in any other AnitaB.org programs or events. The metrics were defined in collaboration with social science experts on gender and organizations, and the evaluation methodology was designed with statistical experts.

The Top Companies program relies on the validity and completeness of the workforce data we collect and analyze. There are two different tiers of eligible submission requirements:

Awards Eligible
In order to be eligible to be named a Top Companies Winner or Leader, companies must provide answers to all of the questions in the submission that are marked with an asterisk (*). Awards eligible questions are all main, non-conditional questions that have been asked in a prior year. Responses to new questions will not be required for award eligibility. Answers of “Unknown” or “Decline to Respond” are not counted as eligible responses.

Participation Eligible
In order to be eligible to be publicly recognized as a Top Companies Participant, companies must meet the minimum data sharing requirements, which include gender data for the U.S tech representation metrics of the submission. No policies and programs questions are required for participation eligibility. All questions required for participation eligibility are marked with a plus sign (+) in the submission. See the FAQ on Abridged Top Companies for a detailed list of required data. Answers of “Unknown” or “Decline to Respond” are not counted as eligible responses.

If your organization is unwilling or unable to provide a response to one of metrics required for participation, we still invite you to participate in the program. Your company will not be publicly recognized as a Participant but will receive a confidential individual benchmarking report to understand your progress toward intersectional gender parity and equity in tech. View the previous year’s submission questions and/or the upcoming year’s questions HERE.

The Top Companies Total Score is based on two scoring sections: Representation and Beyond Representation.

Representation Score

The Representation Score is based on seven (7) representation metrics. The percentages submitted by companies for each metric are normalized for comparability to companies of similar technical workforce size using a Z-score method. Z-scores are calculated as deviation from the mean divided by the standard deviation. The Representation Score is the sum of all seven Z-scores and contributes to 80% of the Total Score.

Representation Of Women In Technology Roles At:
Entry level
Mid-level
Senior level
Executive level
Rates Of:
Recruitment
Retention
Advancement
Beyond Representation Score

One hundred (100) Beyond Representation Points are awarded based on responses to programs and policies questions. Points are scaled linearly to contribute 20% of the Total Score for companies of similar technical workforce size, using a Beyond the Numbers multiplier.

Transparency & Accountability (16 pts)
1 pt if company has formal process to hold leaders accountable for progress on DEI goals
1 pt if company includes DEI goals as a component of performance reviews
0.5 pt if company offers financial incentives for making progress on DEI goals
0.5 pt if company imposes financial penalties for not making progress on DEI goals
2 pts if company’s exec team reviews tech diversity data at least once per month, 1 if once per quarter, .5 if once per year
2 pts if company’s diversity data includes intersectional gender and race data
2 pts if company releases diversity data publicly on its tech workforce, 1 if does not release tech data but does release data publicly on its overall workforce
0.5 pt if company releases gender data publicly on tech workforce
0.5 pt if company releases racial data publicly on tech workforce
1 pt if company releases intersectional gender and race data publicly on tech workforce
5 pts if company provided answers to all main, non-conditional questions; responses of “Unknown”’ or “Decline to Respond” are disqualified
Equitable Hiring (18 pts)
8 pts total – 1 pt for each of the following practices a company engages in to increase the tech talent pool: recruiting from HBCUs, recruiting from HSIs, recruiting from other MSIs, recruiting from community colleges, recruiting from bootcamps or other certification programs, recruiting non-tech new hires to train to be technologists (apprenticeships), reskilling programs to train current non-tech employees to be technologists, returnship programs
1 pt if company provides a formal training on unbiasing the hiring process to hiring managers (mandatory or voluntary), .5 if hiring managers receive education materials on unbiasing the hiring process but not a formal training
8 pts total –1 pt for each of the following practices a company engages in to decrease bias in hiring: Explicit evaluation criteria established before the candidate review process begins, structured behavior-based interview questions, required diverse slate of candidates for interviews, required diverse interview panels, sharing interview questions with candidates in advance, tracking hiring outcomes to check for bias; .5 pt for each of the following: system for checking for gendered language in job descriptions, blinding gender of candidates when assessing applications, blinding school of candidates when assessing applications, prohibiting white board interviews
1 pt total- 0.5 pt each if company sets hiring targets for women or BLNP women
Caregiving Support (13 pts)
2 pts if 12+ weeks full paid birthparent leave, 1.5 for 10-11, 1 for 8-9, .5 for 4-7, .25 for 1-3
2 pts if 12+ weeks full paid non-birthparent leave, 1.5 for 10-11, 1 for 8-9, .5 for 4-7, .25 for 1-3
1 pt if 12+ weeks full paid adoption leave, .75 if 8-11, .5 if 4-7, .25 if 1-3
1 pt if 12+ weeks full paid surrogacy leave, .75 if 8-11, .5 if 4-7, .25 if 1-3
1 pt if 12+ weeks full paid foster care leave, .75 if 8-11, .5 if 4-7, .25 if 1-3
1 pt if company provides equal weeks of full paid parental leave to birthparents and non-birthparents
0.5 pt if company tracks the usage of parental leave by gender
0.5 pt if company tracks the usage of parental leave by race
1 pt if company tracks the usage of parental leave by intersectional gender and race
1 pt if company collects anonymous feedback from employees on their feelings of support in utilization of available caregiver leave
2 pts if company provides two or more types of childcare assistance, 1 if only one
Pay Equity (11 pts)
2 pts is company has pay equity by gender and race policy, 1 if gender only or race only
2 pts if company conducts pay equity audit at least annually, 1 if every two years
.5 pt if company analyzes pay inequities by gender
.5 pt if company analyzes pay inequities by race
1 pt if company analyzes pay inequities by intersectional gender and race
1 pt if company’s pay equity analysis expands beyond base pay
2 pts if company includes salary or salary range on technical job descriptions
2 pts if company does not request previous salary history from candidates as part of the job application process in states where this practice is allowed
Leadership & Advancement (20 pts)
5 pts total – 1 pt for each of the following practices a company engages in to decrease bias in performance management: explicit performance evaluation criteria established before the review process begins, tracking promotion outcomes by gender, tracking promotion outcomes for BLNP women, tracking merit-based salary increases by gender, tracking merit-based salary increases for BLNP women
3 pts if Board of Directors is 40% or more women, 2 if 20%-39%, 1 if 1%-19%
1 pt if company provides a formal training on unbiasing the performance management process to managers (mandatory or voluntary), .5 if managers receive education materials on unbiasing the performance management process but not a formal training
1 pt if company offers formal leadership development program
1 pt if company offers formal mentorship program
2 pt if company sets target for technical women at first-level managers
2 pt if company sets target for technical women at senior-level managers
2 pts if company has formal career sponsorship program
1 pt if sponsorship is offered at entry level
1 pt if sponsorship is offered at mid-level
1 pt if company’s highest paid DEI position is C-suite, Exec, or Director, .5 if Manager or Individual Contributor
Inclusion (11 pts)
1 pt if company collects feedback from employees on their feelings of inclusion and/or belonging
4 pts total - .5 pt for each of the following DEI trainings offered: ally training, antiracism, creating psychologically safe teams, examining masculinity, interrupting bias/bystander intervention, unconscious bias; 1 pt for inclusive management
5 pts total –1 pt for each of the following ERG supports offered: compensation for group leaders, recognition of participation in performance review process; .5 pt for mentoring, professional development, sponsorship, affinity networking, input on organizational policies & programs, networking with leaders
1 pt if company provides a non-binary option to employees when asking gender
Worklife Flexibility (11 pts)
1 pt if company has formal flex time policy
1 pt if company has permanent option to work remotely the entire week, .5 if option is temporary
1 pt if company has permanent option to work remotely part of the week, .5 if option is temporary
1 pt if company has permanent option to work flexible hours during the day, .5 if option is temporary
1 pt if company has permanent option to work a flexible/compressed workweek, .5 if option is temporary
1 pt if company has a permanent option for job sharing, .5 if temporary
1 pt if company has a permanent option for part-time tech roles, .5 if option is temporary
.5 pt if company tracks the usage of flex work by gender
.5 pt if company tracks the usage of flex work by race/ethnicity
1 pt if company tracks the usage of flex work by intersectional gender and race
1 pt if company promotes flex work options in job descriptions
1 pt if company collects anonymous feedback from employees on their experiences of burnout

TOTAL SCORE

The TOTAL SCORE is calculated as 80% REPRESENTATION SCORE and 20% BEYOND REPRESENTATION SCORE. Companies are then ranked by the Total Score within their technical workforce size categories.

The Top Companies for Women Technologists Award Winner is the company with the highest total score for each technical workforce size category.

Top Companies Leaders are the top 25th percentile scores of each technical workforce size. Top Companies Participants include all companies that participated in this year’s program that met the minimum submission requirements.

To be officially recognized as a Top Companies Participant, companies must meet the minimum data sharing requirements, which include gender data for the representation metrics designated with a (+) in the Submission Guidelines. Companies participating with an abridged submission will not be eligible to be named a Leader or Winner but will receive public Participant recognition status and all other benefits of a Top Companies Participant. Required data for 2023 are:
Prior Year Data
Companies that participated in 2022 do not need to provide these data since it was already captured in your 2022 submission; companies that did not participate in 2022 must provide gender data for its U.S tech workforce for the following metrics:
• Tech employees at entry, mid, senior, and exec levels, as well as total U.S. technologists as of Dec 31, 2021
• Tech employees who were new hires between Jan 1, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021
• Tech employees who left the company between Jan 1, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021
• Tech employees who were promoted between Jan 1, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021
• Averages for tech women and tech men between Jan 1, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021
Current Year Data
All companies must provide gender data for its U.S tech workforce for the following metrics:
• Tech employees at entry, mid, senior, and exec levels, as well as total U.S. technologists as of Dec 31, 2022
• Tech employees who were new hires between Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
• Tech employees who left the company between Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
• Tech employees who were promoted between Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
• Averages for tech women and tech men between Jan 1, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021