And it's not a secret.

So everybody on the team knows that in some way

I talked my way into this job because I was really,

really so obsessed with the product.

And I'm still-- every time I see Waymo,

I scream with excitement.

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JENNY: I will say that I feel like Waymo

is kind of like the most supportive place I've ever

been at.

Before I was at Waymo, I was doing my PhD

at Carnegie Mellon.

And just, like, most of my classes,

I was the girl in the room, or there

was some cases, three of us in, like, a 20-person classroom.

I know there's still a lot of issues.

But I just feel like there's much more support here.

DAPHNE: But you feel like you can improve because you feel

supported in order to make those change

and propose those changes, right?

So that's amazing position to be in actually.

Yeah, yeah.

ANDI: Yes, we're making huge strides,

but people's mentality doesn't even--

or some people don't think that we actually have a problem.

DAPHNE: There's two sides of it.

There's the in-the-room side where you're maybe outnumbered.

But then there is the other side where the actual system that

decides whomever moves up when, how you're judged, how you're

performing, kind of the system that judges people,

is made by the same kind of people still.

And I think until those "rules" are changed,

it might feel the same, even if theoretically you

would have 50-50%.

ANDI: The good news is we're changing it.

And because our leadership recognizes wow,

that's a problem.

And so we have this whole big push

for equity, inclusion, and diversity that's company-wide.

And it's not just on recruiters and sourcers

to have the onus to make our company more diverse.

It's going to be for everyone.

BECCA: We're slowly progressing where

it's like, yeah, a woman can lead a company,

a woman can do this.

Or I'm the first woman, I'm the first African-American woman

to do this.

It's still a progression.

So you're going to still see a lot of firsts.

And it's going to be a lot of mindset shifts to say, oh, wow,

they can do that.

DAPHNE: The more women are surrounding each other

with the positive mindset, I think it will really help us.

And as I mentioned, if the system will change over time,

yes, I think that will help a lot.

And also I think we learned how to deal with the system

very well over time.

So it's a combination.

I do think we'll get there.

JENNY: For the first year I was here I'm like,

why am I a software engineer?

I can't code.

This isn't what I do.

DAPHNE: But you play such an important role on your team,

right?

No, seriously.

You're like, a pretty prominent software engineer,

I would say, at Waymo.

That takes quite a lot of courage to say,

I'm afraid I don't have the right skills.

And I think we've all thought that.

But then speaking up about it and saying

that in front of your managers feels vulnerable.

ANDI: We're all on the same side.

We all have the same goal.

But sometimes it is hard to be--

you have to be that one person who

doesn't look like everyone else or doesn't

think like everyone else and still get them

to believe what I'm saying.

DAPHNE: But then I feel like some days you

really need unlimited limited level of confidence.

And I don't have it at some point.

You know what I mean?

Like, you really need some unlimited source of confidence.

LORINA: My team helps me a lot in this.

They tell me every day that we hired you for a reason.

And I think having a supportive environment

helps a lot with it.

BECCA: Like, with new women that join Waymo, or just people

that I meet in general, both men and women,

I always just want to provide a space

where people can feel like they can be themselves

and that they can come to me specifically, and tell me

what they need to tell me and not be judged, and just

feel like they can be their true selves.

JENNY: I try to mentor and support other women

on the team.

Daphne, you keep saying I'm senior.

I don't feel like I'm that senior,

but I do try and similarly set an example

and to support others.

I actively try and be as involved as I can

with recruiting and interviewing.

LORINA: It takes a lot of people and education

to actually tell girls that there are sources,

there are ways that they can achieve anything they want.

BECCA: I just really believe it's

about changing people's mindsets,

and then educating people so that they have awareness

of the issues themselves so that they can actually

contribute in a positive way.

DAPHNE: I come from an aerospace background.

And I think having worked in a very kind

of old procedural industry, where you just

follow a process--

and I've started challenging the status quo.

And in certain industries I have not

felt like I could be doing that, because things are there

for a reason.

But no one could explain me the reason, right?

And here, I feel like I can question.

Why are we doing the things we are doing this way?

So what I like is when people step up and take part

of the burden instead of saying, this

is what I would like to see, and then put their hands up.

I would love for everyone to be part of the solution, actually.

ANDI: I'm excited, because I feel

like we're on the cusp of a transformation that's

going to blow people's minds.

Because I just think self-driving cars

are going to be a game changer for so many people.

We're literally trying to find people to do things

no one has ever done before.

So it's having to do something brand new.

And then this is really cool and exciting.

But it takes the right type of person

with the right type of mentality to want

to come in and face challenges that they haven't seen before.

JENNY: Waymo has an opportunity to help here.

Like, you will have like a 2-ton vehicle surrounding you,

safely transporting you to your destination.

And I think we can do a lot to help.

DAPHNE: I think that's our role.

We can empower people to go places and do

the things they want to do.

LORINA: Positive experience for me.

It's important for me to work harder.

Like, I thought, well, I work at Waymo,

and I actually have some ability to solve this problem.

DAPHNE: And I think one of the things

I'm so passionate about when it comes to Waymo is you--

we're focused on the general public, on everybody.

And it's not a special product for a niche of the population

that has the money to afford it or lives in the right area,

right?

Like, preferably you want to be able to provide the safest

transport to absolutely everyone.

And that really motivates me for sure.

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