• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem

1

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
MPWMost Powerful Women

Grubhub’s Gender-Balanced Team Proves Diversity in Tech Is Possible

By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 23, 2016, 2:24 PM ET
GrubHub Raises $192 Million Pricing IPO Above Marketed Range
Photograph by Jin Lee—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Grubhub, which owns Seamless, is in the midst of a tough fight for dominance in the crowded and competitive food delivery business. Yet the company has at least one secret weapon: A workforce that is almost entirely gender-balanced.

Depending on which research you consult, the executive teams of the largest U.S. public companies are composed of between 10% and 17% women. Moreover, even when companies do have female execs at the top, these women are likely to play a “token” role—at least one study found that having one woman on an executive team lowers the chances that other female executives will be hired into C-level positions.

Yet this past spring, Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney hired not just a second or third, but a fourth woman—CTO Maria Belousova—to his eight-person team.

“I did not set out to have 50% of my reports be women,” says Maloney. “When I’m looking for people to fill roles, I think: I need a CMO—that person needs to have XYZ. I craft the ideal model. I look for people that are extremely intelligent, creative problem solvers, tinkerers.”

In addition to Belousova, Grubhub’s executive team includes CMO Barbara Martin Coppola, general counsel Margo Drucker, and HR head Kelley Berlin.

For Maloney, the idea that there is no “pipeline” of talented women is a myth. And though he says he doesn’t purposely seek out female hires, he is keenly aware of the benefits of diversity. “We’re trying to solve new problems, so we need new perspectives,” he says. “I think that I figured out pretty early on that I have a lot of great friends who are great coders—generally my age, generally men, generally from a tech background—but that group of friends doesn’t solve restaurants’ problems very well.”

 

Being involved with the restaurant industry, where his customers vary in age, nationality, and, yes, gender, Maloney says having a diverse team isn’t just something to strive for— “it’s a responsibility to investors and shareholders.”

Subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

The company’s diversity trickles down into its larger workforce, which is 43% female (the company has 1,105 employees). For comparison, major tech companies like Airbnb, Google, and Facebook are about one-third female.

General counsel Drucker says that the company’s success in attracting women is due in large part to Maloney’s willingness to lead by example. “He’s a family man, he has 3 little [all under 7] kids… We know it’s something that he values and is important to him. If he has an event at a kid’s school he’ll dial in,” she says. “We give paternity leave to the men here and nobody thinks twice about taking it.”

Grubhub has also had some success recruiting female engineers, a pain point for many tech companies. As of March, 23% of the company’s engineers are women. That number is slowly ticking up, with women accounting for 28% of its engineering hires this year. In the U.S., only 13% of engineers are women.

Belousova, who previously served as VP of technology at e-commerce site Bluefly, says she was pleasantly surprised by the gender split at Grubhub. “I don’t expect there to be a lot of women in the organization that I work in,” she says, adding that she hopes to grow the number of women on her 250-person team. “Setting an example and talking about what women do is important. Not seeing it as unusual is important.”

Perhaps simply seeing a gender-balanced company as the norm is exactly why Maloney’s been so successful in creating one. “My first three jobs out of college I worked for women,” he says. “Maybe that’s just the benefit of my experience. It just never entered my mind.”

About the Author
By Valentina Zarya
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in MPW

Inside Flavor Flav’s unlikely effort to help female Olympians build their brands and careers
NewslettersMPW Daily
Inside Flavor Flav’s unlikely effort to help female Olympians build their brands and careers
By Ellie AustinJuly 22, 2026
4 hours ago
Anthea Hartig, Director of the National Museum of American History, looks to her left at a House Committee.
PoliticsWhite House
Smithsonian director denies ‘woke’ label from Trump while defending exhibit on teen’s gender-identity diary
By Steven Sloan and The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
Cleveland’s WNBA team doesn’t play until 2028 but Progressive just scored jersey sponsorship
SuccessSports
Cleveland’s WNBA team doesn’t play until 2028 but Progressive just scored jersey sponsorship
By Joe Reedy and The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
jd
PoliticsWhite House
JD Vance becomes first sitting vice president to welcome a child in office in over 150 years
By Darlene Superville and The Associated PressJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Backed by Daymond John and Post Malone, this Afghan-born founder built a $150M brand. Her real mission: the women back home
Successfemale founders
Backed by Daymond John and Post Malone, this Afghan-born founder built a $150M brand. Her real mission: the women back home
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
3 days ago
t
PoliticsWhite House
Analysis: Trump approves 80% of GOP disaster aid — and 60% for Democrats
By David A. Lieb, M.K. Wildeman and The Associated PressJuly 16, 2026
6 days ago

Most Popular

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
5 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.