During last week’s InsideSales.com user conference in Salt Lake City, I joined a panel to discuss “Women in the Workplace.” Corporate America is buzzing about this topic and it’s reaching a serious pitch in the Silicon Valley, as data continues to show inequity of opportunity and women file sexual harassment suits against Kleiner Perkins, Facebook, and others. 

I agreed to participate without truly understanding the difficulty of discussing such a sensitive topic in front of more than 1000 people. Betsy Sutter, Head of People at VMWare and a seasoned professional who has spent years researching and honing her position, was my co-panelist.

Betsy came prepared and knew her stuff. It was an eye opening experience.

This issue is holding businesses back. The reasons that we should pursue gender balance in the workplace have nothing to do with equality, kindness, or righteousness — although a rising tide lifts all boats. From a practical perspective, I strongly believe that companies with balanced genders perform at a much higher level than those that don’t. In our hyper-competitive, resource constrained world, a gender balanced business has a much better chance to succeed than one that operates with an uneven ratio favoring men over women.

I know this because I have worked with women and men in the tech space for 24 years. I know this because I have listened to experts in this field whose research supports gender diversity and equality. Dr. Kellie McElhaney, an honoree at Bluewolf’s Women Innovators Network Luncheon in 2012, published a paper in that same year, stating, “Research suggests that companies that explicitly place value on gender diversity perform better in general, and perform better than their peers on the multiple dimensions of corporate sustainability.”

In my career, I have watched incredible things occur repeatedly when men and women work together. It’s that simple. I don’t hold an advanced degree in human behavior, but it’s clear to me that men and women bring different qualities and approaches to collaboration. I have seen my share of disasters when a room, project, or a company is overloaded by one gender. Whether it’s a leadership team, a sales call, or complex enterprise transformation — I am convinced that a balanced team wins every time.

Bluewolf was co-founded 15 years ago by two men: Michael Kirven and myself. But our first hires were women. Our decisions weren’t based on gender, but because we had worked with them successfully in prior companies. Our company growth skyrocketed as we hired our first Sales Directors, Caryn Fried and Lexy Werner; our VP of Delivery, Jolene Chan; and our VPs of Recruiting, Stephany Samuels and Wendy Duarte. All of these women are senior leaders in our company to this day, and the list is deeper than space allows here. They have been married, re-located, re-organized; they have had  children, they have hired and mentored hundreds of employees; they have contributed to our business in their own unique and incredible ways.

Today's news at places like Kleiner Perkins and Facebook feels like a battle of the sexes. Women pitted against men, accusations flying and lawyers collecting fees and building reputations. I know that these showdowns will serve as markers towards progress on this topic. However, let's remember, above all, that gender cooperation is what moves us forward.

Gender diversity is an incredibly powerful asset for any company. Great ideas, great work, and unbelievable results come out of melting pots. This is an important discussion, and during last Thursday’s panel, I felt first-hand how sensitive elements of this discussion are. It is time to stop hiding behind our fears on this topic. We need to give it transparency, speak in real terms and relevant language, and make gender diversity — and in turn, equality — our primary and common goal.

I'm glad I was on a panel, not in a courtroom, and I hope Bluewolf can lead the way.