Once during a job interview, Julia Atlygina was asked whether she could train a replacement to handle her duties if she took maternity leave. It was a funny question, because Julia — who is now ALM Works Structure Product Manager and QA Architect — wasn't expecting to have kids any time soon. Simply being a young woman made her a less appealing candidate in the eyes of the interviewer.

Other women share similar experiences — about interviewers who asked skeptical questions about whether the candidate is about to have children, or whether she can manage balancing work and family, or comments about what she's wearing. "I've got loads of stories," one woman said. "We could be here all day."

The shared anecdotes were part of a discussion this month entitled, "Promoting Women in Tech: Are We There Yet?," hosted by Tempo and featuring six women from the Atlassian ecosystem.

All participants had positive stories to share about their workplaces, but tales about awkward interviewers or bosses bubbled up, too. Promoting a diverse workforce makes business sense: Research on inclusive workplaces indicates that those organizations tend to be more successful. For women building careers, however, it can still be an uphill climb.

Most of the discussion focused on finding workplaces that support their women employees. Here are a few key takeaways from the panelists' insights:

Seek out places that trust their employees

Some women employees do have to care for family members, and a corporate culture where employees have to make a show of being present for typical working hours (and often long afterwards) makes it impossible for many women to make an impact or advance their careers. As one panelist said, her company trusts its workers to get things done. That's important for all workers — but especially women, who more typically shoulder caregiving burdens at home.

Commitment matters

Men still often dominate company tech departments, but that alone doesn't mean the organization isn't committed to diversifying. Vet these companies carefully to see what they are doing to encourage women employees to succeed. One panelist noted that although her tech department was male-dominated at the time of her interview, a careful interview process convinced her they were sincere in their commitments. And seeing women in high-ranking positions elsewhere in the organization increased her confidence in the company, too.

Listen to the rumor mill

Scratch beneath the surface to learn about culture and values. If you're looking into a particular company, read reviews on sites like Glassdoor, and try to seek out women's stories about their experiences there. Other women are often the best source of information — they're the ones who can tell you if a company pays lower salaries to women for equal work, or routinely demotes women after they have kids.

Look for authenticity

People — no matter the gender or background — are at their best when they're allowed to be their authentic selves. A culture of conformity stifles creativity and likely won't prove to be a good environment for reaping the benefits of a diverse workforce. Look for authenticity from members of the company's leadership as a clue — if they model conformity in their own behavior, they likely expect their employees to follow in a similar vein.

Tempo's full recording of the discussion, which ranged over a number of other topics and includes a link to further discussion, is available online.