Ginkgo Bioworks

"Young vibrant team, transparent, and a lot of opportunities if you are willing to try."

"Overall Ginkgo is a great place to work with fun company culture and good benefits. Your experience will depend on your manager though and it is important to advocate for yourself. I've personally seen the benefits from advocating for myself and have seen others be miserable with bad managers and no way to stand up for themselves."

"There is an excellent diversity of mentors should you be looking for that."

"People are very supportive and collaborative. I had not had any negative experiences with colleagues thus far (been here over a year). I feel that my voice is heard and considered and that overall employees have a say in what happens at the company. "

"Your experience will depend heavily on your team lead and mentors. I know women who have had fabulous experiences here and there are some amazing women leaders. Unfortunately, I have not had good luck with that and I wish there was more accountability for managers and support for young women in the company. "

"Ginkgo is the most diverse and flexible place I've ever worked! The timelines and overall work demand are intense, but I find the job rewarding. The workplace culture is great and promotes comraderie. "

"If you can mimic the words, beliefs, and behaviors of top level leaders no matter if you agree or not then you will get along great. "

"Ginkgo is possibly the most flexible company I have ever seen, and while there are many advantages to this that are particularly beneficial to women (many roles being able to work remotely with no expectation of being in the office, most roles allowing you to adjust your working schedule as needed, etc.), there are also disadvantages that come with the lack of structure and guidance. For one, strong direct managerial relationships seem to be a rarity in Ginkgo. Ginkgo employees tend to eventually become managers at some point after a period of time of working for the company, and the "people skills" necessary to effectively manage and develop people are very clearly not prioritized in that process. Some people may enjoy having a manager that is mostly uninvolved, but this lack of relationship and personal investment is a significant impediment to feeling motivated and valued for others. Be prepared to establish your own boundaries, as no one will do that for you or jump in to defend you after you have failed to do so. This is generally applicable to most workplaces for women, but I have found it to especially be the case at Ginkgo. Just as an example, the extent to which people respect your PTO depends entirely on you. If women across the company were asked about whether their vacation time is respected at Ginkgo, I think there would be a very broad range of answers simply because some women have made their PTO "off-limits" and some have not. If you make yourself available while presumably being out of office, that sets the standard for how people will approach you for requests during your PTO going forward. Overall, Ginkgo is a fun, fairly accommodating company with a lot of exciting things going on, but if you tend to thrive in environments with clear expectations, structure, and a strong focus on personal development, it may not be the best fit."

"I am very fortunate to have great managers and smart & fun coworkers at Ginkgo."

"this is a place where you can grow your career in a meaningful way. Women in leadership is not a deliberate effort as much as it is just our way of working. It’s a great place to work and a great place to lead. "

"High demands with little respect for your personal time. You can get ahead if you are part of a certain demographic "

"Ginkgo has an amazing community of women but without policies we are seeing many of our leaders exiting. "

"This company has genuine efforts in the D&I space and leadership is actually engaged and supportive, not just as a token. It’s refreshing!"

"- lots of senior women leaders - very visible and ongoing discussions about improvements the organization can make to address gender bias, work/life balance, support for working moms - specific mentoring programs for women and non-male-identifying genders "

"I love working at Ginkgo. There are areas for improvement, but I am proud that there are many at the company actively working to change for the better. "

"My coworkers here are fantastic and extremely supportive. The work can be very challenging, but it comes with a lot of freedom and flexibility that I appreciate greatly. "

"There are a lot of strong women at Ginkgo to look up to and learn from."

"Women are treated equally, and there are many policies and other forms of support for women (including a women-only slack channel for women to share their thoughts/opinions/raise concerns in a safe environment or to find help on how to address an issue/where to go)."

"Ginkgo is an amazing place to work. Employees get the chance to grow within the company and get a lot of opportunities to help them get there. A lot of the benefits the company offers are aimed at families and work-life balance."

"Ginkgo is a great place to work, full of interesting people, and with a real appreciation for diversity and the value of differing viewpoints. The company is making progress at promoting women to senior leadership positions on the science side (there are many in non-scientific roles). The one knock on Ginkgo is that it is a very time-consuming job. And that goes for pretty much any job at Ginkgo."

"You have equal opportunity here to grow and be recognized - they also encourage and celebrate your ideas and growth!"

"Whenever someone asks me what I like most about working at Ginkgo, my answer is always the same: the people. I feel so lucky to work with such talented, passionate people, who truly care about their fellow team members and the work that they do. Plus, I continuously feel like I have a voice, and am able to share my opinions freely. "

"I feel like Ginkgo is a place where there is almost a barrage of opportunities to learn new things and take on new roles. Super high-growth startup stuff. For someone who wants to seize opportunity, it’s a boon harvest. The cost of this is that it can be a chaotic, learn-as-you go place. At the same time, it’s very respectful of individual needs and schedules, so I have been able to design a life around Ginkgo that works for me and my family. "

"I love working at Ginkgo! It's not perfect but it's by far the best place I've worked. We're constantly striving to be better - real change is prioritized and in just two years here, I've already seen many improvements. The diversity council is very active and a lot of people around the company participate. We just hired a head of diversity & inclusion too! Within my team, I've been given the space & opportunities to grow immensely as a technical contributor. I can see myself staying here for a long time and I've never felt that way working at another company. "

"Ginkgo is an exciting place to work, not just because of what we do but because of the people. While I cannot speak for all women at Ginkgo, I feel that my opinions are valued and I am given an equal opportunity for my voice to be heard. People (including Ginkgo leadership) are receptive and appreciative of feedback and deliver it in an honest and supportive way."