Empowering Gender Equality: The WeGendersLab Journey
Maria Borrell turned a family story into a startup
Maria didn’t plan to become a founder.
She had a legal background, worked in gender strategy at the UN, and was building a solid career.
But she also had a story that stuck with her.
Her mother was passed over for promotions again and again. Five pregnancies. Same employer. Same outcome. Her aunt had a similar story.
Years ago, the family started dreaming about a solution. They imagined a certification for companies that actually cared about equality.
Nothing happened with that idea. But it planted a seed.
Years later, Maria picked it back up. This time, she had experience. She’d worked with companies. She knew the slow pace of institutions. She wanted something faster. More practical. Easier to implement.
That’s how We Gender Lab was born.
What the startup actually does
We helps companies measure and improve gender equality at work.
It’s not just about counting how many women are on the team. It’s a full analysis of leadership, pay, promotion, communication, marketing, and more.
It’s based on structured, research-backed frameworks (including the UN’s own recommendations) and shows companies where they stand and how to improve.
The goal? Make gender equality as trackable as your carbon footprint.
And for companies preparing for the EU pay transparency directive, it’s becoming a much-needed head start.
From idea to product, mostly solo
Maria co-founded the company with her mother and uncle. But operationally, she’s been building it alone.
No co-founder in the trenches. No tech background. No roadmap.
That means learning everything from scratch. Sales, finance, product, hiring.
She doesn’t wake up at 5 a.m. or follow a hustle routine. Her structure comes from daily rhythm, calls with her siblings, and deep alignment with the mission.
And the mission runs deep. Some of her early team members worked for months without pay, simply because they believed in what they were building.
When I asked what her superpower was, she said this:
“Inspiring people to believe this matters.”
It’s not about quotas
Maria’s approach to equality is clear and nuanced.
This isn’t about chasing 50-50 for its own sake.
It’s about removing gender as a barrier to leadership.
She’s seen how quick-fix solutions like token promotions often hurt more than they help.
If a woman is promoted just for optics, she has to prove herself in every meeting, sometimes more than her male peers.
True equality means building environments where talent rises based on impact.
Not volume. Not self-promotion. Not bias.
She also challenges how companies define performance.
If the “top performer” is always the loudest, most aggressive person in the room, you may be rewarding the wrong behavior.
Why this matters for business
This isn’t just about values.
It’s about outcomes.
Women influence 80 percent of household purchasing decisions.
If your team lacks representation in leadership and product development, you’re leaving insight and opportunity on the table.
Gender equality isn’t just an HR issue.
It touches product design, sales strategy, team health, and brand credibility.
Maria’s not asking for perfection.
She’s asking companies to measure where they are, and be honest about it.
Because once you can see the problem, you can start fixing it.
My takeaway
Maria’s story is quiet but powerful.
She took a kitchen table conversation and turned it into a tool companies are using to rethink how they build teams and define success.
This isn’t about politics or quotas.
It’s about creating better workplaces, and better businesses.