2) However, I am a female on the corporate track and a bit of a social psych nerd who pays attention to the research here for my own career development, as an HR professional and as one who has responsibility for diversity initiatives in my company. I’ve been successful with both the mom and pop’s as well as in my current path with a major fortune company featured as one of the top diversity companies. Having been on both sides – my quality of life is much better now than it was in those “innovative” small companies that require you to work as lean as possible, with limited resources and ungodly hours to get the work done because there is no one else to do it! Large companies certainly have their issues – but mom n pops certainly aren’t the “only” drivers of innovation, especially when your corporate staff is spread so thin trying to wear multiple hats vs. being able to dive deeper and specialize. (My company has 8 Nobel prize awards for research and innovation). Further, plenty of the smaller companies are much less sensitive to diversity and just as crass as ever in their treatment of women and minorities, and is why so many of these companies DiversityInc profiles are more successful in breaking these barriers vs. breaking spirits.