🌿 AWARD 04 OF 10 · TEAM OF THE YEAR 2026

Best Work-Life Balance 2026

For the tech company that lets people have a life outside work. Voted by women in tech who meet these hiring teams in person at OutGeek events in 38 cities.

A bright room of women in tech mingling at OutGeek Lisbon
OUTGEEK Award 04 ★ 2026 ★
🌿
WINNER REVEALED JANUARY 15, 2027
Voting closes December 31. One vote per award.
64 DAYS
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48 MIN
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WHAT THIS AWARD RECOGNIZES

A company that lets people have a life

Flexible hours mean little if everyone answers Slack at 10pm. This award goes to the company where reasonable hours, real time off and family life are normal, not a perk you have to ask for.

AWARD
04 of 10, OutGeek Team of the Year 2026
VOTED BY
Women in tech with OutGeek Plus, and OutGeek team accounts
VOTING
August to December 31, 2026
WINNER
Revealed January 15, 2027
NOMINEES
33 teams on the 2026 ballot
WHAT VOTERS LOOK AT
01

Reasonable hours

Do evenings and weekends stay free most of the time?
02

Flexible schedules

School pickup, appointments and caregiving without guilt.
03

Time off people take

Vacation people actually use, not just a policy.
04

Support for parents and caregivers

Leave, a plan for coming back, and flexibility after.
05

Managers who model it

Leaders who log off and take holidays too.
⚖️ FAIR AND OPEN

How the winner is picked

1

Members vote

OutGeek Plus members and team accounts vote from August to December 31.
2

One vote per account

One vote in this award per account, and one in each of the other nine. Votes are final once cast.
3

Every vote is tied to an account

Each account votes once in each award: 10 votes in all, one per award.
4

Most votes wins

The team with the most votes on December 31 wins. We reveal the winner on January 15.
Women in tech listening to a talk in a sunny lounge at OutGeek Mexico City
💬 BEFORE YOU VOTE

Questions to ask a hiring team

Ask them at an OutGeek event, or in Threads, where hiring teams answer members' questions.

  1. 1How often does work spill into evenings and weekends?
  2. 2How many vacation days did you take last year?
  3. 3Can I move my hours for school pickup or appointments?
  4. 4What does on-call look like on this team?
  5. 5How does the team cover for someone on leave?
  6. 6When did your manager last take a full week off?
🗣️ IN VOTERS' WORDS

Why they'd join a team

“Her manager doesn’t send Slack messages after 6. She said it so casually, like it’s normal. At my job it’s not.”
OutGeek event attendee
“I have two kids and was nervous to even bring it up. She said half her team does school pickup and nobody blinks.”
OutGeek event attendee
ON THE 2026 BALLOT · 33 TEAMS

The 2026 nominees

Every team on the ballot for this award, A to Z. The leader stays hidden until January 15 so early results don't sway the vote.

🗳️
Voted? Tell your network.
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👑 LAST YEAR

2025: the top tech companies, voted by women in tech

In 2025, before the ten awards, voters picked one overall top 10. 2026 is the first year of the Best Work-Life Balance award.

🌿 FOR HIRING TEAMS

Nominate your team for Best Work-Life Balance

Nominate your company from an OutGeek team account. The $129/month account includes one category. Extra categories are $199 once and go on the ballot as soon as payment clears.

Press and winner kit: hello@outgeek.org

About this award

FAQ

Voting is open until December 31, 2026, and the winner is revealed on January 15, 2027. Until then the leader stays hidden so early results don’t sway the vote. 2026 is the first year of this award.

OutGeek Plus members and team accounts. Each account gets one vote in this award, and one in each of the other nine. Votes are final once cast.

It looks at one thing: hours, flexibility and time off. Best Company to Work For is the overall award, and each of the other awards looks at something else.

Most lists rely on employee surveys or data companies send in. This award is voted by women in tech who meet these hiring teams in person at OutGeek events in 38 cities, plus OutGeek team accounts.

Yes. Each award is voted on separately, so one company can win more than one.

Voting closes December 31, 2026. The winner is revealed on January 15, 2027, on this page and on the winning team’s company page.

In 2026 the ballot lists companies OutGeek has worked with, plus any company that nominates itself from a team account. The $129/month team account includes one category. Extra categories are $199 once.

Winning teams get a feature in the OutGeek Journal, their open roles in our newsletter blast, their jobs featured on OutGeek, and social media support from our team.

No. The team with the most votes in an award wins.

Yes. A team account's vote counts like anyone else's: one vote in each award.

The other nine awards

All of Team of the Year →