I completely agree it's extra hard if you have no women onboard already--that's why I'm trying to source female engineers now, while the team has only one full-time engineer. The Etsy example of turning around a non-diverse culture is great, but waiting that long will cost 10x as much. Unfortunately, it seems that how it needs to be done, since sourcing at such an early stage is so difficult.

re: 1 -- I agree. I've found I won't have trouble sourcing entry level. The code schools and bootcamps seem to be making a lot of progress on gender diversity. I think in the long run when my company can afford to focus more on growth and leadership development I will pursue this route. Right now, however, I have a very solid pipeline of diverse and experienced engineers willing to join the team--just no experienced women.