“Women in tech” are everywhere
“Through tech, we can help to make the world a better place!” says Isabel Milbert, Senior Partnership Manager at optilyz. One more reason to ask ourselves how we can address diversity and equality in the tech industry authentically and transparently. As a SaaS company with an above-average share of women across all management levels, we are proud of ourselves. At the same time, we still have a long way to go to be where we want to be. On average, the percentage of women in tech companies in 2021 was 26,7%. In fact, compared to 2020, it declined for the first time after five years of growth. (Quelle: Sheconomy)
A day like International Women’s Day always invites us to talk about this essential topic. Sometimes it even seems a little crude, as Annahita Esmailzadeh aptly summarized on her LinkedIn page:
“The real hype is particularly impressive on days like #Diversity Day or even International Women’s Day when companies passionately try to outdo each other with their extravagant declarations on the importance of diversity and displays of glorious rainbow colours. […] But what is happening behind the pretty pictures and the lip services?” (Quelle: LinkedIn)
The best comes from within
The word “impact” is short but meaningful for us, as it has top priority in our value policy. “The impact we have is always meaningful and powerful”. It is self-evident that we are not satisfied with a bland post on International Women’s Day. We would like to dedicate this day to turn our attention inward. Instead of focusing on the surroundings, we take a look at ourselves. More than half of our team is made up of women. All these women have their own stories. They have diverse professional backgrounds and have chosen a career in the tech world for various reasons. Despite all the differences, they have one thing in common: They are all “women in tech” – whether in Frontend Development, Marketing, Customer Success or HR.
A few of them took part in an internal interview format on behalf of the entire female team. The results are inspiring and authentic insights that we would like to share. What did we learn?
- An excellent corporate culture contributes significantly to more diversity and creativity.
- Women in tech are not synonymous with “women who can code”. Women working in tech companies need a comprehensive understanding of technology in every position and role and curiosity to acquire new knowledge.
- Industries don’t need borders, they need people. It is time to stop viewing industries as “typically male” (e.g. tech) or typically female” (e.g. beauty). Instead of gender roles, we should rather promote skills and passions.
You can find some of the most inspiring statements from our “women in tech” below and follow our LinkedIn series. You will find out why music and coding are not so far apart and what corporate values have to do with equality. (start: Wednesday, 9th of March 2022)
Working in tech doesn’t mean you have to be fluent in code. Look at your everyday life and how tech is already woven into it – you’re already tech savvy. So take the chance to peek behind the curtain of the great tools you already use. And no worries, tech companies can be more sociable than you think.
Katharina Hassemer, Teamlead Marketing
We have a high proportion of women and an international team. This brings diversity and creativity to the company.
Anna-Maria Schnitzenbaumer, Director Customer Success
Don’t be scared of what you have been taught about the tech industry. It’s not all about coding and product development. It is the most innovative industry that actively drives change for our future. Through tech, we can help make the world a better place!
Isabel Milbert, Senior Partnership Manager
Women are capable of achieving great things the same way as men are, gender doesn’t matter if you’re simply giving your best at what you’re doing. optilyz as company knows this well and our IT department is also a great proof.
Kama Swoboda-Wietrzyk, Junior Frontend Developer
Don’t worry about other people’s comments and pursue your passions and dreams, even if they are different from what is expected of you.
Urszula Strojny, Junior Frontend Developer
For me, women in tech stand for strength but also for normality. It’s no longer the case that tech is a purely male-dominated scene. More and more young women and girls are interested in STEM studies and I think we should encourage this interest to achieve a balanced number of men and women in tech professions.
Rebecca Schmidt, Junior HR Manager
Working in tech gives you a lot of possibilities to build a career that is flexible, creative and relatively lucrative.
Adrienne Gispen, Senior Product Manager
