On August 26, we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, an annual event to commemorate women receiving the right to vote via the 19th Amendment in 1920.
The day, however, represents more than this one monumental shift in history. It’s a time to evaluate where additional efforts need to be made in order for women to reach full equality — especially in the workplace.
What are teams doing today to help foster an inclusive and equitable environment for women in the long term?
Content management platform Contentful, for instance, offers curated training and courses to help prepare women — and all employees — for their first leadership roles.
Megan Dumas, a product marketing manager at the meeting collaboration platform Mersive, noted the company’s consistency in creating chances for all employees to pursue projects outside of their experience.
“The variety of opportunities I’ve had the chance to work on and the personal and professional growth I’ve gained here is unparalleled,” Dumas said.
And Sunday recently introduced a space for women to network and support one another through an all-inclusive group called the Women’s Interest Network.
“The existence of these spaces goes a long way in developing an inclusive environment for women,” said Linda Schilling, a data science analytics manager for the direct-to-consumer sustainable lawn care company.
So read on with a thought for how we can best support our colleagues while celebrating gender equality and the women within our tech community.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at Contentful?
I have three fundamental rules when it comes to my career planning. The first is to not join a company or team where I’m the wallpaper. I want to drive significant impact and change and build processes, documentation and teams. The second is to work for and with people I like, because work life is better when I actually enjoy my colleagues and leaders as people. The last is to recognize when it’s time for a change, which is generally when I’m not feeling challenged or excited about what I’m doing.
I joined Contentful as a customer success manager in 2019. In less than six months, I focused on becoming a leader and was direct about my career goals with our SVP of customer experience. I shared my development plan and we discussed my goals in detail. He reaffirmed my strengths, noted areas I should focus on and asked if I would take on additional responsibilities. When a leadership role opened, I applied and got it. This journey into leadership at Contentful has been humbling and an ongoing learning experience. Working directly with leaders who have taken previous organizations public has become a real inspiration for me and something I hope to lead a company through in the next 10 years.
What professional development resources does Contentful offer?
Contentful provides professional development opportunities to all employees, including a generous education budget and on-demand courses in an internal learning portal to help prepare people entering first-time management roles.
For my transition into leadership, I took several courses from this portal that spanned different mediums such as readings, videos and podcasts. One of the best podcasts in our development portal is an episode focused on management titled, “How Not to Suck at Your Job.” Contentful has also provided all employees with LinkedIn Learning access so I still have the opportunity to explore lessons and trainings that interest me.
Tech companies must incorporate inclusivity into their values and not make it an afterthought.”
How can tech companies promote an inclusive and equitable culture for women?
Having women in leadership is important but it must be genuine. Inclusivity is crucial on so many levels and includes a critical focus on more than gender and race. Diversity drives and influences creativity. Tech companies must incorporate inclusivity into their values and not make it an afterthought.
Give women a platform to share their experiences. We can all benefit from their knowledge and guidance. Connect your female employees with mentors. The key to mentorship is being able to ask them questions and to find someone who you’re comfortable connecting with. If you’re a woman in tech, get a female mentor in tech. Shoutout to my fearless female mentor Dana Oshiro!
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at Mersive?
My career goals aren’t tied to a job title. Instead, they’re about challenging myself daily and making an impact, whether that’s working cross-functionally to come up with solutions or advocating for things that will improve our customer experience. At Mersive, I’ve gotten all of that.
What professional development resources does Mersive offer?
LinkedIn Learning has been a great resource to provide training and development in any area we are interested in or want to learn more about. I think it also allows people to grow and expand their knowledge in a flexible way and promotes a growth mindset within the company. We also have opportunities to learn and grow organically through tasks or projects outside of our experience and comfort zones.
Having the chance to be heard and your input weighed and respected, no matter who is in the room, is key to having an open and inclusive culture.”
How can tech companies promote an inclusive and equitable culture for women?
In addition to giving women a seat at the table, ensure they’re surrounded by a team that respects and values their input — regardless of their job title or gender. I think having the chance to be heard and your input weighed and respected, no matter who is in the room, is key to having an open and inclusive culture.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at Sunday?
As a data scientist, I am passionate both about the technology itself and the business advantages it can offer. Being data-driven can help businesses continuously improve, and that’s certainly been the case with our organization.
Sunday has allowed me to continue to grow my technical skills through my work writing and deploying machine learning algorithms. I’ve also been given the space to be innovative and contribute my own ideas about the future direction of the data science team.
What professional development resources does Sunday offer?
While there are resources available to help managers and employees grow professionally, I think the most important resource we have to leverage is an atmosphere that fosters open communication, collaboration and support.
We recently created a Women’s Interest Network. It’s an all-inclusive group where employees across different departments come together to network and support each other. It’s designed to create an ask-and-give environment where women can share and discuss workplace dynamics and challenges that are unique to them. The aim is to create a non-judgmental space to receive ideas, solutions, discussion and support. We also seek to shine a spotlight on women leaders and innovators at Sunday, explore community engagement, and encourage company-wide dialogue around issues of diversity, inclusion and intersectionality.
By championing the ability of women to support each other and celebrating the successes of women throughout the organization, tech companies can promote the conditions necessary for an inclusive and equitable culture.
How can tech companies promote an inclusive and equitable culture for women?
Creating women’s spaces can allow women to support each other and discuss upcoming challenges and opportunities. The existence of these spaces goes a long way in developing an inclusive environment for women.
To create a truly equitable culture, this type of support needs to exist outside of these spaces as well. For example, if a woman you work with has accomplished something, take the opportunity to amplify the success with others in your company. Advocate for the women you work with in meetings to help promote their ideas. If you are in the position to do so, help them make connections with others in the company to increase their visibility.
By championing the ability of women to support each other and celebrating the successes of women throughout the organization, tech companies can promote the conditions necessary for an inclusive and equitable culture.
