International Women’s Day 2022: Business Leaders Offer Their Thoughts on How We Can Break the Bias
With today being International Women’s Day, female tech executives address how businesses in tech can encourage diversity and inclusion and ultimately break through biases.
International Women’s Day encourages people everywhere to reflect on the progress that we are collectively making when it comes to achieving gender parity. But there’s still some way to go with the World Economic Forum predicting that at the current rate, it may take over 250 years to close the economic gender gap.
However, by making the right changes now, we can accelerate progress and force change on a larger scale.
Below, female business leaders from around the world offer their thoughts on how companies can encourage equality within the workplace and ultimately break the bias, as the day’s theme indicates this year.
Sonja Gittens Ottley, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Asana
International Women’s Day is an important reminder for businesses to scrutinise their diversity and inclusion efforts. As a first step, businesses must establish a culture of trust, which is the foundation on which all inclusive practices can live. Crucial to this is creating spaces for employees to express themselves; where women can be vulnerable about challenges they’re facing and be honest about any changes they believe the business needs to make.
Once businesses have created this foundation of trust, they can then set out their inclusive practices. Working in tech I realised replicating the approach used for building a product when building a diverse and inclusive culture can be a powerful approach.
Treating company culture like a product means constantly assessing and evolving through direct consultation with employees, analysing data and reviewing processes and policies. Inclusion isn’t a check-box exercise and the work does not end when these initiatives are started. Much like a product, it requires review and iteration to ensure that it is successful - only then will business truly break through biases.
June Ko, General Counsel, CircleCI
International Women’s Day is a day to reflect on whether you live and work in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive world.
We’ve certainly made progress over the years, but important work remains ahead of us. From the recent nomination of the first Black woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, to companies publishing annual Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) reports, I have a lot of hope that we are creating positive change for future generations.
However, bias still exists, and to break the bias we need to call it out when we see it – in short, creating awareness with others is critical. We need to lead with empathy and get comfortable with uncomfortable conversations.
This is especially true in tech. Technology touches everything in our lives and has consequences for everyone across every background. It’s more important than ever that women and all who are underrepresented have a voice and are involved in decision making, research and technology.
We can empower each other by recognizing achievements along the way, while promoting a clear vision of how greater diversity and equity in tech is not just a box to be checked off, but is vital to designing a world that works for everyone.
Shanthi Iyer, Chief Information Officer, DocuSign
Bias, whether intentional or unconscious, makes it difficult for women to advance. It is not enough to simply recognise bias; action is required to level the playing field.
With women disproportionately affected by the pandemic, particularly those from minority Black or Asian backgrounds, it is more important than ever to ensure that businesses are taking the steps necessary to achieve more equal representation and opportunity within the workplace.
Acknowledging and eliminating bias is crucial to achieving the diversity, equality and inclusion agenda and critical in establishing more sustainable, responsible, and successful organisations.
My biggest advice for women is to know what you're good at and how to express it. It is not uncommon for women to find it difficult to find their voice, particularly in male dominated industries. When I was younger, I was particularly shy about speaking up, as I was often mocked for having a deep voice. This impacted my confidence and meant I overlooked it as a strength.
It was not until later in my career when a coach told me, "Your voice is your power. Everyone stops talking and listens when you speak." For me, that was a eureka moment. I began to practise being more succinct in my speech. I also had to learn how to communicate openly about my skills without coming across as arrogant.
Maya Tank, Business Director, DoubleVerify
To meet the theme of ‘Breaking the Bias’ this International Women’s Day, one area the media and advertising industry can focus on is improving representation. We need more women of all backgrounds leading our businesses, managing our teams, speaking at events and more.
Personally, I’m particularly passionate about bringing more young women into the industry. By creating bespoke events and initiatives, we can enable younger women to ask questions, learn about the sector and ultimately pursue a career in advertising.
Carving out safe spaces for women to talk to each other, to share experiences, to inform action taken and to mentor one another is vital. Having fantastic women in leadership to learn from has been transformative in my career—we need to nurture those connections.
This only scratches the surface of what needs to be done. We should welcome the initiative set forth by International Women’s Day and commit to doing our part and taking actions that will improve representation within our industry.
Laura Fink, VP of People, Healx
Despite 50% of the UK population being women, only 26% of all workers in one of the most sought-after sectors to work in - the technology industry - are women.
On International Women’s Day (along with the other 364 days of the year) it is vital for companies to tackle the bias women face working in technology and build the necessary frameworks to allow them to thrive. At Healx, we strive to be leaders in setting an example for this change and, as a mission-driven company working hard to find treatments for people who are often excluded from access, inclusion sits at the very heart of what we do.
We understand the wide benefits that a diverse workforce can bring. Teams from different ages, genders, races and backgrounds offer a melting pot of knowledge and experiences that a homogenous group simply do not. This has been proven in a study that found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.
The more that businesses focus on creating a diverse workforce, the bigger the impact on innovation and growth.
Companies also need to consider what it takes to attract this diverse talent. Only once employees – and potential new hires – can see themselves reflected in their work, their teams and their leaders, will they be more likely to join or stay with a company.
This means actively going out to where diverse candidates are and developing attractive growth, development and people policies that create an environment where employees feel genuinely seen and valued. It also means cultivating a culture internally that demonstrates your commitment to diversity and inclusion.
At Healx, employees are encouraged and empowered to share their unique experiences with the rest of the company - and this cycle of sharing and learning is really helping us to raise awareness and learn about the biases and assumptions people face day to day, as well as reflect on what we can do to check our own biases and show up as allies.
Kadri Pirn, Head of Engineering, Pipedrive
A UN report in 2020 found that almost 90% of men and women hold some sort of bias against women worldwide. International Women’s Day is an incredibly significant opportunity that allows people across the world to join forces to combat the inequalities, gender bias and discrimination women face. But also, it is a time to celebrate the achievements of women who have overcome these obstacles.
With the world focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic for the past two years or so, progress towards gender equality in the workforce has almost certainly taken a backseat. It is vital for business leaders to reprioritize gender equality and continue breaking the bias.
Not only that, but businesses also need to develop a culture that allows people to pinpoint any issues, call them out and ultimately eliminate the challenges to create a workplace where all people feel valued, no matter the gender, cultural background or social position.
Paula Flannery, Strategic Product Consultant, Procore
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day rings truer than ever: businesses need to break the bias and change the career stereotypes which women face everyday by offering new opportunities to learn and develop. The construction industry represents fertile ground for women to do that. And never has it been more vital to do so, especially as the construction industry’s output begins to bounce back.
However, it isn't just about putting more boots on the ground at construction sites, but opening up the vast opportunities construction offers on the whole, to women. Whether it’s as an engineer, an architect, a surveyor, a data analyst, CEO, or sales person, the industry needs to ignite greater enthusiasm for bringing women in.
Tackling the gender divide in this way not only offers a more diverse set of voices, experiences and perspectives, but also skills which lead to a more creative, fast-moving and innovative industry.
Samantha Wessels, VP of EMEA Sales, Snyk
More and more women are entering the typically male-dominated industries of technology and sales, often at graduate level, and it’s important we take the right steps to nurture and retain them. Seeing more women in leadership positions is key, while effective mentorship is equally important and something I am personally passionate about.
In order to bring even more women into technology sales, we need to “Break the Bias” that it is an environment where only men can thrive. I’m seeing a shift in the industry, where leading with empathy, a traditionally “feminine” style, is bringing out the best in people and in turn driving revenue.
If women can be clear about who they are working for and what they believe in from the outset, they’ll be more likely to stay. Progressive, forward-thinking businesses that foster diversity must make it clear for existing employees as well as new joiners that they offer an environment where everyone can thrive, no matter their gender or background.
Cindi Howson, Chief Data Strategy Officer, ThoughtSpot
As a woman, you need to be your own best advocate in a non-braggadocious way. Women are often less adept at self-promotion than male colleagues. In this world accomplishments don’t always speak for themselves, so it’s vital that women step up and take proper credit for the work they do.
One way to find your voice is to imagine how you would describe a friend’s or exceptional employee’s accomplishment: do you describe your own successes so unabashedly with your manager? Another is to bring data to back you up in conversations. This is particularly important for promotions and salary negotiations.
Data tells a powerful story of your impact, so make sure you’re prepared ahead of an interview, in the boardroom, or a campaign brainstorm. Finally, don’t aim for the C-suite: aim to do your best work that you are most passionate about and career advancement will naturally follow.