August Edition Female Tech Leaders Magazine

ISSUE NO. 20

FEMALE TECH LEADERS

MULHERES NA LIDERANÇA DOS NEGÓCIOS E NA CIBERSEGURANÇA COMO OLHAMOS PARA AS VARIÁVEIS NOS MODELOS DE CREDIT SCORING? FUTURE OF GAME DEVELOPMENT AND AI

GLOBAL PLAN FOR GENDER EQUALITY UN WOMEN

WWW.FEMALETECHLEADERS.COM

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WELCOME LADIES! by

Candyce

Costa

The world is slowly coming back to a new normal: people are talking about going back to the office, if we should or should not handshake again, if we will have to keep getting vaccinated every single year, etc Here at FTL we are still looking to the devasted numbers of women who left their careers due to the pressure to balance family and professional life. We would love to live in an era that we would not have to choose.

I hope you enjoy this edition and keep following us!

Stay safe!

Candyce Costa Founder and Disruptor

OUR MISSION

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To empower and nurture digital and tech women in business and life to achieve their true potential and connecting them to create a collaborative and powerful community.

OUR VISION To create the most collaborative and encouraging platform to accelerate the change of the role of women in business and in the modern society.

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INTERVIEWS CARNELLIA AJASIN DANIELLE OWEN WHITFORD GENEIN LETFORD LAVEENA RAMCHANDANI LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY MARIA LANDA MARLEN VON ROTH PINKY GHADIALI ROBIN ROSENBERG

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW JARA PASCUAL

ENTREVISTAS CAROLINA BOZZA ERIKA RAMOS JULIANA ARAUJO NATASHA BORGES

ARTICLES SUPPORTING WOMEN IN CLEANTECH UK FOUR REASONS FOR STARTUPS TO MAKE DUBAI THE MENA ENTRY POINT FUTURE OF GAME DEVELOPMENT AND AI UNICORN CUP PITCH LIVE GALA WOMEN TECH CONFERENCE 2021 38 REASONS BEING AN INCLUSIVE LEADER IS SO HARD ADOPTING THE GROWTH MINDSET IN BUSINESS AND LIFE

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INTERVIEW

CARNELLIA AJASIN CEO Mind Katalyst

Tell us about you and your career, Carnellia!

I am a passionate innovator, futurist, entrepreneur and advocate for all things creative, disruptive and inclusive. My curiosity about technology, business and impact was nurtured and influenced pretty early in my life. Given my mothers influence of technology, arts and business the language and activities around these subjects were very familiar growing up. Very early on during college I saw a career in technology as a vehicle for creative problem solving. The wonderful thing about the work that I do today in business and product building is a culmination of making an impact through investing and providing resources to founders and organizations creating real value in the world via innovative products that improves lives.

I am a product executive, business advisor, investor, author, CEO and founder of Mind Katalyst and Mind Katalys Ventures, a technology & innovation venture studio. From digital to physical, we specialize in applying humanity-centered principles to help clients define, design, develop and fund products that achieve business objectives, relevance, meaning and competitive advantage. My team and I help ambitious organizations, nonprofits and entrepreneurs stay relevant, understand digital trends, emerging technology and create growth through the development of meaningful software and hardware products and services that improve lives.

Prior to founding Mind Katalyst, I've held senior-level roles at such companies as Oracle, Ernst & Young and Cap Gemini – leading enterprise-wide technology implementations throughout North America and Europe. My team and I are intimately involved with emerging technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, IoT, Augmented Reality and Blockchain and are passionate about supporting global entrepreneurs and the growth-startup ecosystem, align, strategize, and execute products that improve lives.

A day in your business life!

Everyday is very different and multifaceted and frankly, that's why I love this work. I get to work with awesome mission driven team members, founders and partners with shared values while meeting with potential investors, entrepreneurs or work with our internal team on both internal and client products, operations or helping to build upon our virtual studio.

Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

Women whom has inspired me in tech: Angela Benton, Shellye Archambeau, Katherine Johnson, Felecia Hatcher, Anna Radulovski.

CARNELLIA AJASIN Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? How has the lack of women in technology has affected you?

Yes, there is certainly a diversity issue in the tech sector on many fronts starting with salaries inequities as well as the overall representation of women in the tech space at all levels. Fresh out of college and early in my career I did not expect to see many women and certainly women of color represented in technology. Technology, business and innovation was of personal interest therefore the lack of other women in the field had no personal effect on me.

My value and sense of worthiness has never been negotiable over my goals and aspirations and yes, in some environments this mentality has not always served me well. However, it forced me to be very intentional about seeking out mentors, advisors and environments where, who I am as a woman in technology was valued.

Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

Making the tech industry more inclusive for women will take the voices, action and mobility of self-determined women and men who support women inclusion. Transparency regarding salary inequity practices, combat of toxic workplace culture for example: elimination of "othering" people who are different than you, change hiring practices that are not about gender but about competency and include work life balance.

Did you encounter any problems returning to work following having children/maternity leave in terms of work/life balance, childcare, flexibility?

No I did not encounter problems returning to work because after having my children I started my own business as a consultant. For years I heard and read about women having issues returning to work after having children and I wanted to have more flexibility and work/life balance so I started my business instead.

What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

My simple suggestion to encourage more young women to pursue careers in technology is to go for it. If you have an interest in technology and want to use technology to impact or express your creativity go for it.

What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

I think some of the biggest challenges women in technology face today: capital for ventures lead by women founders, opportunities for women to lead startups, bias, lack of mentors, workplace salary inequity, confidence, relationship capital.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

My Nana (grandmother) often reminded me, "You are the sky, what the clouds decide to do is none of your business". Over the course of my life, this advice has been interpreted in many ways as I've matured into adulthood. Her messages continues to keep me grounded in knowing that no matter what life/business experiences bring, I must remain true to myself and my values. It's also a message I share to encourage founders I engage with to remain true and authentic to who they are and in accordance with their core values and virtues.

What are your plans for the next five years?

My plans for the next five years: Expand our current global client base Scale and expand our virtual accelerator, Product Katalyst (company building ecosystem and resource for growth)

NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS FACED CAN BE CHANGED; BUT NOTHING CAN BE CHANGED UNTIL IT IS FACED FAVORITE QUOTE BY JAMES BALDWIN CARNELLIA AJASIN

DANIELLE OWEN WHITFORD Founder & CEO of Pioneera

Tell us about you and your career, Danielle!

I spent nearly 20 years in large corporations in various leadership roles and then large transformation roles. I loved all of it, but burnt out in 2016 as I didn't see the warning signs. So I decided to start Pioneera and use technology to deal with the crippling issue of workplace stress and burnout. We're getting great interest, particularly as the pandemic effects continue to be felt and there is such uncertainty in work and jobs right now. Our platform is helping individuals and leaders create safe, productive and engaged businesses, which we're thrilled about.

A day in your business life!

After getting my kids ready and off to school, I scan through emails to check if there is anything urgent. I then have a 15 min (sometimes much longer!), check in with my team to see how they're all doing and cover off any key work issues. I then have a series of meetings either with customers or my team or investors. I try to keep some free space to think/plan/by curious but sometimes that is taken up with other things! I read/listen to information where I can and try not to spend too much time sitting at my desk as its not good for me physically.

Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? How has the lack of women in technology has affected you?

I think there is more of a focus on it now, so that helps. We have had to make a big effort to find women for our technical roles and that continues, so the pipeline of talent seems to be smaller. Women founded and led companies continue to get less funding than male founded and led, so that will naturally create an imbalance in the system. It also discourages more women from entering this space as its just much, must harder.

Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

Sally-Ann Williams at Cicada is leading the way both for tech and women. Leigh Gibson at ANZ bank is doing the same. There are also many great women furthering the tech cause such as Alicia Aitken at ANZ, Nicola Hazell at AWS, Lynn Crawford at University of Sydney and many many others I could name that are demonstrably making a difference everyday.

DANIELLE OWEN WHITFORD Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

I think there are two key things: more role models and more opportunities. Create opportunities and nurture women and other underrepresented groups, through them. Just creating the opportunity and walking away isn't' enough, it won't get enough traction to be successful. If you pair that with role models giving women the confidence to see its possible, then you're dealing with the internal and external obstacles. That's the key to success, in my mind.

Did you encounter any problems returning to work following having children/maternity leave in terms of work/life balance, childcare, flexibility?

It's a challenge! And one I face every day. My role was made redundant both times I took maternity leave. But both times, I did secure new roles, which I think was luck plus a lot of hard work!

Running my own businesses enables me to integrate work and life a little better and after many years of doing it, I now focus on the task at hand and don't feel guilty about what I'm not doing. My kids are doing great and my career hasn't hampered them in any way, in fact, its given them opportunities and shown them what is possible. But I have to be disciplined about how and where I spend my time. Having kids has made me super productive and efficient!!

What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

I think people see tech as very binary and structured and possibly limited. I think tech is incredibly creative, expansive and can deliver great benefit to the world. I talk to my kids all the time about tech being a way of life now, so not to fear it or think of it as something separate, but think about it enhancing our way of life. I think women are worried that its not cool or that it'll be hard and I say to them, give it a go! At worst you'll learn some skills you'll use for life, at best, you'll change the world.

What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

As I said before, funding is a big issue if you're running your own tech startup, particularly early stage, and I don't see that getting any better. Like any industry dominated by one group, women going into tech will need to be brave and courageous and get in there and get it done. There are some great men in tech too who are supporting women and other minority groups in getting ahead, so that helps create the change. I think the biggest challenge for women is to be comfortable to be themselves in a world where they don't see many of themselves. So the more women in tech, the more we'll recognise and support each other.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

I spent many years in insurance, so I understand what its like being the only woman in the room, but I didn't think too much about it, I just got on and did the job. So I would say the same here. Stop worrying that you're a women, you are just as capable as anyone else, so get in there and show the world how awesome you are. I think the more we talk about it, the more women worry, so stop talking and start doing!

What are your plans for the next five years?

Take Pioneera global so we can provide personalised, preventative help for everyone and workplace burnout is a thing of the past. Oh and raise my kids to be contributing members of society!!

THE ONLY FAILURE IS NOT TRYING FAVORITE QUOTE DANIELLE OWEN WHITFORD

GENEIN LETFORD Chief Creative Officer, CAFFE Strategies, LLC

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your career, Genein!

Being the co-chair of Women In Tech’s Creativity and Innovation learning track has positioned me to combine the best of both worlds – creativity, culture and education. That’s where I started- in education. Helping four-year-old children clap on the beat was how I started my career. I then found myself also running a non-profit for 6th-12th graders, teaching night classes at the local university, and sitting on a non-profit board with high-powered executives.

So in the same week, I was interacting with a kindergartener, then a promising teenager from a low-income area, and then I found myself sitting with a CEO who runs a billion-dollar company. I was shifting cultures day by day, hour by hour. Those positions required me to adapt and shift cultures quickly as well as think creatively. I understood how much intercultural creative skills were critical to managing and building relationships in various environments and with people with different lived experiences. I knew this was paramount for the tech field. Technology is developing at a rapid rate, making the entire field dependent upon the imaginative creative skills.

But then I realized that creative thinking is highly affected by cultural influences.

Creativity is all about connecting the unconnected. Both creative thinking and intercultural development sit upon the same skills: Open Growth Mindset, empathy, skilled observation, curiosity, perspective-shifting, connecting between commonalities and differences, and having the courage to connect, share and create.

So my specialized Intercultural Creativity™ curriculum trains the creativity skills and then transfers them to intercultural development to improve DEI development. We also work on organizational creative culture to support the continued development of these skills. I love that this is my unique gift to the tech world and that it will help our clients reclaim their creative spirit while working in unification with people from various backgrounds.

A day in your business life!

GENEIN LETFORD M.ED

Making sure the creative skills are in tip top shape for women in the tech field is large part of my work. It is a creative process within itself. As the co-chair of Women In Tech Creativity and Innovation strand and a trainer for Women In Electronics, I am constantly aware of the struggles women face in technology. I split my day up into taking in new information, experiences and wisdom that I can then turn into courses, books, and services to help women increased their creative thinking abilities. This also involves doing a lot of work in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space, because DEI work directly effects one's ability to think and contribute creatively. I also enjoy public speaking, so I also reach out for those opportunities as well. It's a full day of spreading Intercultural Creativity™.

Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? How has the lack of women in technology has affected you?

There is no question that the presence of women in the tech field is below where it needs to be. My work focuses on the direct impact that the omission of these voices causes to the creative advancement of technology. I have spoken to many women throughout my research and they have shared that at first they are surprised to be the only woman in the room on many occasions and then they are disheartened. Many women I have connected with have turned a portion of their time to advocating for a better solution at the other end of the pipeline which involves preparing young girls. I do the same as well. I started a nonprofit called Alumni360 that educates and inspires young women to become more aware of fields that are not normally in their view. We also inspire our students to work on their financial and creative literacy so they have all the tools for a successful life. The lack of women in tech leadership has also affected me by giving me more situational training to focus on. This includes increasing the creative confidence of women in the tech field. It's one thing to have creative innovative ideas but it's another aspect to be able to contribute, speak, and ideate with others, especially when you're in a marginalized group.

Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

Child development is a large part of my background and so I am keenly aware of how critical the formative years are in a person's life. Whatever a person is exposed to during the years of zero - 12 affects their foundational belief systems and how they see themselves as they move throughout the world. Making sure more of our young girls observe women in these tech positions is critical. It's hard to be something you can't see. While young people are formulating their ideas of who they are and what they could do, exposing them to other successful women who are in male dominated fields is one solution to filling the pipeline to these fields.

My work also involves restructuring mindset beliefs and seeing how stereotypes, discrimination and unconscious bias affect the creative potential of women. Research shows that when women are primed with marginalized identities they are less likely to see themselves as highly creative contributors, and are less likely to offer innovative ideas.

Therefore, working on organizational culture and making sure that women have a strong position within a psychologically safe environment is key. Confirming that mansplaining, discrimination, microaggressions, and other subtle acts of exclusion are not taking place within the workplace will help women shine as bright as they are meant to be.

GENEIN LETFORD M.ED Did you encounter any problems returning to work following having children/maternity leave in terms of work/life balance, childcare, flexibility?

Personally, I was still in education when I had my child but I did decide to go back to work after three months of being home with him. I do have other colleagues who are in the tech field that were hesitant to even start a family due to the unseen repercussions of taking time away from the workforce.

As I mentioned earlier, the most important years of a human life is from zero to 12.

Neuroscience actually shows us that the very critical years are from zero to four. Therefore, to give women, and all caretakers for that matter, the right to attend to their children during these critical years of development is to give our whole world a step ahead in making sure we have well grounded global citizens. Childcare and maternity/paternity leave are essential elements in creating the workforce of the future. It should not be seen as taboo to be present during your child's critical years, it should be seen as a badge of honor. The tech workforce should reflect that support.

What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

Going back to my research in child development, we should be aware of how we are socializing our children with assessing what is normal and abnormal. It's OK for boys and girls to play with dolls just like it's OK for boys and girls to play with LEGOS, robots, and machines.

It's also paramount for children to take things apart and put them back together, like previous generations did in the 40’s and 50’s. JPL-NASA saw that their younger engineers did not have the problem solving skills that older engineers had. After curious research, they connected it directly to their childhood play. One main way is to make sure that young girls could have childhood play that involves machines, robotics, and the new technologies that are on the emerging scene, including normal 3D play within nature.

Stories are powerful. We need more tech women to feel confident to share their story to go back to their elementary schools and other places where young people are to share their journey. The brain connects to story causing the mind to develop a schema for possibilities when it is exposed to women in different positions. Once again, you can't be what you can't see, so exposing our girls to these options as early as possible will result in a shift to have more women in technology later on in life.

What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

The loss of Intercultural creativity™ is the largest challenge of all. This is the concept that we are all creative but a lot of our creative potential is influenced by our ability to create with others and be seen as creative by others. Technology will be stagnant if all voices aren't considered important. If you ridicule an idea because of the person it comes from, you lose the opportunity and potential of that idea. I wonder how many ideas have gone to the grave because those ideas were birthed from a woman.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

Understand the power of the mind. When the mind takes on a concept or a belief to be true, it now has treatments to act out that belief. Make sure your beliefs are supportive of your goals and not dismantling any progress that you've made. Use your conscious mind and your subconscious mind to your advantage. Set your goals, speak them out boldly and regularly, and build a strong network around you that supports your progress as well. It takes a village and a team to be successful. That is the essence of intercultural creativity.

GENEIN LETFORD M.ED Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

Though there are many amazing women who have moved their sectors forward in technology, I will have to offer my own twin sister, Genae Jefferson as a women in tech who has inspired me. Growing up she loved to do technology and my mother saw that she had a knack for it. She went into astrophysics in university and is now working for a private tech company. She is one of the few women, especially few women of color, in her field at her company. Nevertheless, when she walks into a room, she owns the space. She's confident in her knowledge yet is still curious to learn more. I love watching her work and I also love bringing her in to speak to my community students so they can witness how a woman deals with struggles yet overcomes them and knows her voice and her power.

What are your plans for the next five years?

Inspiring others to live their creative potential while creating with others who may have different lived experiences is now my life's work. The next five years I see myself creating engaging curriculum, writing books, recording courses, and certifying people in intercultural creativity so that we all may have access to the best ideas from everyone. It won't matter where you were born, what gender you are, ethnicity, or any other demographic. You will have the right to connect, to create, and innovate with others around the globe. And the world will have the right to experience and enjoy your creativity. This will be my gift to the world.

What's your favourite quote?

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.” Maya Angelou.

This reminds us that we have more power than we think we have and we could stand up for justice if we choose to do so. We also have the power to reframe our mind and respond to things the way we choose.

We have power.

Want to be interviewed? clique here

IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING, CHANGE IT. IF YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT, CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE FAVORITE QUOTE - MAYA ANGELOU. GENEIN LETFORD M.ED

LAVEENA RAMCHANDANI Software Tester and Quality Advocate

Tell us about you and your career, Laveena!

The Tech world is ever growing, and I have been working in Tech for over 8+ years now.

I am a software tester and a quality advocate.

I quite like a testers role as it is a good mix of technical and business awareness roles. I have learnt a lot through her career and look forward to gaining more knowledge and at the same time inspire more testers around the world and UK as an international speaker and blogger.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

Sometimes I find when you are thrown with challenges, take them gracefully as you never know what you discover.

I think it starts from way earlier on, I mean during schooling days. IT/ICT should be a course a female student should look forward to. I have attended STEM events and I didn’t feel like IT was a popular choice. I myself did ICT till my A levels and did find it a little monotonous.

I personally feel and thank conferences specifically for women in technology that happen every year. I had never heard of these back a few years ago, but I must say these are a great platform to learn from and if you want something challenging why not prepare an abstract and apply to even speak at such events?

Likewise, being part of more STEM related webinars, workshops even attending courses can help more women gain more knowledge and expertise and learn from it if this is what interests them and could be something to pursue as their career. Changemakers as well as women hackathons so you can get a taste of what a workday could look like. Try to find a role model or be one!

LAVEENA RAMCHANDANI Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

We are very few in this field.

The first thing that comes to mind is that when I started my career in the technology world, I saw very few women in my teams. I used to be the only female and felt like we could do with more women. But I am so happy now, I see more women getting involved in tech, whether that’s speaking in public, blogging, podcasts or even supporting other women in tech.

What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

I would say to keep learning!

Also, use platforms to spread your skills and inspire everyone around the world, someone out there may be just looking for the guidance/suggestions you may have. There is always something that’s the best fit for you, think of the world as a puzzle, you will fit somewhere and feel good about it.

Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

Yes, Suman Bala, Beth Marshall, Marie Drake, Bruce Bruce and all the women in tech out there.

What's your favourite quote?

"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it" Estee Lauder

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I NEVER DREAMED ABOUT SUCCESS. I WORKED FOR IT. FAVORITE QUOTE ESTEE LAUDER LAVEENA RAMCHANDANI

LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY Co-founders of Aggie Global

Tell us about you and your business!

We are the Paisley Twins and as soon as we graduated from University we moved to Fiji to start up our own social business (Aggie Global) addressing poverty and food security in remote communities.

Growing up in the outskirts of Sydney, we lived on acreage, so ever since we were little we had chickens to collect eggs from and a veggie patch to pick fresh fruit and veggies from. I think having this exposure as kids really encouraged us to have an outdoorsy career, but it wasn’t until we went to high school that we started to consider a career in agriculture.

Our high school had a small, hobby farm on it with a few chickens, sheep, cattle, pigs and small plots of land for the students to grow their own food. Zoe and I chose agriculture as electives in year 11 and 12 and fell in love with the science behind food production and the potential the industry had to address major global challenges such as climate change, poverty and food security.

When it came to choosing a career, we both wanted an outdoor job that would allow us to travel. This was met by doing a degree in Agricultural science, specialising in agricultural development to empower farmers in developing countries. Internships allowed us to visit Laos and Fiji to work on agricultural research projects. We immediately fell in love with Fijians, their community and the whole experience, so we decided to move to Fiji and start up our own business.

We moved to Fiji in 2018 after completing our degree and lived there until Covid-19 hit in March 2020. Over the last few years, we’ve built the business from just Zoe and I running a consultancy service, to hiring 2 women in Fiji, launching our online marketplace, opening up our Australian branch and feeding a whole Fijian village with all locally sourced food. Our work with Aggie Global (soon to be Aggie) has been incredibly rewarding and impactful, despite the stress associated with starting up a business immediately after graduating from university.

A day in your business life!

LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY

I don’t think any day in the business is ever really exactly the same. Although we’ve tried routines in the past, nothing really stuck so now we just try to achieve a list of tasks each day that feed into our long-term goals.

Usually Zoe and I start the day off by checking in with the Fiji team to see what their plan is for the day and if they need any help or resources from us. From there, we check our social media and emails for any messages that have come in overnight that may need an urgent response.

If we are lucky, that means sending off a few invoices or moving key partnerships forward. We then follow these up, updating our CRM, accounting systems and our communication channels as needed.

Then somehow it’s lunchtime, so we have our break with our family and furry friends. We are grateful to be able to spend COVID with our family and in a beautiful place, so we do take advantage of this during lunch. Then our afternoons revolve around long-term projects (people we may not have responded to in a while) or strategic tasks. For example, updating the business model when applying for grants, working on our content strategy or collating resources to apply for certification for us as a social business.

With COVID, we are conducting 2 delivery days a week in Fiji. Every Tuesday and Thursday our Fiji team pack orders and drop them to our courier late in the evening. Overnight the boxes travel to the nearest city, for next day delivery. We are generally on the phone to customers to check in about their orders or talking with drivers to make sure all products are delivered in time, as these include fresh fruit and vegetables and with Fiji’s climate, these can perish quickly if we don’t monitor things closely. This also means that Mondays and Wednesdays focus on finalising orders and enabling the team to meet these orders.

At the end of every month, comes reporting, both for investors and stakeholders, plus we create our impact reports for our Crowdfunding community.

Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

The awareness and work being done to encourage young women and girls into STEM during schooling years, will go a long way in encouraging women inclusivity in the tech industry, so this is awesome to see. The more we normalise girls playing with Lego or learning code during school, the easier it will be to create a more inclusive industry as women will be given opportunities at a younger age, to engage in STEM. For the technology industry to be more inclusive, it boils down to everyone in the sector observing the company's culture around them, and if they notice something, do something about it. For example, in those meetings where we were the only females present, it would have meant a lot to have one of the men notice that we weren’t speaking and then asking us directly what our thoughts were on the topic so we could be reintroduced to the conversation.

It’s a hard ask because these things are habits and go unnoticed so easily, but I don’t think we should expect someone else to initiate the change, it has to come from us.

As females, I think we also need to be more confident in ourselves so we can push through those norms and break down some of the stereotypes around us in the industries we work in.

Alternatively, having more female managers for women to approach and be comfortable talking to about potential issues within the workplace, will help immensely. We find talking to women about the challenges we face is much easier than trying to explain it to men, so ensuring workplaces provide this option is important. It also indicates to other employees the company's values.

Lastly, creating workplaces that normalise continual feedback that actively addresses issues as they come up, will be crucial for change to occur in the industry.

LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY Do you think there is a diversity issue in the Australian tech sector? If so, how the lack of women in technology has affected you starting your own tech business?

For Zoe and I, working in agriculture, developing countries and technology creates an interesting niche. In Fijian communities, men generally make decisions about the farm and what gets grown, whilst women may sell produce or do the heavy labour with little managerial input.

Despite this, we have been well respected when working in Fiji. We think this is because we are foreigners and people are more lenient to us breaking out of societal norms. The thing that shocked us more was the number of proposals we received from men in Fiji when we were working in remote communities. It was uncomfortable but even when we chose to study agriculture, we would get far too many Australians asking if we were studying agriculture to “marry a rich farmer”. I think these gender stereotypes exist in all industries and staying true to ourselves was the best way to ‘prove people wrong’ about these beliefs.

Following on from working in Fiji, where surprisingly people were really open to our ideas and work, it was more of a shock coming back to work in the Australian tech industry.

We only work in e-commerce so aren’t heavily technical, but when we started Aggie with a tech solution in mind (an AI app of course!), we were constantly spoken to through our male counterparts. There were many meetings where Zoe and I were the only females present and we felt that our perspectives were ignored, which is pretty disheartening.

I do think this is shifting, and thankfully we didn’t feel too put out by these meetings, we were more shocked that as a ‘developed’ country we had a lot more work to do in this area.

Being young also allowed us to bring our generational equality and beliefs into situations that traditionally had gender biases. Our positive and inclusive mindset has really helped us overcome some of the challenges we face every day.

Did you encounter any problems returning to work following having children/maternity leave in terms of work/life balance, childcare, flexibility?

At Aggie we strive to create a work environment that is flexible, where our 2 employees in Fiji, who are mothers themselves (one of which is a single mother of 2), have the ability to take time off to care for their families. We provide flexible work hours (and pay schedules) as we trust they will give us 100% when they are working. This is important when life comes up and they need to pick up the kids from school or attend a daughter's perfect presentation. We believe that having these flexible work hours go a long way in allowing women to maintain jobs in the tech industry, especially now with so much work being done remotely and at home. I think COVID has really helped many businesses realise that working from home can be beneficial and potentially create more productive employees within the tech industry. With WFH and flexible hours, there needs to be trust from the employees' manager.

For ourselves personally, we do try to stick to fairly typical work hours. Running a marketplace generally comes with an expectation to be ‘on’ all the time. But we find if we are replying to customer inquiries over dinner or as the first thing we do in the morning, we just drain ourselves and aren’t connecting with our family around us. So we’ve set up boundaries for ourselves to stick to, to prevent burnout. It’s hard to stick to but knowing that most of the deadlines we set for ourselves aren’t mandatory, really helps alleviate the pressure we put on ourselves to get everything done immediately. Also taking time off over the weekends to recharge through reading, art or gaming, and having meaningful time with family and friends, is important for us.

LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

Just go for it. Trust yourself and believe that you are good enough to do whatever you want.

Zoe and I followed our passions and that’s what led us into the agriculture and technology industries, and we wouldn’t change anything because we love what we do every day (even when products are lost in transit or we forget to send an email). If there is something you really want to work on, we think you should take the plunge and give it a shot. At least then you’ve tried it and you know you did your best.

Also, not all technology businesses have a boys club culture, so don’t be deterred by this.

There will always be challenges in life so that shouldn’t be a reason not to do something. Plus you get to grow a lot as you face each new challenge and you carve a new path for someone else to follow your footsteps behind you.

What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

For us, a big thing was having the confidence to back ourselves to go out and do what needed to be done. But the irony is that we only got the confidence to do what we do, by putting ourselves in the deep end and just doing what needed to be done. So for us, the biggest challenge we faced was getting out of our head and backing ourselves.

Other women will face completely different challenges. For example, one of our team members has never had her own laptop. So Aggie loaned her money to buy her own laptop and now she is learning all about excel and google drive and simple things that we take for granted every day, just because we were brought up in a place and family that had access to this knowledge and technology. So for many women, a key challenge they face is access to technology and the training they need to start a career in this space. So I think empowering other women and creating more awareness around this space, will go a long way to address these challenges. Also just be mindful of how lucky you are if you have access to technology and education so you have the opportunities you have, even if it doesn’t always feel like much.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

We’ve mentioned this previously, but back yourself and give it a go. If you don’t feel confident just yet, jump online and do a course so you learn a new valuable skill that will help you get the role you want.

Also, generally speaking, you don’t need to start with 10 years experience or after completing a university degree. We were still studying at university when we were working on the foundations of Aggie. So don’t hesitate to find an internship to get a foot in the door or to start with what you have. The skills you gain from these experiences will be incredibly valuable, and hopefully they will add to your network that you can leverage later down the track.

In the early days we would literally rock up to the Ministry of Agriculture’s local office in Fiji and see the top manager available. Knocking down doors and being persistent is key to getting to where you want to be. For these ‘big dog’ meetings, it’s important to remember that they are just human too; a normal person who you can talk to and build from there. It’s scary but for us this helped us step out of the car and get into their office.

Lastly, don’t hesitate to ask for help. You really never know when a friend or family member might know someone who will give you a chance or a contact to an opportunity.

LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

Our cohort from BlueChilli’s SheStarts program was filled with powerhouse women who were all working hard to make their solutions come to life. I think being a part of that community and supporting one another, really helps drive everyone through the thick and thin of it all.

During university we also meant some incredible and passionate women. From a close mate who solely wanted to work in the agtech space to a lecturer working in developing countries who really encouraged us to work in Fiji. I wouldn’t say there was anyone in particular who inspires us but we are lucky enough to be surrounded by many supportive and passionate women every day.

What are your plans for the next five years?

Even though we are steadily growing and have a consistent number of orders every week (finally!) we aren’t quite covering our overhead costs or paying ourselves a wage.

So for us, a big goal in the next 6-12 months is to be profitable and to be in a position where we can start paying ourselves a wage. Part of this plan was launching our Crowdfunding campaign recently, which we have designed to maximise our social impact in our community, whilst also creating another source of consistent revenue for the business (you can check out the campaign at StartSomeGood.com).

We also recently launched in Australia, so our goal is to create products that can sell throughout the year. We sell all Australian produced gift boxes that showcase local producers with a focus on traditional ‘Bushfoods’. Within the next 3 years, we will be aiming for 90% of bushfoods to be sourced from Indigenous communities themselves.

In the next 3-5 years we are pushing to make our we are looking to expand into other Pacific Islands. We would replicate the Fijian model and enter into Island Nations such as Samoa and Papua New Guinea as soon as we can.

Then there are always goals for our technology platform to empower our farmers further, and we hope to continue to release new versions of this every year for our farmers and buyers alike. Some features would include a farmer portal, real-time tracking of deliveries, plus cool storage and transport of fresh produce.

What's your favourite quote?

We aren’t really quote ‘people’ but this one from David Eddings Mallorean series seems fitting: “ “Nothing that’s really worthwhile should be easy, Belgarion. If it’s easy, we don’t value it; but I’m certain we’ll be able to find an answer.”

He said it with such shining confidence in his face that for a moment Garion actually believed that the wild notion might indeed be feasible.”

NOTHING THAT’S REALLY WORTHWHILE SHOULD BE EASY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM DAVID EDDINGS MALLOREAN SERIES LISA AND ZOE PAISLEY

ARTICLES

SUPPORTING WOMEN IN CLEANTECH UK 2020 was the year with the highest positive anomalies on record due to climate change. Sea surface temperature was significantly warmer, severe heat waves dominated through most of the year with temperatures soaring above normal several days in a row, an unusual fire season resulted in the worst drought in the last 50 years, intense rainfall resulted in landslides, floods and flash floods in rural as well as urban areas, deforestation has only increased in the last few years due to the fires and the list goes on. The latest IPCC report points out that there are chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5°C in the next decades, and findings also suggest that unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach. Addressing these issues is growing of major importance and it is through our individual and group action, can we tackle this urgency. This is why it is important to focus on potential solutions which could help us tackle this issue.

FiveThirteen launched their first online event with an agenda: Supporting female founders in the Cleantech industry to highlight their success and understand where investment could be best spent based on specific problem solving, potential revenue and a better understanding of a particular solution to tackle climate change. They also placed emphasis on the fact that it is vital to support the voices that haven't been heard, so that we can have fresh perspectives to address the world's greatest challenge - Climate Change. If we only ever hear from the same voices, we risk repeating the same mistakes all over again and we can no longer afford to make the wrong ones.

Cleantech goals and investment landscape Cleantech goals are to create more efficient and cost-effective products, reduce negative environmental impacts and improve the use of natural and renewable resources and includes a range of technology related to renewable energy, recycling, green chemistry, green transportation, waste and agritech, amongst others.

In the past few years investment in clean technologies has considerably grown: The total value of fundraising within the cleantech industry grew exponentially year-onyear from 2017 to 2020.

In 2020, European companies received $1.9 Billion in investment while North America raised $3.73 Billion and Asia $ 1.43 Billion Energy and Power received $ 2.1 Billion globally; Agriculture and Food $1.7 Billion and Resources and Environment $ 707 Million. $170M biggest equity round in 2020 - into InFarm 402 globally Venture Investment rounds into clean technology companies in 2020 In the first quarter of 2021, global sustainable funds attracted $185.3 billion, up 17% from the prior quarter In order to reach net-zero emissions, we must deploy tens of trillions of dollars globally into climate solutions, including the development and commercialisation of technologies focused on large-scale decarbonisation. Investing in Climate shows how action on climate change can generate inclusive economic growth in the short term, in addition to securing longer-term growth and well-being for all citizens.

FiveThirteen : event Their first event happened last month and had Theresia Harrer (PhD Investment Decisions) as a Keynote speaker, followed by 3 companies that pitched for an opportunity of investment: Oxnano - Rachel Eggington Cleantech company that develops nano-alloys for cleantech applications and is launching with a game-changing catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers.

Shellworks - Insiya Jafferjee Cleantech company that creates truly sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging. It's made from up-cycled waste and is a non-polluting fertiliser at its end of life, providing an alternative to plastic that is easy to throw away without harming the environment.

Solveteq - Ola Hekselman Cleantech company that develops a sustainable technology for recycling of automotive batteries, whilst significantly reducing the environmental impact of the recycling process.

Solveteq's aim is to significantly contribute to a safer and cleaner environment by establishing next-generation recycling practices.

The aim of the event was to give attendees a good overview of the concept of angel investing, as well as climate change/cleantech businesses and how diverse the Cleantech sector can be for investors.

One of the first steps was to have a safe environment with curated invitations, focusing on quality over quantity, confidentiality and an emphasis on learning, supporting, sharing, and collaborating.

Secondly, the women gained an understanding of the concept of angel investing, with a practical event that gave them the tools to assess businesses. The safe space gave them the confidence to ask questions without fear of being judged or “man-splained”. They had to vote at the end where a fictitious investment would go. This forced them to have to make tough decisions, to imagine being in the shoes of an investor, making these decisions.

The third step was to identify the key blockers for the lack of investment in female founders, especially in the climate change space. Women are not interested in investing for the sake of adding zeros, but do become interested in investing when they understand how this contributes to the bigger picture. This is why an area like investing to tackle climate change is interesting to women: It has the benefit of having huge potential financial upsides, while also helping tackle some of the world's greatest and most pressing challenges.

Aligning profit and purpose is a more engaging way to attract women to be investors, and we desperately need to redress the balance of investors, so that globally we can invest in a more diverse set of initiatives.

Outcome Most of the women confirmed that this event inspired them to take the next step towards becoming angel investors. We can collectively influence more women to be active in the impact and investment space Some feedbacks from the event: “We see Climate Change as an existential threat that we have no power to reverse. Yet each of us as citizens, consumers, parents, employees, leaders, investors, influencers, can - and must play our part with our different hats. Whether it's linked to the fishing industry, energy production or fashion and other forms of consumption, there are so many factors that impact climate. If we empower a diverse group of entrepreneurs to build solutions adapted to a greener future, we can stand proud of the legacy we leave behind us. A better diversity of investors means we support a better diversity of entrepreneurs and thus support innovative solutions to some of the world's greatest challenges that we can no longer afford to ignore” Olivia Sibony, co-founder of FiveThirteen.

FiveThirteen is a non-profit collaborative set up to drive more investment to women-founded cleantech companies in the UK and it has been named after the Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 13 = Improve gender diversity in order to tackle Climate Change, and has its mission to shine a spotlight on amazing female founders tackling climate change.

Learn more about them and their mission to tackle climate change here: https://www.fivethirteen.org/

FOUR REASONS FOR STARTUPS TO MAKE DUBAI THE MENA ENTRY POINT Most seasoned entrepreneurs based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will tell you to head to the United Arab Emirates to launch your tech product before rolling out your growth strategies for the region.

At 10 million residents, comprised mainly of expats, it is a sizeable test market.

Like the rest of the region, the country has a young workforce, there is high internet penetration and, according to the Oxford Business Group, users in the UAE spend seven hours online each day placing the country at number 10 globally in terms of usage. Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing estimates that over 40% of MENA startups establish themselves in the UAE. Four compelling reasons to choose the UAE: 1. Digital Transformation Policies The UAE is on an aggressive timeline to transform itself into a knowledge-based nation. The chances of success are high if you consider how rapidly the country has developed over the past 50 years. From its humble beginnings as a collection of seven statelets reliant on pearl diving and fishing to the discovery of oil in the 60s that propelled them into a new era of trade and rapid development. The country, along with other Gulf states, have been amongst the first to legislate in support of digitalization.

In 2018 Abu Dhabi Global Market announced their digital sandbox initiative to boost financial services innovation. Blockchain is also high on the agenda and by 2021 half of government transactions is forecast to occur on a blockchain platform. Two ministerial positions have been created, the Minister for Cabinet Affairs and the Future and the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence show how serious the leaders are about their vision.

2. Straight Forward Business Setup If you want to create a world class infrastructure and attract innovative companies, you simplify processes. The country’s 45 free zones are the result of such efforts. Each zone is mostly industry specific and offers a liberal business environment, supporting infrastructure and incentives such as 100% foreign ownership, tax and duty concessions. A recent example is the DIFC innovation license to attract Fintech startups to Dubai.

In 2017 the Instant License initiative was launched by Dubai to speed up obtaining a business license. There is no requirement to specify the company location provided the business is in its first year. Coupled with a business visa, eligible entrepreneurs are allowed a six-month multiple entry with the option to convert into a residency permit.

3. Thriving Tech Ecosystem The public sector driven ICT Fund has invested more than $400m in incubators, research and development, education and innovation programs. Consistent spending continues to nurture the startup ecosystem, examples include Hub71 in Abu Dhabi which offers incentives such as free office space, health insurance and subsidized housing for entrepreneurs. Dubai Silicon Oasis, the largest startup hub in MENA, offers seed funding and the Dubai based accelerator TURN8 provides follow-on investment for startups operating in robotics, nanotechnology and IoT applications.

The Dubai government even has their own accelerator program, Dubai Future Foundation, established to build partnerships between government and startups with the sole aim to develop and apply disruptive technologies.

4. Attracting Foreign Investment The UAE’s first unicorn, Careem, has truly put the country and the region on the map. In 2019 Uber bought the ride hailing platform for $3.1bn. This year’s largest exit was the purchase of Dubai based Instashop by German multinational Delivery Hero for a cool $360m.

Investment in MENA is at an all-time high with 2020 seeing a new record of $1bn invested in startups, despite a world-wide pandemic.

According to Magnitt’s Venture Report, 2020 saw fewer deals but with larger funding rounds. The UAE maintains pole position with the largest share of total funding followed by Eqypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabi. Investment by foreign investors was up 3% from 2019. Recent strong investment rounds by the likes of UAE based Fetchr and Propertyfinder will no doubt keep the focus on MENA startups.

Startup Sweden’s AccessMENA program in Dubai, 17–21 October 2021 Startup Sweden has launched their market access program for MENA with a call to female founders globally to apply. A part of The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, Startup Sweden is tasked with accelerating the country’s most promising tech startups. The program organized jointly with the Swedish Institute is free of charge and will take place during Expo2020, in October 17–21 this year. Our partner in Dubai is Astrolabs, an experienced digital eco-system builder who share the same passion as Startup Sweden for innovation and diversity.

Any questions please contact dawn.nordenblank@tillvaxtverket.se

FUTURE OF GAME DEVELOPMENT AND AI The gaming industry market is growing at an exponential rate. Today, it is worth over hundred billion dollars with eSports tournaments being the fastest growing segment. The increase in demand has put the industry at a new intersection where consumers expect more immersive, personalized and mobile experiences from the brands. Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) have rapidly trickled into the realm of game development, laying down the foundation of mobile game apps. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is now ubiquitous in real-time games and equally significant in game development to attract more customers, develop smarter and interactive games.

Ultimately, game developers aim to design a robust system that understands noise, speech, action, and much more within the game. AI techniques like reinforcement learning and pattern recognition introduce precision and allow developers to tweak the scenarios at the different levels of the game accordingly.

Such techniques are already giving way to interactive games where characters can selflearn and evolve from their action to create a narrative based on the in-game decisions players make. This is revolutionizing survival horror and survival genres.

AI technology is the piece of the puzzle that can deliver a truly realistic gaming experience to gamers. We have seen a tremendous advancement in physics-based simulations, 3D visualization techniques, and much more with the inclusion of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in games.

AR and VR are the two technologies empowering game developers to build visually appealing and interactive games. As a result, the gameplay of these games has evolved too.

Gamers expect attractive graphics and interactive environments, so developers must deliver a real-world experience. This is quite a big and complex challenge and AI is key in meeting evolving consumer expectations.

The community of game developers are always looking for innovation cutting-edge technology to enhance their creativity and technical skills. And while they were quick to adopt AI, the notion of AI games is changing quite drastically. Concepts like pathfinding, smarter function-based, rule-based AI, and the inclusion of genetic algorithms are being increasingly incorporated in games.

Another trend driving AI adoption in game development is the rise of the mobile game industry. Mobile gaming is a leading niche and developers have to build more immersive and interactive mobile game applications.

Finally, the human element can be enhanced and altogether replaced by AI. Computers are capable enough to handle all the tasks of human designers and developers effectively. AI can also select the ideal and most suitable mobile game development tools for every task.

This allows many game development agencies to reduce workload and work smarter not harder. Smart work will reduce the net cost of the whole game development process.

Mind Katalyst works with clients to help define, build and grow meaningful and transformative software and hardware across emerging technology platforms including Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and IoT. For more on how Mind Katalyst can help you scale your technology products, contact us for more details.

Carnellia Ajasin CEO of Mind Katalyst, is passionate about inventing new technology products in the emerging technology space that are meaningful and relevant. She works with ambitious organizations and businesses on the strategic application of innovation, creativity and emerging technologies to create competitive advantage, transformative impact and growth in business and society.

UNICORN CUP PITCH LIVE GALA WORLD’S LARGEST STARTUP PITCH CONTEST On 15th July 2021, Unicorn Events conducted the Unicorn cup pitch live gala, World’s Largest Startup Pitch Contest. Unicorn Events is the Largest online Startup Pitch Contest in the World, where extraordinary startups pitch LIVE to famous international VCs, business angels and Corporations. Unicorn Battles take place on a regular basis online and offline in all major locations around the world. The unicorn cup has organized more than 250+ Unicorn Battles in all major locations of the World. As per statistics, $296 mln was received in funding by the winners of these pitch decks.

In the latest 2021 edition, Female Tech Leaders Magazine got the opportunity to present itself as the Media Partner for the event and our Founder Candyce Costa had attended this session on our behalf.

Some of the best startups were selected during the Preliminary Unicorn Battles that took place online covering North America, Latin America, Silicon Valley, Asia, Middle East, Southeastern Asia & Oceania, Africa, Eastern & Western Europe this Spring. Followed by the Final round which took place on 15th July 2021. This event was organized by StartUp Network and it also partnered up with Network VC, Silicon Valley, startup Inc to ensure a smooth run. ItIt was an extremely well-organized event giving multiple startups the opportunity to grow their product and/or services. Whether it was an Investor looking for the future Unicorns to invest in, a Corporation looking for a solution that will ensure to outperform the competitors, or a Startup with outstanding solution-seeking funds - this was the go-to event for all!

In addition, the best startups from all over the world will participate in EXPO - presenting their solutions and ideas that they can explore and contact directly. The start-ups received funds from various companies such as AlmazCapital, Maersk, LeadX, Adobe, One way venture, SmartUpcapital, Azure, Hone, Arazi ventures are a few to name!

Some of the biggest VCs and Angel-Investors joined to find the best deals for the various portfolios presented and the judges represented many countries and companies such as Microsoft, Startup Network, Glocal LLC, Silicon Valley ventures, Unicorn India etc.

Matricelf was declared as the absolute winner, getting the highest grade from the judges.

They are a company that is developing a platform for autologous 3D printing of tissues and organs that significantly reduces the risk of implant rejection. Using a biopsy from the patient they develop tissues (cells and scaffold) that they can 3D print, inject or simply place where needed. Matricelf’s technology aims to completely regenerate the future of medicine.

The second position was bagged by Speedsize, which aim to deliver top web performance

by AI-optimizing eCommerce performance, with not media limits and the Third position was by Sylvan Source, which aim to build an Industrial water treatment at 1/2 the cost of a normal water treatment plant.

Other startups which presented themselves in the Finale include - Remedium Bio, Voxcell Bioinnovation, Steadysense, Eunimart, Syte.bio and much more! The Startups pitched twice to reach audiences all over the globe.

We aimed to gather all the inspiring and amazing startups to help them be heard.

Disruptive solutions from all over the globe should be noticed to make this world a better place.

Anna Fedorova Chief Executive Officer at Unicorn Events "All of us in our new normal have to rely on online channels now. Virtual events are new superpowers for startups when fundraising. At Unicorn Events startups pitch LIVE to top-VCs, make direct contacts and we help them anyway we can absolutely free of charge! It was never a better time to showcase yourself to so many great investors at once. Unicorn Events give such an opportunity to every successful founder thru its online events being the world largest startup pitch contest."

Tanvika Sankar is Female Tech Leaders Social Media and Content Development and is studying at the University of London to achieve a bachelor in BS Business and Management and has worked before at Emacity World as a Chief Operating Officer and Social Media Strategist.

In the past, she has volunteered at Girl Up and is passionate about healthier and sustainable alternatives to save the earth.

GLOBAL ACCELERATION PLAN FOR GENDER EQUALITY UN WOMEN Generation Equality Forum concludes in Paris announcing Revolutionary Commitments and Global Acceleration Plan to Advance Gender Equality by 2026.

The Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality will be launched at the Paris Forum.

It is structured around six Action Coalitions – innovative multi-stakeholder partnerships involving governments, international organizations, civil society and youth-led organizations, as well as private sector companies and philanthropic foundations. Each Action Coalition is dedicated to a specific theme to promote women's rights and gender equality worldwide:

Each Action Coalition is led by a group of Champions who commit to promoting gender equality over the next five years. They are responsible for co-designing their coalition's action plan and ensuring implementation of the commitments by 2026. On 8 March 2021, the Leaders for the Action Coalitions revealed their draft actions, which will be officially launched in Paris.

Commitment Makers will join this effort to implement one or more concrete actions: their commitments will take the form of financial, policy or programmatic actions or advocacy for gender equality.

In parallel to these six Action Coalitions, the Generation Equality Forum will launch a new Compact for Women, Peace, Security and Humanitarian Action, 21 years after its creation following the adoption of resolution 1325 by the UN Security Council.

Want to know more, click here.

If you want to read the Press Release, see below: The Generation Equality Forum Paris concluded today with the announcement of bold gender equality commitments and launch of a global 5-year action journey to accelerate gender equality by 2026. The Forum's bold, action-oriented agenda will be under-written by nearly USD 40 Billion of confirmed investments as well as ambitious policy and programme commitments from governments, philanthropy, civil society, youth organizations and the private sector. The monumental conclusion comes at a critical moment as the world assesses the disproportionate and negative impact that COVID-19 has had on women and girls. Gender equality advocates have pressed for gender-responsive stimulus and recovery plans to ensure that women and girls are not left behind as the world re-builds.

"The Generation Equality Forum marks a positive, historic shift in power and perspective. Together we have mobilized across different sectors of society, from south to north, to become a formidable force, ready to open a new chapter in gender equality," said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women. "The Forum's ecosystem of partners – and the investments, commitments and energy they are bringing to confront the greatest barriers to gender equality – will ensure faster progress for the world's women and girls than we have seen before." UN Women will maintain a critical role driving the Forum's 5-year action journey, overseeing the implementation of commitments to ensure accountability and progress over the next five years.

Speaking to mark the close of the Forum for the Government of France, the host of the Paris Forum, Ambassador and Secretary General of the Generation Equality Forum Delphine O said, "After two years of collective work with Member States, civil society and philanthropic and private organizations, we succeeded in raising the largest amount of investment to advance gender equality and women's rights ever. By implementing a new way of tackling global issues through efficient multilateralism, the Generation Equality Forum reversed the priorities on the international agenda and made gender equality, for too long underestimated, a long-term issue for the international community, along with climate, education and health. France will continue to be at the forefront to accelerate gender equality progress."

The USD 40 Billion of investments confirmed at the Forum's close represent a major step-change in resourcing for women's and girls' rights. Lack of financing is widely understood to be a major reason for slow progress in advancing gender equality and in enacting the women's rights agenda of the milestone 1995 Beijing Conference. By the close of the Forum, governments and public sector institutions had committed to USD 21 Billion in gender equality investments, the private sector USD 13 Billion, and Philanthropy USD 4.5 Billion. UN entities, international and regional organizations committed an aggregate of USD 1.3 Billion. In addition to these bold investments, many organizations made strong policy and program commitments, including 440 civil society organizations and 94 youth-led organizations. Forum organizers expect that the approximately 1,000 commitment-makers confirmed to date will be joined by many others over the next five years.

In addition to the significant commitments unveiled at the opening ceremony, the final two days of the Forum saw the unveiling of a wide range of commitments from every sector, with examples including: The United States Government's commitment to a range of significant policies and investment requests including an investment of USD 1 Billion to support programmes to end violence against women, and USD 175 Million to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally The expansion of the Global Alliance for Care, initiated by the Government of Mexico and UN Women. This now includes over 39 countries; for example, the Government of Canada's commitment of USD 100 Million to address inequalities in the care economy globally, as a parallel to significant investment in its own care system The Government of Burkina Faso's work with Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Togo to develop shared commitments related to family life education; free care for pregnant women and children under five years; and pursuing legal and social change to end gender-based violence, including FGM and child marriage The Malala Fund's commitment to provide at least USD 20 Million in feminist funding to girls education activists P&G's commitment to advance women's economic justice and rights through its global value chain by spending USD 10 Billion with women-owned and women-led businesses through 2025 The Government of Bangladesh's pledge to increase women's participation in the ICT sector, including the tech start-up and e-commerce sector, to 25 per cent by 2026 and 50 per cent by 2041.

PayPal's commitment of USD 100 Million to advance women's economic empowerment Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia's commitment to collaborate with Caribbean NGOs to advocate for the recognition of the LGBTQI+ community and to undertake region-wide legislative reform to minimize discrimination and victimization Open Society Foundation's commitment of at least USD 100 million over five years to fund feminist political mobilization and leadership The Forum in Paris, held 30 June – 2 July, engaged nearly 50,000 people in a mainly virtual format to generate action for the rapid advancement of gender justice. The convening launched a Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality designed by six Action Coalitions – multi-stakeholder partnerships that have identified the most critical actions required to achieve gender equality in areas from gender-based violence and technology to economic and climate justice. The Forum also launched a Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, and announced new gender equality initiatives focused on health, sports, culture, and education.

Reflecting on the Forum, African Union Goodwill Ambassador on Ending Child Marriage Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, said, "This week, I relived the experience of 1995, when I was a young women's rights activist at the Beijing Conference. The COVID-19 context and other barriers are now an even greater inspiration for innovation, solidarity and inclusion. I am grateful for the commitments made this week. Now it's time to invest in girls and young women even more – for resources to reach rural and marginalized communities, for technology for the public good and available to all, and for Member States' greater accountability to human rights of women and girls."

Female Tech Leaders will keep following the Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality to keep our community updated about the follow up on this forum and their commitments.

Candyce Costa Chief Editor and Founder

WOMEN TECH CONFERENCE 2021 The Women tech conference is one of the largest conferences for women in technology and related industries. It was held virtually which brought together women in tech, minorities and allies from all over the world together through an interactive platform featuring live ceremonies, keynotes, engaging panels, breakout rooms, country & chapter leader sessions, technical workshops and networking with face-to-face sessions. Women Tech Network also donates 100% of the host fees from all the events they organize around the globe to the Coding Girls Foundation. The women tech conference 2021 was held with over 100000+ women attendees, from 181 countries with 500+ speakers and mentors. The main three themes of this conference was: Work (R)evolution: Where they discussed what the future world will look like, especially in an ultra-dynamic shift caused by COVID-19 bringing massive uncertainty and threatening job security for millions. How we can stay relevant and grow in our career while keeping up with work-life integration, and finally how we can prevent compromising company values and culture ensuring team morale.

Tech Innovation: Under this theme, the discussion was about how frontier technologies are pushing the borders of what we thought was impossible, about the impacts of technology in the future and how FinTech affects the financial industry.

Purpose, Humanity and Collaboration: This theme pointed out the rapid rise in health conditions, global warming, wildfires, air pollution, climate change and how we can be more mindful towards the consumption of technology. It also discussed how we can support each other to overcome difficult times together.

This conference was a great opportunity for women all across the globe to Expand network and connect with women, minorities, and their allies in engineering and science, Explore global industry trends, tackle challenges and get inspired by fellow women in tech and experts.

They also got the opportunity to Meet with leading companies and fast-growing startups and identity work opportunities. It discussed various other topics such as Future of work, software engineering, EQ, People skills, Product, UX, Emerging technologies, Cloud Technologies, Digital marketing media, culture and leaderships last but not least, Well-being and Mental Health. It also had a special emphasis on the effect of COVID’19 in most topics making it as relevant as possible to the joinees.

Other Companies whose representatives spoke were Google, Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Uber, Lyft, Oracle, Discovery and much more. They spoke in accordance with their company's growth and the relevant themes and topics. Some of the prominent speakers present there were Velera Wilson, Felecia Hatcher, Nitasha Chopra, Upasana Gautam, Tatiana Zheltomirska, Hernan Asorey, Joy Utosu and many more.

The speakers engaged in panel and roundtable discussions to tackle challenges in trying times. The speakers were outstanding experts from the industry having broad experience working in different tech and tech-related sectors. There were also multiple live online networking sessions where the attendees got to meet like-minded experts and professionals from around the world. The sponsors of this event were able to provide 10000 scholarships and 5000 career tickets through this event. The career sessions were full of practical advice, leadership, and career tips from women who made it. From the power of personal branding to communicating and negotiating without feeling like an imposter and more, the attendees got to explore career opportunities in the available booths from the partners, companies hiring & info sessions, 1:1 networking, and more.

38 REASONS BEING AN INCLUSIVE LEADER IS SO HARD This article was written by Marissa Ellis, Founder and CEO of Diversity and was originally published in www.diversily.com blog as part of a 6-part Inclusive Leadership series. This is the fifth part of a 6-part series on Inclusive Leadership by Marissa Ellis, Founder and CEO of Diversily.

Albert Einstein famously said…

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

When it comes to diversity and inclusion, we are often quick to jump to solutions without really understanding the nuances of the challenges we are trying to address.

Momentum is growing as diversity and inclusion is injected into the consciousness of more and more business leaders. However, many leaders are still not sure what to do next. Token gestures like putting one Asian women on your website or putting a statement about diversity and inclusion on your job adverts are all positive steps in the right direction, however unless you take a strategic and informed approach you will only ever be skirting around the edges making a limited impact.

In this fifth article in this Inclusive Leadership series my goal is to open your eyes to some of the challenges associated with building diverse and inclusive teams.

When I asked Ivan Teage, an experienced technology and data Interim Leader and Consultant, what he thought was the hardest part of being an inclusive leader he shared the following.

“Seeing the great work Marissa is achieving with Diversily has made me reflect more closely on my own experiences as a leader. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the comments I’ve received from colleagues when I’ve hired women for technical roles.

These have been on the surface, encouraging, congratulatory and supportive. However, these same comments carry with them accusations of tokenism, implications of a greater risk of failure, and a warning that the decision may not sit well with others.

Hiring women for technical roles is still considered by many as an unusual or brave statement.

I now understand the importance of challenging these perceptions in others, and actively ensuring the team is supportive and supported with no exceptions, coaching others to change legacy prejudiced behaviour.

This is the hardest part for me of being an inclusive leader.”

Being able to coach others to change legacy prejudiced behaviour is indeed, as Ivan notes, a key challenge inclusive leaders face.

There are many others.

For example, what follows are 38 reasons why being an inclusive leader is hard. Each of these points is a huge topic in itself. My goal is to help you see the scope and complexity so you can choose how and where to develop your own understanding.

Being an inclusive leader is hard …

1 Because it involves having uncomfortable conversations and being vulnerable.

2. Because what many people think of as ‘normal’ is broken.

3. Because it requires you to understand and tackle issues that are not your own.

4. Because inclusion reduces trust. People trust people who are like them. You have to work harder to build trust across difference.

5. Because diversity is nothing without inclusion. You will not leverage the richness of diverse perspectives and insights if you do not create an inclusive environment where people feel able to contribute.

6. Because it requires a deep level of self-reflection and understanding.

7. Because unlearning is harder than learning. Being an inclusive leader may require you to change your fundamental beliefs, challenge your pre-conceptions and unlearn previous behaviour which may have brought you success in the past.

8. Because you need to counter your own affinity bias to proactively build your network and teams with people who are not like you.

9. Because it requires you to acknowledge your own privileges and understand the lack of privileges that you and others face. Privilege does not just mean money and opportunity. For example, it is a privilege to feel comfortable talking about your significant other, without fear of judgement or even harassment.

10. Because the voice that speaks changes impact of the words that are spoken. Your own identity will change the way you are perceived.

11. Because of the fear of saying the wrong thing. It is often easier not to say anything at all.

Speaking up, although more challenging, is what is needed.

12. Because you need to be able to distinguish between confidence and competence. Those who are not in the dominant majority will naturally be less confident, yet this does not mean they are less competent.

13. Because of imposter syndrome. You or members of your team may doubt abilities and fear being exposed as a ‘fraud’, often triggered by being part of a minority group.

14. Because you need to understand when to speak and when to make space for minority, underrepresented or more junior voices to be heard.

15. Because you need to understand and cater for intersectionality. We cannot reach gender equality if we only think about the needs of the white, straight, middle class, able bodied women.

16. Because we are all unique. As a leader you cannot assume everyone has the same needs or desires. Even within a group who have many commonalities, we are all still different.

17. Because you need to be able to support the people who don’t know what to do.

18. Because you need to challenge the people who say they are already ‘doing it’.

19. Because you need to counter the people who turn equality into politics.

20. Because you need to educate the well-meaning people who say they treat everyone equally, not realising that equity is what is needed.

21. Because of a deep history of discrimination. Centuries of sexism, racism, antisemitism, and homophobia cannot be forgotten overnight.

22. Because you need to understand power dynamics.

23. Because you need to understand group dynamics. Critical mass theory means that people are less likely to speak up when in the minority.

24. Because you need to create psychological safety to enable people to feel comfortable being and expressing themselves.

25. Because inequality has many root causes and therefore requires many different solutions. For example, tackling racism is different to supporting people with physical disabilities.

26. Because it is more than a lifetime’s work to understand the intricacies of how race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, neurodiversity, political beliefs and other factors influence our ability to thrive at work.

27. Because gender is nonbinary.

28. Because we all have unconscious biases.

29. Because it can take generations to change social norms and damaging stereotypes.

30.Because the victim (e.g. black man) can also be the perpetrator (e.g. antisemitic black man). For example Wiley.

31. Because some differences between people are a visible (e.g. skin colour) and others are not (e.g. sexuality, mental health).

32. Because there is a paradox between fitting in a being unique. It is very easy to fit in when everyone is the same.

33. Because you need to support the people who feel threatened by change.

34. Because you need to convince the people who fear that they will be worse off.

35. Because change is hard. Humans are hardwired to resist change. The brain has evolved to create automatic habit pathways. When faced with something new our brains can be resistant to change.

This is because it takes more energy to do something new than something we are used to.

36. Because you need to help the people who say, “I don’t see colour.” understand that our colour is a fundamental part of our identity that cannot simply be ignored to resolve historic issues of injustice.

37. Because pleasing some will alienate others.

38. Because an equitable future is not a past we have ever experienced before.

I could continue, but I will stop there.

We cannot climb the mountain if we don’t appreciate the scale and complexity of the mission ahead. If we understand the terrain and have the right tools will increase our chances of success.

We can no longer expect diversity and inclusion efforts to be undertaken on a voluntary basis by interested staff members (who are often from marginalised groups) on a best endeavours basis.

This is big, complex and of strategic importance. Let’s make sure that we give it the necessary time, resource and budget needed to drive the required and long overdue change.

What specifically can and will you do?

Let’s take just one of these points as an example. e.g. Point 15. Inclusive leadership is hard because you need to understand and cater for intersectionality. We cannot reach gender equality if we only think about the needs of the white, straight, middle class, able bodied women.

As an inclusive leader you need to build your understanding of intersectionality and cater for it in your approach.

Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw that recognises that certain individuals face multiple and intersecting forms of structural discrimination.

As Kimberlé Crenshaw herself puts it…

“If you’re standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you’re likely to get hit by both.”

You can learn more, in the context of social justice, in her moving TedTalk here.

An understanding of intersectionality will help you as a leader. Firstly, it is important to recognise that there are multiple forms of systemic discrimination that block people from realising equal opportunity and being able to thrive at work.

One of the most powerful things you can do as a leader is let someone else speak. Respect the voice of those most affected by issues and step aside to allow them to serve as spokespeople for their own causes. For example, if you are exploring anti-racism in the workplace, you should not only seek out and consider perspectives from people from different ethnic groups but also consider how other factors such as gender or sexuality might impact their needs or experiences.

It is also important to consider intersectionality in data collection and analysis to ensure that intersectional needs are not overlooked. For example, a staff survey may show that women in the organisation feel the environment is inclusive for them but when you zone in on black women it could tell a very different story.

As an inclusive leader you always have to be on the lookout for unintended negative consequences. Consideration of intersectionality will enable you to be more effective in this respect.

Intersectionality is just one of the 38 points listed above. Use these points outlined in this article to further your own research and use this understanding to take action that will tackle key issues and really make a difference. If you don’t understand any of these points, don’t just move on. Take the initiative to dig deeper to educate yourself.

Addressing these challenges will take both collective and individual effort. I encourage you to think deeply about how you as an inclusive leader would approach each one.

The scale of the challenge ahead should not put us off. It should fire us up to try harder and to realise that we all have a role to play. We need to invest time, money and energy into driving change. The future ahead can be bright, but we need to collaborate, to treat each other with respect and to find solutions that work for everyone.

Lene Hansen the founder of The Glass Ceiling project said…

“Often leaders don’t see their own power to make their staff feel safe and protected. This can be as simple as regular open non-judgmental communication about expectations (especially around appraisal time) or as complicated as taking on external parties to ensure fair treatment.

Making your people feel safe is key to inclusivity.”

I urge you to find your power and use it to make your team feel safe. You will see the rewards as your team performance soars.

You owe it to yourself and to your team.

Stay tuned for Part 6 of this leadership series where we’ll explore how to drive inclusive action using the ‘Diversily Inclusive Lenses’.

Marisa Ellis is an advisor, strategist, speaker and best selling author.

She is the founder of www.diversily.com and the creator of The Change Canvas, and other visual, business frameworks that are used around the world by global brands and start ups alike to drive positive change.

She helps business leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers do better business; business that is purpose-led, humancentred with diversity and inclusion at the core. Her highly rated strategic management methodology, uses The Change Canvas to connect strategy to execution and empowers high performing, inclusive teams that deliver continuous value.

She has over 20 years of experience driving transformational change in the tech sector, from well-known names such as Reuters, Barclays, lastminute.com to high growth start-ups and accelerators.

ADOPTING THE GROWTH MINDSET IN BUSINESS AND LIFE

BY SUSANNE BIRGERSDOTTER

According to science, there are two types of psyche or mindset – fixed and growth. A person with a fixed mindset is already set on his/her ways. They already have a solid idea of who they are, what they’re capable of, what they’re not capable of. They like how they live, but not necessarily their station in life. They think of their talents and skills as gifts and accept them as is and make the best out of it. They like how they do things and would never want to change any of it. They are the stickler to the rules. They accept what life has to offer and make the best out of it. Their efforts are focused on making their cocoon comfortable, rather than getting out of it.

A person with a growth mindset thinks he or she is never done. They don’t settle for what they know, own, or achieved. They will always look for new things to learn, to improve, or to achieve. They believe that their best is yet to come. They actively go out of their comfort zones and experience new adventures. They of skills and talents as something you can work for. The more you put into learning a skill or polishing a talent, the better you become at it.

They are the leaders, innovators, and are also the castaways. They don’t fit the mould and they will never blend in the crowd. They make their own rules and would forego comfort for the challenge of something bigger, brighter, and better.

The business world is full of both types of people – the fixed mindset ones occupy the rank and staff, while the growth mindset people hold the highest positions. This is not a coincidence. This is science doing its work. The positions are filled according to the personality, preferences, and mindset of the people. Leadership roles are occupied by those who have the capacity and the character to lead. While the rank and file are filled with people who are followers, sticklers to the rules, and who value comfort over challenges.

The only way to rise the ranks is to adopt a growth mindset. And the only way you can successfully run a business is by leaving your comfort zones and embracing the growth mindset. You can never reach the heights of success you dream of if you refuse to grow, leave your cocoon, and face your fears.

Most of us are born with a fixed mindset. We’ve been cosseted and protected all through our childhood and most of our young adulthood. Only a few crazy and daring would venture out of the comforts of home. But, when we start searching for our calling in life, we’re confronted by choices – stay on the well-trodden path or create one. Take the safest route or go for a wild adventure. Do what you are expected of or go for the unexpected.

Having and sticking with a fixed mindset is not entirely a bad thing. If it works for you, or if it gives you the lifestyle that you want, then it’s fine. But, for those who want to achieve extraordinary heights of success or want to significantly change their life, they will have to embrace the growth mindset.

Here are the five key differences between the fixed and growth mindset.

1. Challenges – A person with a fixed mindset sees challenges as preludes to failures and will do everything to avoid challenges, while those with a growth mindset see them as learning opportunities welcome and embrace challenges.

2. Obstacles – When confronted with setbacks and difficulties, fixed minded people tend to give up easily, while growth-minded people will persist and try to overcome any obstacles that are preventing them from reaching their goals.

3. Effort – The fixed mindset will accept capabilities and talent as gifts. It is either you have it or you don’t, and any efforts spent on learning or polishing skills are fruitless. On the other hand, the growth mindset mentality believes that everything can be learned, improved, or polished and effort is the key to mastery.

4. Criticism – A person with a fixed mindset is afraid of criticism. They are afraid to look stupid or incapable. Thus, they ignore any feedback or just avoid doing things that are unfamiliar to them. Those with a growth mindset welcome feedback and criticism, hoping to learn something from it.

5. The success of others – Persons with a fixed mindset are threatened by the success of others, while those with a growth mindset celebrate and get inspiration from their successful friends and colleagues.

The growth mindset will help you move from where you are right now to where you want to be. While you can now consider yourself as a person with a fixed mindset, you can always rewire your brain and embrace the growth mentality. The first step is taking a step outside of your comfort zone. Believe me, it is also the hardest.

Comfort zones are beautiful places, that is why we stay there as long as we can. Everything there is constant, just as the way we like it. But nothing changes and nothing grows from there too. If you want to achieve greater heights of success, learn new things, and experience a different sense of fulfilment, you’ll have to venture out of it.

About Susanne Birgersdotter Susanne is a Swedish self made entrepreneur and investor, has gone from designing her first app from her kitchen table to becoming one of the most influential entrepreneurs and brand builder within 7 years. Susanne’s strong instincts and intuition has helped her grow her companies including designing a #1 ranked app and founding IGOTCHA, SthlmAppLab, SBDM & Birgersdotter Innovate. Susannes biggest passion in life when she's not building business is Female Entrepreneurship, Health, Fashion - Tech and food.

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MARIA LANDA SDM Amazon

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your career /business please?

I have being at Amazon Toronto for almost 3 years, currently with the Associates Technology and Innovation (ATI) team, Customer Service. I'm currently managing the Associate Performance and Engagement Tech team, a brand new team, using Native AWS and Machine learning, finding innovative ways to improve Customer Satisfaction.

I really like working for Amazon as it keeps me on my toes, the pace that we move here is quite fast. What excites me the most is to create innovative products that will bring customer satisfaction, working backwards from the customer perspective and delivering great solutions to our customers.

Previous to Amazon, I had my own company and also joined the corporate world-leading software development teams for other companies such as Microsoft, Blackberry and implemented Digital transformation at Canadian Tire and Rogers Telecommunications. In my last role I was a Director, managing 4 business units.

In my spare time, I like to read, do yoga, learn new things and spend time with my husband and my two kids. We love to do things together as travelling (before COVID), riding bikes in summer and doing some skiing/skating during winter.

Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? How has the lack of women in technology has affected you?

Yes, I still think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector, women in technology are still a minority group. It affected me, especially when I started my career as I felt I had to work harder to demonstrate that I had the skillset and the experience to have a voice and a seat at the table. Studies have shown that having diversity in teams makes them stronger, have multiple points of view, build better products and services and they are overall more successful. In one of my previous jobs, I was asked to take notes or bring coffee which is a stereotype I would love to change. In the past few years, I have made an effort to have more diversity at Amazon.

A day in your business life!

MARIA LANDA

I start my daily early in the morning around 8am. I like to organize my day, complete my pending action items, check emails and be prepared for all my meetings. I also like to check our team dashboards and metrics, check interesting tickets to learn something new. Then I start my meetings, I usually have 1:1s with my directs and skip levels. I really enjoy talking to my team about career progression, challenges, projects or just to catch up. Then we have project meetings, operational excellence reviews and also my business unit sessions, with the ATI leaders located around the world. As we are virtual at the moment, I also incorporated ice breakers for our team meetings, so we can know each other better. Lately I have also incorporated brainstorming sessions with my team, so we can all tackle concerns or complex topics. During my day, I also have mentorship sessions with people outside of my org or even outside of Amazon. Mentorship has been a very important part of my career and I'm doing my best to give back. I usually plan at least 30 minutes for myself to ensure that I have time to reflect and prepare to be a better Manager. I also enjoy when we have the Social's meeting at the end of my day, which are an opportunity to have fun with my team. During the day, I do my best to update a list of wins and opportunities, this helps me to balance my perspective on things as to remind me, that I have accomplished great things and to reflect on the opportunities that I still need to learn from.

Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

As leaders in tech we can all need to do our part. Is about having role descriptions that are appealing to women, to ensure women resumes are being look at working closely with your recruitment team. Is to organize talks for women about the roles, their career in tech, bring light to the successful tech stories to women, so other women can see this is possible and rewarding. Is about enabling mentorship programs for women, to spend some time mentoring other women to help them, from their career start and all through their journeys to ensure they are successful. Finally, is also about educating our male colleagues on the importance of being allies to women, to support them and identify when they also need guidance to support women, understand us and our unique challenges. This will create an environment for women to enter and succeed within the tech industry.

Did you encounter any problems returning to work following having children/maternity leave in terms of work/life balance, childcare, flexibility?

Finding a new balance in my life after having my two kids was a very important part of my career. In my case, I had the opportunity to have 1 year of maternity leave, which enabled me to spend time with my kids and also to plan and prepare for that time when I was ready to go back to work. I feel lucky and blessed to have my husband that supports me and my career, but also that is a very hands on Dad that is always there to help us. In my case I created a plan that worked for my family. This meant daycare was planned for even before I went back to work and sharing responsibilities with my husband. I was very open and clear to my Manager that I needed to have an early schedule in order to find my work/life balance, and I got the support I needed. Even today, I still protect my time, especially after my day ends, to ensure I have time to spend with my kids, prepare dinner, do some exercise with them every day, etc.

MARIA LANDA What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

Do not be afraid of the Tech industry. Based on conversations with young women, I found that they felt that the Tech industry is sometimes very intimidating. Many women feel they do not belong, even without trying. So my recommendation will be to push back on the stereotypes that this is a male-dominated industry and help us to change it. If you have any questions please reach out to other women already in Tech, most women are more than happy to help answer any questions, or give you tips. There are multiple choices to have a career in Tech, so I would also suggest to do your research and find the options that are aligned to your career goals, your dreams and aspirations. Believe in yourself, and push down these boundaries, be persistent, this is a very rewarding career and is totally worth it.

Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

I feel we as women need to support each other, and I feel so happy when I hear my female friends in tech and colleagues are either getting promoted, or are finding great opportunities, or are speakers at a conference, is like their achievements are my achievements and I feel so proud of all of them. Now having Software Development Engineers In my team also makes me super happy and inspired by them, as they are incredibly smart, passionate and have great ideas.

What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

- Equity, being offered the same opportunities as men and to be paid the same as men for the same job we do.

- Being supported and understood, as women, we have unique challenges as having kids, supporting our families, taking care of our kids, etc. Ideally, our partners, our managers and our companies need to understand these challenges, acknowledge them and establish the mechanisms to support us, to ensure we will not only join but stay within this tech industry.

What are your plans for the next five years?

Learn and grow, I would like to take on more/new scope, new projects and deliver them successfully. I feel every opportunity will help me grow.

What's your favourite quote?

I read this from @leaininorg via @sirjohn To the women who are aggressive -> Keep being assertive.

To the women who are bossy -> Keep on leading.

To the women who are difficult -> Keep telling the truth.

To the women who are too much -> Keep taking up space.

To the women who are awkward -> Keep asking hard questions.

MARIA LANDA What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

Do your research, investigate all career options, opportunities and career paths you can find within the Tech industry and find what aligns to you Find the right education that fits your need, and do not be afraid to go back to it, continuous learning in this industry is very important.

Don't be afraid to take on new projects, new opportunities, new challenges, just try it and do your best. Otherwise how would you know if this was actually something that will help you grow?

Find mentors and sponsors in your career, sponsors are your Managers, make sure they know your career aspirations and goals, they will support to you to get promoted or to find that new challenge that you were looking for. Mentors are those, usually outside of your direct team, that will bring a different perspective to your career growth. They will help you with tips, ideas or experiences to address a milestone, a challenge, that you might have at some point in time in your career.

Note: That these are my answers and I they do not represent the company I work for.

TO THE WOMEN WHO ARE BOSSY -> KEEP ON LEADING. FAVORITE QUOTE @LEAININORG VIA @SIRJOHN MARIA LANDA

MARLEN VON ROTH Sales Director Cloud EMEA, SUSE

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your career /business please?

I am originally from the Black Forest in Germany and moved to the UK after graduation..

Whilst initially it was the lure of London and the opportunity to improve my English and learn about the British culture, I realised early that a sales role would provide me with the career challenges and fulfilment I was looking for. From my first role with Red Hat, I then climbed the ladder of the sales environment within multiple software companies including Red Hat, Tripwire, EnterpriseDB and Docker. I joined SUSE, a multinational open-source software company that develops and sells Linux products in 2018 to lead a team to promote the adoption of their SUSE Cloud Application Platform. Today I am working with SUSE's Tier 2 channel partners to develop their business across the EMEA region. I am a passionate and diverse leader responsible for creating a digital strategy. Focussing on building high performing teams, ensuring diversity across the business and developing go to market strategies across multi-channels.

In my spare time, I am a passionate advocate focusing on STEM initiatives and an active speaker in the community. Over the last years, I have been speaking at multiple conferences, such as the Women in Sales Awards and Women in Sales Summit in London and many others. I have been named in the CRN Women of the Channel list 2020 and 2021 and was a finalist by Computer Weekly's Women of Excellence Awards as Transformation Leader of the year.

What are your suggestions to encourage more young women to pursue careers in Tech?

It is important that we continue to have role models, young women can relate to.

Also, we have to celebrate and embrace the qualities women can bring to the tech industry.

Women around the world have been able to bring a new perspective to the tech industry, and their skills and experience are just as valuable.

A day in your business life!

MARLEN VON ROTH

Well no day is the same. And certainly a day in business life during the pandemic is very different to the way it was before. I am an early riser, so I get up early in the morning and after having my cup of coffee, I look at what I want to achieve during the day and the priorities. I make a to-do list! Very likely I already have this to hand as I like to plan the evening prior and what the next day looks like. It is all about having a plan. I check what went well the day before and what didn't and how I can make this day better. Of course, plans can change so I am adaptable. Then I look at any emails or send emails out which I have on my list. I then get my kids out of bed and take them to school. Quite often I rush back as the first call would already be waiting in the calendar. As we are in the pandemic and zoom fatigue has taken over, I try to avoid back to back calls the whole day. This simply results in less flexibility to manage urgent things popping up. I make sure I have some white space between calls, so I can be reached by my team as I want to be always approachable and make sure I am there to support their business needs. I usually have a quick break for lunch. A few times I have managed to get out for a short walk, which does clear your brain and this is something I am telling myself I have to do more often. What I love about my job is that no day is the same, it is really fast-moving, full of meetings, activities and planning. Then before I know it is the evening and time to get the kids from school and their clubs. Quite often and especially since this pandemic hit, I go back online later in the evening and do a few things I may not have got around to and I start planning for the next day.

Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? How has the lack of women in technology has affected you?

There is for sure a diversity issue in tech sector and we have a long way to go still. For example here in the UK, women account for just 17 per cent of workers in the tech sector, with the proportion of women working as system designers and IT business analysts falling to 14 per cent, and further still to just 13% of programmers and software developers (according to the Office of National Statistics). This has really affected me over the years working in the tech industry. It automatically makes you feel more inferior and compare yourself to your male counterparts. So I really had to learn not to try to be like the male in the room, but to learn to embrace who I am and what I can bring to the table what my male counterparts cannot. Such as being a good listener! We have to be dominant, courageous, and fearless to work in tech.

Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

Tech companies are starting to realize that hiring women and underrepresented minorities have benefits that reach beyond a socially-appropriate PR effort. By doing so, companies can increase revenue, improve retention rates and boost productivity from both tenured and new employees. So if leadership teams want to build a truly inclusive workplace, they need to put the tools and structures in place to help all staff to play an active role in the organization.

It starts with the hiring. Make job postings more inclusive. According to the Harvard Business review, most women will only apply to a position when they meet 100% of the criteria and men are more open to opportunities and will apply to jobs even if they meet 60% of the requirements. So it starts with the job description and the language you use. It should have a neutral tone and avoid using sensational language that might discourage potential candidates from applying. The hiring process actively needs to recognize diversity and embrace a wide range of qualities and perspective that candidates bring to the organization.

Last but not least, role models are so important. Hence we need to celebrate these role models and make sure they are seen. Pave the way for the next generation to come.

MARLEN VON ROTH Did you encounter any problems returning to work following having children/maternity leave in terms of work/life balance, childcare, flexibility?

There is no doubt that being a working Mum is difficult. When I had my first child I always intended to come back after maternity leave and I was looking forward to it. Being as committed as I was prior to having children and if not more committed when I returned after maternity. However as much as I got the feeling my employer wanted me back and was pleased that I returned. I started to face some challenges along the way. Back than 12 years ago working from home was not as common as it is now (or at least the pandemic has created a shift now), so I had to be 5 days in the office when returning. Being in sales meant many hours were expected and I worked in the city of London back then and had a long commute. I balanced this out by getting in the office very early, so that I could leave the office in time get my son from nursery. This was noted, as prior to having children I would be the first in the office and the last to leave. So by leaving on time I got the feeling that this was seen as not giving your 150% which never was the case. Like many other working parents, I had this constant guilt you carry around with you of not doing a good job at work or being a good parent. The saying women are expected to work like they don't have children and mother like they don't work, has for some truth. Over the years I have managed to balance it all out, being protective and intentional about your time is important. Getting rid of the need of perfection and learning to ask for and receive help. All parents are doing a great job, whether we work or stay at home and we all should be proud of ourselves.

In the early days as a parent, I used to try and hide from new colleagues and the business that I have children. If applied for a new role I would not mention it as I felt I might be judged or that they may think I am not the right candidate and cannot do the job to the fullest having children. However, I then realised I am not helping other mothers or anyone by doing this and I now embrace being a working mother and see it as an additional skill set. In actual fact, it has made me much better at my job. I can better multitask prioritise and relate to others.

Are there any particular women in tech who have inspired you?

When I started in tech in 2006 there weren't many women and role models out there. Most of the time I was the only women in the room (quite often, that still is the case). So if I would have been asked the question back then, I likely would have been only able to name a few if not none. Now I have a bunch of role models who inspire me every day and who I look up to.

First of all our CEO Melissa DiDonato, who is leading by example and making sure more women follow into the tech path and she is also encouraging young girls to be more courageous. I also admire Gretchen O'Hara from Microsoft, she is very humble down to earth and takes a people first approach. Gina Fratarcangeli from Accenture has really good and practical advice on how to thrive and her Ted talks and presentations are amazing. She talks openly and honestly about obstacles she had to embark in her career and how she has overcome these and grew by learning from experiences.

What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

The challenges that female professionals in the tech field are facing today, are pretty much the same they have been facing for many years. Women are still sparsely represented. Other challenges include, biases and prejudices, lack of confidence, lack of role models and mentors, lower wages, bad attitude to family planning and maternity leave. However above all of these one of the biggest faced is just being taken seriously due to gender perception.

MARLEN VON ROTH What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

Young women starting their careers in tech have already overcome numerous of hurdles, stereotypes and generalisations.

Walking into a classroom, conference hall or new office for the first time can be intimidating.

When you are outnumbered and relatively unknown you may hesitate to be yourself. Don't.

A lot of women, especially feel like they can't be themselves. They have to be something different from who they are. Try to be comfortable in your own skin, be genuine and true to yourself. Authenticity is key. You don't need to change to be accepted and you will learn respect for your accomplishments. Putting on a mask is usually unsustainable and can lead to burnout, embrace who you are and so will others.

What are your plans for the next five years?

While I don't have an exact script for a 5 year plan, (change happens all the time and you have to roll with it) it is however important to me to always be learning and growing. I would love to take up more responsibility at work and grow into a bigger role. I want to do that by learning from my experiences. I wake up every day with trying to be a better person than I was the day before. Learning from the people around you is important. I am eager to keep meeting new people and learn from those people around me who inspire me. Lift while you climb is very important, always make sure to help others along the way and support their careers and growth. That is the biggest reward you can get. A big wish is to support that more women go into tech and tech sales. Encourage the next generation of leaders. On a personal basis, in 5 years my children will be teenagers and I want to make sure I support them so they grow into responsible adults and make sure I prepare them as much as possible for life and the challenges they may be facing along the way.

What's your favourite quote?

In the end, we only regret the chances we never took. It will always be ok in the end. If it is not ok it is not the end.

It is very important to stay positive no matter what is thrown at you. Appreciate everything happening to you and see it as teaching you patience and wisdom. Live each day to the fullest and not take life to seriously.

IN THE END, WE ONLY REGRET THE CHANCES WE NEVER TOOK. IT WILL ALWAYS BE OK IN THE END. IF IT IS NOT OK IT IS NOT THE END. FAVOURITE QUOTE MARLEN VON ROTH

PINKY GHADIALI netwomen.co CEO & founder

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your business please?

Like many of you I started off life quite well, despite being told I was shy yet intelligent, I knew my parents loved me and were proud of me. I suffered from anxiety from about 6 years old when I was bullied for the colour of my skin and my unique name. Somewhere in my teens I become insecure, self-conscious and lacking in confidence. I went to university and read Optometry. Then I met someone and I was married for 5 years in my 20s in which time I built a house, bought a biz and had a son. I divorced my abusive husband 2 weeks after my son was born and became a single parent, moved house several times in 1 year with my then 1 year old which was a very difficult time for me.

Life/universe had slapped me on my face- hard, which broke me and then I had to pick up the pieces. I lost all of my confidence and my identity after giving birth and going through my divorce. I hit rock bottom as my anxiety started to take over my mind and my body. I was scared and I felt betrayed and lonely. I thought to myself, either I choose to be a victim and let those feelings rule me or I consciously choose to rule it. I wasn’t going to let it define me this time. I decided to move to Edinburgh when my son was 18 months old because I wanted to start a new, happy life for us. So, I found a job, moved flats 3 times in 1 year, had no friends or family to help or support us up here in Edinburgh. I remember it clearly as the darkest, loneliest and scariest times of my life. However, I learned so much from it, about myself and life in general. Sometimes things don't work out the way you expect. And that’s ok. I am not that person now. Some of you may know those feelings of self-doubt and lack of confidence through fear. Fear can be debilitating. At that time, I felt I was the only one who was going through this which made it worse. I think all of us go through this feeling of lack of confidence and feeling alone at some stage. Which is why I am passionate about helping people who have been through a time where they have lost their confidence and lost their true authentic selves along their way. We change ourselves for 1 of 2 reasons inspiration or desperation. I changed for desperation at first then inspiration. I was no quitter and I was ready to make a difference. That was 11 years ago and since that time I have been in my never-ending pursuit of self-care, self-belief and self-learning.

PINKY GHADIALI Going through the divorce with my 2-week-old son was no easy task. It was a steep learning curve and a big life lesson for me. Instead of focusing on what I am getting out of life, I decided to change my purpose into what am I becoming? To have more than what I have, I had to become more than what I was. If I didn’t have the resilience to get through the bullying, emotional and physical abuse of my previous relationship, I would not be where I am today. When you view your situation and use it to catapult you to greater heights, that’s when the magic happens. 'Everything you seek is within you'.

It is odd to look back at the person I was then because it’s like I was a different person. I can’t even recognise the person I was. Having gone from feeling like I was never enough to being more than happy with who I am. It is an amazing feeling which is why I want that for every single one of you. My reason for empowering women with my mindset consulting comes down to how lonely and underconfident I felt when I started my entrepreneurial journey and how difficult it is being a mum, chef, housekeeper, PA, and much more! I decided to help women who are in a similar situation because I get it. I was there once too.

Motherhood is a happy yet difficult time for many ambitious women for many reasons. Mainly because you don't know what to expect and you are in unfamiliar territory. All of us, no matter how experienced or accomplished we may be, have fears that can hold us back. It's part of our shared humanity. I empower and coach women through that experience, to feel more confident about themselves, to struggle less. True inner confidence is about really loving yourself and feeling great about who you are and everything will fall into place. No matter where you are now, there is always another level to reach, and to raise the bar you need to stay laser focused on your objectives, whether those goals are career, business or personal.

The best thing about making mindset changes is that it is quick easy and painless. By making small simple steps but the benefits are huge and life changing.

Pinky is a women’s transformational life and business coach working with ambitious career driven women and entrepreneurs across the UK and globe. She is passionate about helping her clients become empowered to achieve personal and professional goals with purpose, drive and vision. Whether it’s asking for a promotion or chasing leads and closing business deals, believing in yourself is the first step towards creating a life you love. She will help you create your killer mindset that dismisses your inner critic and overcome imposter syndrome to put you on the right track for professional and personal success. She is a master practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) trained with the co-founder Richard Bandler and qualified with Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) in coaching and mentoring. She founded netwomen.co in January 2020, a global online community supporting ambitious women who feel alone, isolated or stuck in business or careers to help you promote yourselves, increase visibility, build relationships and generate leads to create new professional and business opportunities. The platform is for personal development and skill sharing, interviews, videos, mastermind groups and online networking. Join us and your membership will contribute to our foundation to coach women who have been in toxic situations at work.

A day in your business life!

My day usually starts at am. I work on myself a little everyday, I practise self care daily and that begins with my mind. I meditate and I journal for 10 minutes. I learn more about myself every day, I eat healthily most of the time and go crazy some of the time and have fun. I think a healthy lifestyle is much more than food, its your mindset. Your mindset is the most powerful tool for better wellbeing. So I think of my brain as a muscle and I flex it everyday. Part of my daily ritual which is now become a habit is keeping a gratitude journal, train with a PT, go to the gym or practise yoga and breathe! Movement and nature is so important, even going for a walk can help you clear your head if you are sat in front of the computer all day, like me! I have also invested in a standing desk, what a difference. I usually have zoom fatigue if I am not managing my time properly so I take breaks in between my meetings. I maintain this by surrounding myself with positive people in the community and investing in a coach.

Successful people have coaches so if you want to be successful then you need to do what

PINKY GHADIALI Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? What would your suggestions/ideas be to encourage more girls/women to the STEM and Tech industry?

There is a huge diversity gap in the tech industry and if we don't do something about it the UK will get left behind. There is no surprise that women and minorities are underrepresented. We know that five per cent of leadership positions in the UK technology sector are women and only four per cent of the UK tech workforce is black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME). Many companies in the tech sector still aren’t making diversity a business priority.

Although recruiting diverse talent is improving, we need more encouragement for those from minority ethnic backgrounds to step into technology roles and drive better representation.

Which in turn means diversity of thought and leadership, better products and more profitability. Joining supportive communities like netwomen.co which help women step into their power and overcome imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs through coaching and mentoring.

How do we as women gain more confidence and defeat the impostor syndrome or any other factors that keep us disencouraged to pursue a career in tech?

Overcoming imposter syndrome is working on your inner self and changing the old story that you keep telling yourself. We as women are much more capable than we think and it's usually the negative inner critic that holds us back from breaking the glass ceiling and stepping into our power. Surface level coaching will help but if the inner work isn't done then the feeling of a fraud or imposter will come back just like an elastic band. I work with women using NLP and hypnosis techniques to break the cycle and reframe your thoughts.

What are the leadership traits that you believe are unique to being a female leader?

Being a Female leader in a male dominated world requires strength and confidence. We need to have the courage to believe in ourselves when no one else does. Strong female leaders are self aware and transform people's attitudes by aligning them with purpose and meaning. For me leadership is the ability to focus on elevating others and being humble.This enables female leaders to unlock other people’s potential and promote effective cooperation on their teams.

What do you think are the main challenges and opportunities for the next generation of women leaders?

I think the pandemic has highlighted the lack of diversity in all sectors, not just tech. If we work together to help, support and inspire each other, we can make a difference and close the diversity gap. There is a huge reservoir of untapped female talent that is being wasted.

We want to change that at netwomen.co and encourage women to get visible and promote themselves.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want to advance her career in tech?

Believe in yourself, surround yourself with likeminded supportive people and get a coach!

THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT WE AS WOMEN CAN ACCOMPLISH FAVOURITE QUOTE BY MICHELLE OBAMA PINKY GHADIALI

ROBIN ROSENBERG, PH.D. Live in Their World CEO

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your career /business please?

I’m a clinical psychologist and CEO and Founder of Live in Their World, a company that uses virtual reality to address issues of bias and incivility in the workplace and upskill employees for respectful engagement, as well as provide leadership training for civility and inclusion. I’ve had both psychotherapy and executive coaching practices. I’m board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, and am an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. I’ve also written psychology textbooks for college students and taught psychology classes at Harvard University and Lesley University.

I’d been interested in virtual reality (VR) for years, and was the lead author of a study to investigate whether VR could nudge people to be more helpful (answer: yes). I’ve combined my interest in immersive technologies with my coaching and clinical experiences to foster in employees a deeper understanding of how and why other people may feel slighted or marginalized, and how to approach such interactions differently. In the part of our services that incorporate virtual reality, we literally put users in the position of people from various demographic groups so they can experience the disrespect that can arise for people from those demographic groups. This subscription-as-a-service training program helps employees develop habits for civility and inclusive behaviors at work, which support efforts toward equity, inclusion, and diversity, as well as increase employee engagement and belonging. In turn, these elements of organizational culture are associated with increased productivity, better problem-solving and innovation, and increased sales.

As a psychologist, I focus on behavior. So, we assess how employees behave toward each other. Our goal is to help employees develop habits of respectful engagement. Similarly, our workshop series on Leading a Hybrid Workforce helps leaders and managers develop best practices, avoid known pitfalls, and create new habits to lead hybrid employees well. We also offer a workshop series on Leading With Respect, to help leaders develop the habits that lead to increased engagement and better performance of their workforce. For leaders who want individualized training on these issues and challenges, we also provide executive coaching.

ROBIN ROSENBERG, PH.D. A day in your business life!

My days vary, depending on what has highest priority on the given day, though I’m always metaphorically touching something related to our offerings, to marketing, to sales, and to operations every day. I may spend a chunk of time doing a deep dive in new program offerings, such as new tracks (and new virtual reality modules) to our SaaS program. Or I may be speaking at (virtual) conferences or doing webinars or trainings, working with Marketing about a new campaign, doing sales calls, talk with our head of engineering, or listening to one of our podcast episodes before it goes live.

Do you think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector? How has the lack of women in technology has affected you?

Yes, I think there is a diversity issue in the tech sector. Some of it arises at various points in the talent pipeline. In terms of recruiting, bias that leads to a lack of diversity can arise based on the words used in job postings (which may use violent terms like kicking it or crushing it), or when word-of-mouth is used to find new hires—and so typically (white) men know and suggest other (white) men as candidates. Further in the hiring process, we know that various biases affect how candidates are evaluated, and women with the exact same resume tend to be evaluated less positively than men. When women are hired, they may be hired with lower compensation packages than their male peers, and can face various forms of harassment and disrespect day in and day out—some unintentional, some intentional. The process continues along the talent pipeline.

Then there is the issue of funding for female entrepreneurs in the tech sector (as well as a paucity of female venture capitalists). This seems to be changing, albeit very slowly.

What advice and tips would you give to women who want a career in tech?

Find mentors and sponsors—official and unofficial—and network. It’s important to have people who have your back, who support you, and can be allies. Advocate for yourself.

(Women have historically not promoted themselves as well as men, which creates problems large and small throughout work life.)

Technology is a male-dominated field. How could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

There are so many ways. In the recruitment phase, it’s changing the process to reduce bias— the language used in job postings (e.g., more collaborative words, less self-promoting language), only advertise for essential job skills, not a long wish list. Make the interview experience less biased. Once women are hired, treat them respectfully and make sure that leaders and managers make clear to all employees that they are expected to behave respectfully toward each other—and then walk the walk. Don’t let disrespectful behavior go unchecked and unremediated. Within an organization, ultimately, C-suite leaders are the ones who need to set the tone and reinforce it daily by the questions they ask, the feedback they provide, the perks they give and promotions they make.

Boards can help by making inclusion a topic for discussion at board meetings and holding the CEO accountable. It’s not enough for middle managers to be told they should be more inclusive. Managers need to be equipped to know how to do it, and leaders need to ask how it’s going and how they can support managers. Such conversations shouldn’t happen just once—they need to keep happening so managers know it’s important to the bosses.

ROBIN ROSENBERG, PH.D. What are some of the biggest challenges that women in the world of technology face today?

The only recent additional challenge is remote/hybrid work. To the extent that women are more likely to work from home because of family or longer commuting distance, they will likely be at an (unintentional) disadvantage: people who are in the office more frequently are more likely, by virtue of being “seen” more, to get better performance reviews, higher status work, and other benefits. Otherwise, I’m not sure that today is any different than the recent past. Challenges that I see are inhospitable work environments (which can lead women to leave the field before they graduate college, or leave the field at a later point), bias in hiring and along the talent development pipeline, and bias/discrimination in funding for female founder tech companies plus the challenges I've already mentioned.

What are your plans for the next five years?

To continue building out the company and our offerings, provide great customer support, and continue to collect data to show the positive effects of our program.

What's your favourite quote?

“With great power there must also come—great responsibility.”

That’s the wording from original Spider-Man comic book origin story (Amazing Fantasy #15).

PREVIOUS GUESTS

E F SREDA

A ME

S RE ET DAELHC

LETEC MA H L FE

EL EL AM EFHCET

WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME — GREAT RESPONSIBILITY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM ORIGINAL SPIDER-MAN COMIC BOOK ORIGIN STORY (AMAZING FANTASY #15).

ROBIN ROSENBERG, PH.D.

#GIFTS

#FEMALETECHLEADERSMAGAZINE

BOOK CLUB DARE TO LEAD: BRAVE WORK. TOUGH CONVERSATIONS. WHOLE HEARTS

by Brene Brown

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"This book is a road map for anyone who wants to lead mindfully, live bravely, and dare to lead.* Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook, founder of LeanIn.Org and OptionB.Org *

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by Caroline Criado Perez

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Discover the shocking gender bias that affects our everyday lives.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

JARA PASCUAL Collabwith CEO

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about the work of The Women Project please?

Jara Pascual, CEO Collabwith started a series of debates in the European Parliament hosting the first debate on February 5th, on “How to empower women through investment to increase innovation by financing opportunities in Europe'' during the 11th Innovation Summit organized by Knowledge4Innovation Forum in the European Parliament.

Following the success of the debate known as one of the best debates in the European Parliament, the opportunity was given to prepare an entire day dedicated to women and investment with several preparatory debates and dedicating the EUTOP50 awards to women entrepreneurs during the 12th Innovation Summit on 9th December 2020 co-organized by Collabwith.

Talking about the report “Closing the gender investment gap for a more resilient, innovative, inclusive and balanced economy” what are the most important points that are essential to highlight?

The report is in fact an actionable and easy to understand the document, with clear definitions, clear steps, and a clear structure to gather information and cluster ideas to take action. The report has the 7 Balanced Economy Actions, 1. Good data for good policy 2. Co-responsibility for empowerment 3. Dare to Dream 4. Educate Society 5. Networking and training 6. Financial Ecosystem 7. Recovery fund for balanced economy It is clear, that it is a bi-dimensional and bi-directional challenge, we have women investors, and women entrepreneurs with the same situation and challenges. We need more women investors, more funded women led VCs, and more funded women entrepreneurs because there is no access to capital to women investors or women entrepreneurs- There is a strong old-boys-club establishment in the financial ecosystem where women have no access to those networks.

JARA PASCUAL The report is a work of Collabwith and The Knowledge4Innovation Forum in the European Parliament that had 7 debates hosted last year. The number of women investment last year is that they receive only 2% of the financing available event though, they are 30% of entrepreneurs. How do you see the impact of the lack of investment in female founders affecting the tech ecosystem?

The report is a work of Collabwith and The Knowledge4Innovation Forum in the European Parliament that together organized the 7 debates in the European Parliament. During our debates, we have observed that if women-led startups are not getting enough funding in the different stages (early stage, series A, series B), their startups are suffering for growth, scale, because their startups are not properly funded by the funding, is required.

On the other hand, the lack of investment in female founders is making less role models in our innovation ecosystems where other women can look at. Additionally, technology is designed mainly by men, and the female perspective and point of view are lacking, the consequence is that the current technology is in the market is not sustainable, lacking of purpose, or losing the sight of a positive impact in society and in the planet. We need urgently the female and diversity vision and mission when designing technology.

What are the important and critical points to take into consideration between entrepreneurs and investors relationship?

The 7 balanced economy actions are complementary to each other, and they are tackling different dimensions of the situation. We need to establish new common methodologies, including metrics and statistics and using data analytics, which is more adequate to analyse the gender gap in investments in innovative ventures at regional, national and European levels and create better policies.

We have to collect data on investments with internal systems and frameworks, we have to measure the progress of investment and impact from our financial institutions. Not only via surveys. Here there is a digital transformation opportunity.

We need a “Better system for parental leave for freelancers and entrepreneurs is needed” to support them in the first years of entrepreneurship and as freelance workers for startups and innovative SMEs. Currently, being an innovator and entrepreneur has no protection for maternity or paternity, and we have to claim it to bring more women into entrepreneurship.

We need flexibility at work, remote working to hire employees (not only freelance) across Europe without creating a new company in every country.

We have to increase the visibility of fathers -entrepreneurs and investors taking care of their families too to work against stereotypes.

We need female role models in leadership positions to mentor and inspire young females. We need to inspire our girls and women to become investors, entrepreneurs, super innovators, and interested in technology. As it was said during the debates, “investing is really fun”.

Women are not taken seriously, there is no connection or brain relationship between women+business, women+innovation, women+investment, women+entrepreneurship.

If a woman is entering a room for an investment meeting, they are asking of: where is the person? If a woman is bringing the papers to register a new business, they are asking her about the “on behalf of” documentation to register the company.

There is an issue in our society, that we have to address as well. All the communication for funding and startups is male-driven with colors, aggressive and fonts, which is not attractive to women at all.

JARA PASCUAL Communication should be inclusive and neutral. Access to networks, training in entrepreneurship, facilitate connections between women investors and women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship and finance trainings are important to increase the number of women in investment and entrepreneurship.

Facilitate access to capital to women investors and women who want to create VCs with grants for GP Commit commission to allow them to create bigger funds, to support better women along their entrepreneurship journey from early stage to scale up. Facilitate one single market for investment across Europe with tax reductions for women investors for cross border investments. Create requirements in VCs and funds which receive public tax funding to have diversity in their teams and hierarchy at all levels. And to have a gender-balanced portfolio.

Finally, we have an unprecedented opportunity to create a better Europe with the recovery funds, we have the opportunity to have gender-balanced in the allocation of grants, funds, and to support women entrepreneurs and women investors to create a resilience economy.

And take the opportunity to re-skill our society to become entrepreneurs with a mission and impact-driven.

What are the steps now that the report brings us more clarity about the gender gap in the investment?

The main steps now are to create awareness of the report by introducing the 7 balanced economy to women associations, accelerators, universities, local governments, etc. Awareness is the first step, and then we need to call academics to deep research every action to set up a research agenda.

Additionally, the report has to be a guide for the members of the parliament, and the European Commission to review the industry, tax and innovation policies among others. The debates in the European Parliament were a kickoff of the change to be followed by the financial institutions as well because they are distributing the funding.

You started a series of debates in the European Parliament hosting the first debate on February 5th, on “How to empower women through investment to increase innovation by financing opportunities in Europe'' during the 11th Innovation Summit organized by Knowledge 4 Innovation Forum in the European Parliament. How are the finds of the report will help to raise more awareness and how the European Parliament will be involved in this gender gap issue?

The report has already impacted the new innovation manifesto that includes the women angle in two main points: Women-led VCs and Startups and Financing Innovation and New Technologies, besides the innovation adoption.

The innovation manifesto is open to co-creation by adding "actions" besides signature. We have created this together with the Forum Knowledge4Innovation in the European Parliament and anyone interested can add the actions to each point: https://www.eiamanifesto.eu/ This innovation manifesto is the step before the new innovation policy for Europe, and we have the full support of the European Commission.

Furthermore, it is the first time a manifesto can be co-created by anyone, which means, it is an incredible opportunity to add your ideas, your actions and your projects.

Additionally, everyone can watch the launch of the innovation https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LdTiVwXuWHg&t=0s

manifesto

here:

JARA PASCUAL The next 5 years is to incite change with the empowerment of women and of inclusivity in Europe with funding. I just love that you have set a timeframe so please let us know what our community can do to help achieve this milestone.

We are living in unprecedent times because we are in a new financial period, and because there is a special funding called "recovery fund", we have as a society, an incredible opportunity to create a new society, a new way of doing business, and to transform our industries. This is innovation, and we have funding available for innovation. We have to look at our needs, issues and challenges to find creative solutions for them.

Another way is to adopt existing innovative solutions that are out there from women-led startups. Sometimes, we have not to invent again everything, we need more adoption of innovation.

The Female Tech community are leaders who can lead by example, be visible, create innovative solutions and bring them to the market, but overall, I suggest to follow the 7 balanced economy actions as guidelines to everyday action. What can you do today to increase co-responsibility? What can you do today to collect better data, or set up targets for women equality? How can you train women in finance, accounting and investment for instance?

What do you think are the main challenges and opportunities for the next generation of female founders in Europe?

As challenges and opportunities at the same time, women founders are set by success when they are becoming more visible, accept that entrepreneurship is about business, and business is about visibility. This visibility is impacting positively our society because everyone will see more women in technology startups, doing social innovation, making solutions to save the planet and to change our world we see today. Women have the responsibility to show their power and make change in our society and industries, and women have to accept this power.

Do you want to leave a final though?

We are all responsible to change this dramatic situation and take the opportunity to create a resilient and stronger economy together with investEU, with nextgenerationEU and with the react EU funds.

It’s not only about innovation, it’s about our future of our economy, and our future starts now.

IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT INNOVATION, IT’S ABOUT OUR FUTURE OF OUR ECONOMY, AND OUR FUTURE STARTS NOW. JARA PASCUAL

BRASIL ENTREVISTAS

CAROLINA BOZZA Regional Sales Director

Conte-nos sobre você e a sua carreira, Carolina!

Comecei em cyber security já na faculdade, onde estudei Ciência da Computação com ênfase em redes de computadores e segurança. Comecei minha carreira como engenheira de prévendas, e aos poucos fui migrando para a área de negócios, onde atualmente trabalho como Dir. Regional de Vendas para uma empresa focada em segurança para aplicações nativas de nuvem.

Além da Womcy, participo da organização do The Developer Conference, do Kubernetes Community Days e sou membro do Defcon Groups de São Paulo.

Fale sobre a WOMCY: seu papel e o que adicionou em sua vida e carreira.

A Womcy tem dois papéis muito importantes pra mim.

O primeiro, é ter a possibilidade de devolver à sociedade toda a ajuda e suporte que eu tive no início de minha carreira. É gratificante poder impactar direta ou indiretamente de forma positiva a vida profissional de outras mulheres - seja com uma sessão de mentoria, seja ajudando a organizar um treinamento, seja promovendo a auto-estima dessas pessoas.

O segundo, é aprender com essa rede que a Womcy me possibilitou ter acesso. Trata-se de uma comunidade com histórias riquíssimas de vida; profissionais admiráveis de todas as classes sociais, todos os níveis de senioridade e de diferente orientações políticas, religiosas e sexuais, cada uma com uma luta única de superação e de conquistas. É uma troca muito gostosa de experiências.

CAROLINA BOZZA Conte-nos sobre a sua experiência pessoal em Cybersecurity.

Eu cai em cybersec por acaso; vi a possibilidade de estagiar com resposta a incidentes e políticas de segurança por se tratar de uma área menos acadêmica e com aplicabilidade prática imediata para quando eu me formasse. Gostei, vi potencial de crescimento e fui me desenvolvendo.

Quanto mais eu conhecia sobre o tema, sobre as possibilidades e oportunidades, mais eu me convencia da minha escolha profissional. Eu sempre busquei trabalhar por um propósito. Eu tive certeza absoluta que eu estava no caminho certo quando entendi que o segmento de segurança cibernética era responsável por manter o mundo funcionando, a tecnologia nos servindo de forma rápida e protegida, além de impactar e salvar vidas, eu mergulhei de cabeça e comecei a me interessar mais. Começar abraçar novos projetos paralelos - como por exemplo a WOMCY - foi só uma consequência e uma forma de promover o tema "segurança cibernética".

Quais são os maiores desafios que as mulheres enfrentam hoje?

O principal desafio das mulheres hoje em qualquer profissão é a auto-sabotagem, baixa autoestima e a síndrome de impostora. São muitos fatores que impactam e potencializam esse comportamento, muitos oriundos de um ranço cultural de um tempo onde as mulher não tinham opção além de ser dona de casa.

Hoje, nós mulheres podemos ser quem a gente quiser - inclusive donas de casa - mas infelizmente o ambiente não é propício para se tomar a decisão que se quer. Existem famílias que não incentivam o estudo, porque dizem que mulher tem que cuidar da casa e da família; outras ainda que são obrigadas a abrir mão da carreira pra ajudar em casa com irmão mais novos; existem mulheres que preferem não se dedicar a carreira pois não têm suporte e retaguarda em suas casas que ajudem a cuidar dos filhos, por exemplo. Conciliar maternidade e profissão é realmente um tema muito complicado e um desafio muito presente na vida da maioria das mulheres.

Qual seria a sua mensagem para as mulheres que estão entrando na área de tech e por que elas deveriam se especializar em cyber?

O mundo está cada vez mais digital, mais conectado e acessível. A tecnologia está presente na vida de absolutamente todo mundo, seja através da comunicação e tráfego de dados, aplicativos móveis, transações financeiras, assistência médica remota, casas inteligentes.

Toda, absolutamente toda tecnologia que nos serve, precisa de segurança; precisa de proteção e integridade das informações trafegadas, sigilo dos dados, disponibilidade, resiliência. Segurança não é mais privilégio de poucas empresas; hoje segurança é um requerimento base para a sustentação de um ecossistema em crescente expansão. Logo, o mercado está muito aquecido!! Salários super atrativos e falta de profissionais capacitados em todos os níveis de senioridade. E só de pensar que está apenas começando, não tem como não ser uma mega oportunidade de carreira pra qualquer pessoa interessada. Além disso, as áreas são as mais diversas possíveis, que exigem skills variados e certamente com espaço para agradar e acolher qualquer pessoa que esteja disposta a se aventurar nesse universo.

CAROLINA BOZZA Na sua opinião, o que as referências e iniciativas dedicadas a mulheres podem fazer em parcerias com as empresas para trazer mais diversidade?

Inspiração e empoderamento. Eu sou totalmente contra o que algumas empresas têm feito com a promoção de quotas (garantir a contratação de mais mulheres por determinação da gestão da companhia). Isso é errado! Empresas têm que contratar bons profissionais. O que tem funcionado, inclusive através de parcerias que a própria Womcy já realizou com empresas do segmento, é o incentivo profissional, a disponibilização de ferramentas e o desenvolvimento de auto-estima. Alguns exemplos são a promoção de cursos e treinamentos exclusivos para mulheres, ações que premiam as profissionais com vouchers para provas de certificação, mentoria profissional, ajuda com recrutamento e divulgação de vagas, aproximação entre profissionais e líderes de destaque dessas empresas, para incentivar, motivar e inspirar outras colegas, dentre outras ações. Profissionais bem preparadas, motivadas e confiantes vão ocupar cada vez mais lugares no mercado e certamente as empresas se beneficiarão de equipes mais diversas, mais criativas e que trarão melhores resultados.

O setor de Cybersecurity ainda é um campo dominado por homens. Como vocês encaram este desafio?

Cada profissional tem um desafio diferente relacionado com o tema. Eu confesso que minhas batalhas profissionais não foram relacionadas à predominância masculina do setor. Porém sabemos que essa não é a realidade para muitas colegas. Existe ainda muito preconceito, que impacta diretamente a carreira dessas mulheres, que vai desde a família não apoiar os estudos (por achar que tecnologia não é profissão de mulher), desafios relacionados à maternidade e gestação, viés de recrutadores(as) na hora da contratação e preconceito sem fundamento de colegas de trabalho.

São muitos os desafios. Encaramos portanto com acolhimento, respeitando as batalhas individuais e promovendo a auto-estima, através de mentoria, treinamentos, palestras, parcerias com empresas para viabilizar cursos e certificações, premiações e reconhecimento de profissionais, recolocação profissional dentre outras ações.

O que pode ser feito para que mais mulheres entrem no setor de tech?

Essa diferença na proporcionalidade de homens e mulheres está diminuindo. Já vemos muitas mais meninas presentes nos cursos de tecnologia, consequentemente muitas recém formadas. Devido à altíssima demanda do mercado de cyber segurança e a maior oferta de profissionais mulheres com formações relacionadas - como ciência da computação, por exemplo - essa diferença tem diminuído. Mas leva tempo... E essa mudança tem acontecido graças a esforços que já foram feitos e que precisam ser continuados, como incentivar as profissionais a seguirem seus objetivos profissionais, a lutarem pelo seu espaço em suas empresas e na sociedade, promover destaques femininos para que sirvam de exemplo e inspiração, buscar desenvolver ambientes acolhedores nas empresas (como por exemplo, apoiar a maternidade para se evitar a evasão de mães profissionais) e sempre buscar diversificar as contratações.

pow

by d ere

FELIZ AQUELE QUE TRANSFERE O QUE SABE E APRENDE O QUE ENSINA FAVORITE QUOTE BY CORA CORALINA CAROLINA BOZZA

ERIKA RAMOS Engenheira de Pesquisa & Desenvolvimento em Manufatura

Conte-nos sobre você e a sua carreira.

Eu sou engenheira mecânica, formada na cidade de Manaus no Brasil e mestre em materiais aeroespaciais, formada em UK. No Brasil, trabalhei em algumas empresas multinacionais de manufatura (química, eletrônicos e motocicletas) e vim para o UK 3 anos atrás com o objetivo de me especializar em engenharia aeroespacial em trabalhar na área.

Durante o mestrado em UK eu fiz projetos em parceria com empresas que são referência na minha área e quando finalizei o curso comecei a trabalhar como engenheira de manufatura na Rolls-Royce. Após alguns meses recebi uma proposta para trabalhar na Airbus, que era empresa em que eu sonhava em trabalhar, pois ela faz parte do top 3 mundial de fabricantes de aeronave civil (na Europa é a líder), além de também desenvolver produtos para o espaço, como satélites.

Hoje trabalho na Airbus Broughton como engenheira de manufatura, com foco em projetos relacionados a tecnologias de perfuração e fixação e estou adorando!

Conta pra gente como é um dia na sua vida profissional!

Eu não tenho uma rotina fixa, pois trabalho com vários projetos diferentes. Um dia eu posso estar fazendo atividades de gestora de projetos, como analisando documentação técnica, atualizando planilhas de custo, contactando fornecedores e stakeholders, atendendo a reuniões e elaborando apresentações sobre os meus projetos. No outro dia posso estar indo para as linhas de produção para testar equipamentos novos no laboratório ou com operadores e pegando feedback.

Eu também tenho um aprendiz para me ajudar com os projetos e tento passar atividades interessantes para ele aprender algo novo. Como a minha função envolve trazer tecnologias novas para as linhas de produção e fazer melhorias nos equipamentos existentes, eu gosto de passar um tempo pesquisando sobre eventos e feiras de tecnologia para ver se encontro algo novo.

ERIKA RAMOS O sector de tecnologia ainda é um campo dominado pelos homens. Qual seriam os seus conselhos e dicas para as mulheres superarem os obstáculos enfrentados?

Desde os 15 anos, quando comecei a carreira na tecnologia, eu vejo que não há mulheres suficientes ou grandes representações de diversidade nas áreas de tecnologia. Eu já trabalhei em 3 países diferentes e eu vi a mesma coisa acontecendo nos 3. Eu acho que o que está mudando é que as empresas estão elaborando mais estratégias para inclusão de diversidades em todos os departamentos. Infelizmente eu não vi isso com tanta força ainda no Brasil, mas em UK eu vejo isso em vários veículos na mídia e até mesmo na empresa que eu trabalho.

Tem várias mulheres na liderança e recentemente eles nomearam duas mulheres para a banca de diretores. Use o fato de você ser minoria ou de uma cultura diferente a seu favor, pois então você se destaca da maioria e as oportunidades vão surgir.

Quais são os maiores desafios que as mulheres que desejam se aventurar no mundo da tecnologia enfrentam hoje?

Eu acho que o maior desafio para mulheres é ter suporte das pessoas ao redor e também há muito preconceito ainda de que mulheres não podem fazer trabalhos pesados ou trabalhar somente com homens. No meu departamento não tinha nenhuma mulher e eles não sabiam direito como agir perto de mim. Com o tempo isso mudou e todos já estão confortáveis comigo. Com certeza há muitos ambientes que só tem homens e a adição de uma mulher pode deixá-los desconfortáveis no início, mas não é nada que não possa mudar. Só temos que ser persistentes.

O problema de diversidade (não somente o baixo número de mulheres) no setor de tecnologia existe, fato. Você poderia compartilhar a sua jornada pessoal com a gente?

Eu acho que pelo fato de eu estar sempre na minoria eu via isso como uma oportunidade. Aos 15 anos comecei um curso técnico em eletrônica integrado ao ensino médio e comigo eram 4 meninas em uma sala de 40 pessoas. Quando fiz engenharia, os números continuaram parecidos e quando me formei eu era a única mulher do meu curso. Quando vim estudar em UK a coisa já mudou um pouco e o número de homens e mulheres na minha turma era bem balanceado. O incrível é que ao longo da minha jornada profissional eu ouvia histórias de meninas que eram fascinadas por elementos da engenharia, mas não tentaram ir pro curso porque envolvia muito cálculo e seria muito difícil. Pra mim, isso nunca fez muito sentido porque eu era péssima em física e não era a melhor aluna em matemática também, mas eu aprendi no meio tempo porque eu queria muito me envolver em projetos de aeronáutica, então na minha visão a engenharia seria a melhor forma de realizar o meu sonho. Outro fator é que as pessoas têm uma visão muito retrógrada da engenharia e precisamos mudar isso.

Dizem que é coisa de nerd ou que é só para construir edifícios. Então precisamos falar mais sobre as diferentes áreas de tecnologia, colocar mais em destaque as incríveis mulheres que estão fazendo sucesso nessas diferentes áreas e levar isso para as escolas para motivar futuras engenheiras, programadoras, tecnologas etc.

O que você acha que devemos fazer para encorajar mais meninas a considerarem uma carreira em tecnologia?

Mostrar as diferentes áreas da engenharia e tecnologia e o que elas poderiam fazer em cada profissão. Às vezes as pessoas não entendem o que significa uma profissão somente pelo nome.

Qual é a sua frase favorita?

Seja corajosa e use os "nãos" como seu combustível para atingir o tão sonhado "sim"!

ERIKA RAMOS Segundo Maria Klawe (Presidente do Harvey Mudd College) existem 3 motivos alegados pelas próprias mulheres para que elas não entrem no mercado de tecnologia: falta de interesse, não acreditarem serem boas em tecnologia e não acharem que irão trabalhar com pessoas com as quais se sentiriam confortáveis ou felizes. O que podemos fazer para inverter esta realidade?

A primeira motivação começa em casa, depois nas escolas e no dia a dia o que passa na tv. Na cabeça de muitas pessoas, há uma definição sobre o que é profissão para mulheres e o que é só para homens e também o que é mais fácil de estudar e o que é mais difícil. Toda profissão tem seu nível de complexidade, mas as pessoas esquecem que a escolha não deve ser baseada no que é fácil ou difícil ou que vai dar mais ou menos dinheiro. Eu conheço pessoas incríveis e inteligentes que foram empurradas pelos pais para cursos que "deveriam dar muito dinheiro", mas elas não são felizes e acabam trabalhando com algo completamente diferente ou odeiam o trabalho. Em casa, os pais têm que achar formas de instigar as crianças a entenderem o que eles gostam. As escolas também têm um papel fundamental na escolha de profissões. As vezes aquela feira de ciências que muitos acham chato de participar acaba sendo o pontapé inicial que outros precisam para entender o que gostariam de fazer no futuro. Mas o incentivo não deveria parar por aí. O ideal seria convidar profissionais para falarem sobre o que fazem, dar demonstrações com coisas palpáveis e levar crianças para conhecer lugares novos. E por fim, a mídia deveria divulgar mais sobre eventos de profissões, feiras de demonstração abertas ao público. Quando eu era criança a minha motivação para entrar na tecnologia foi um filme da Barbie, que foi para o espaço com sua banda para cantar e pedir a paz mundial.

O que as empresas podem e devem fazer para atrair mais mulheres para o sector de tech e para posições de liderança (não somente na atração de talentos mas também na retenção destes talentos)?

Como agora ainda não temos uma quantidade ideal de mulheres na tecnologia, pra mim a solução é incentivar que mulheres se apliquem para as posições e priorizar a contratação delas. Nós precisamos de medidas drásticas inicialmente para começar a balancear o mercado de contratação. As pessoas precisam dar a oportunidade para as mulheres se desenvolverem porque o mercado simplesmente é mais fechado para nós nos setores de tecnologia.

Há alguma pessoa específica em tecnologia que te inspira?

A minha inspiração é uma moça chamada Grazia Vittadini. Ela era diretora de tecnologia da Airbus e a única mulher na bancada de diretoria da Airbus. Ela me inspira pelas excelentes apresentações que faz sobre a empresa, pela confiança que ela transmite e ela sempre está envolvida em eventos de tecnologia e eventos direcionado a mulheres na engenharia.

Qual seria sua mensagem para as mulheres que estão tentando entrar na tecnologia?

Vai ser uma longa jornada porque estamos tentando mudar o mundo para que no futuro todas as pessoas sejam tratadas independente do gênero. Não desistam no primeiro, nem no segundo obstáculo porque eles sempre vão existir, mas quando o sucesso vem é recompensador!

SEJA CORAJOSA E USE OS "NÃOS" COMO SEU COMBUSTÍVEL PARA ATINGIR O TÃO SONHADO "SIM"!

FAVORITE QUOTE: ANONIMO ERIKA RAMOS

JULIANA ARAUJO CEO & Founder da Beela e Diretora de Desenvolvimento de Produto na Kambi

Conte-nos sobre você e a sua carreira.

Sou brasileira, solteira e nascida no Rio de Janeiro. Sou bacharel em sistemas de informação e faço mestrado em Gerenciamento de Projetos de TI na Universidade de Estocolmo. Sempre trabalhei com tecnologia, em diversos cargos como engenheira de software, analista de dados e gerente de produto. Em 2018 fui convidada para trabalhar numa empresa como Gerente de Produtos de Dados em Estocolmo na Suécia e em seguida como Diretora de Produtos numa empresa de apostas em esportes. Tenho paixão por diversidade, equidade e inclusão em tecnologia e acredito que mentoring e coaching podem ser ferramentas de transformação. Em março de 2021, fundei a organização sem fins lucrativos Beela com o intuito de empoderar mulheres e pessoas não binárias imigrantes na Suécia a entrar na área de tecnologia. Desde então tenho tocado meu trabalho na Kambi junto ao meu trabalho na Beela junto com minha cofundadora.

Conta pra gente como é um dia na sua vida profissional!

Meu dia sempre começa com muito planejamento do que farei pela frente. Como tenho praticamente dois papéis distintos, gerenciamento do tempo é chave pra conseguir dar conta de tudo. Hoje lidero uma equipe de gerentes de produto que são responsáveis por desenvolver os melhores produtos de dados para nossos clientes e meu papel é ajudá-los a tomar as melhores decisões oferecendo aconselhamento e dando direção quando precisam repensar prioridades de uma forma estratégica ou rever problemas pensando em inovação.

Também sou responsável por pensar no futuro do meu time, escrever nossa missão, estratégia e ter certeza que estamos a executando da melhor forma. Após as 17h todos os dias eu assumo o papel de CEO da Beela. Na Beela mantenho reuniões diárias com minha cofundadora e conversamos sobre as atividades daquela semana com nossas voluntárias.

Além de sempre estar em reuniões com potenciais parceiros, colaboradores e potenciais investidores, eu também sou host de um podcast no Spotify, o Beela’s talk - onde entrevisto mulheres que fizeram transição de carreira para tecnologia na Suécia. Resumindo: um dia cheio de reuniões, muito networking, aconselhamento, escuta e criação!

JULIANA ARAUJO O sector de tecnologia ainda é um campo dominado pelos homens. Qual seriam os seus conselhos e dicas para as mulheres superarem os obstáculos enfrentados?

O meu primeiro conselho seria entender melhor os obstáculos enfrentados - cada país tem a sua peculiaridade mas alguns problemas como a síndrome do impostor e muitas vezes um ambiente profissional dominado por homens - tóxico e hostil ainda são comuns independente das nações. Depois de entender os obstáculos eu diria para procurar comunidades de apoio.

Hoje o movimento de mulheres em tecnologia tem crescido muito e acredito que a troca de experiências é essencial para se inspirar a dar os primeiros passos. Saber que não se está sozinha pode ser uma experiência incrível, e ouvir conselhos daqueles que passaram pelo o mesmo podem ajudar a saber como trilhar o seu próprio caminho. Meu último conselho é estudar sobre como é importante que a diversidade e inclusão sejam levadas a sério: além dos inúmeros benefícios muito citados, empresas mais comprometidas com diversidade são mais lucrativas, isso quer dizer que nosso espaço na tecnologia como mulheres não é só desejado como é necessário.

O problema de diversidade (não somente o baixo número de mulheres) no setor de tecnologia existe, fato. Você poderia compartilhar a sua jornada pessoal com a gente?

Eu ganhei o meu primeiro computador quando tinha mais ou menos 8 anos. Meu pai é um “geek” e sempre amou tecnologia...assim que os primeiros computadores pessoais chegaram no mercado, meus pais investiram muito pra conseguir um para mim e para meu irmão. Meu irmão - que também é de tecnologia, sempre foi apaixonado por aquele computador e sempre me inspirou a gostar também. Na época, éramos apaixonados por jogos eletronicos (ainda somos!) e acredito que esses foram os motivadores para ambos entrarmos na área de tecnologia. Quando entrei para o ensino médio eu já era bastante familiarizada com computadores, desenvolvia sites para amigos e aprendia programação com meu irmão - que a essa altura já estava na faculdade e aprendendo coisas avançadas que sempre me intrigavam muito. Quando chegou na minha época de escolha do que fazer, era muito claro que seguiria a paixão compartilhada por pai e irmão - tecnologia. Mas eu sempre pensei em desenvolver jogos, o que foi uma frustração para eu saber que não tinham muitas formações focadas nisso, acabei fazendo sistemas de informação e sendo uma das poucas mulheres da turma a me graduar. Na minha carreira muitas vezes fui a primeira, única e diferente. Além de ser muitas vezes a única mulher, eu era a primeira negra e me sentia diferente de todos.

Talvez isso que me motive hoje a criar um ambiente melhor para as mulheres em tecnologia focando em mais diversidade e inclusão, porque o sentimento de não estar sozinha e de ter uma comunidade pode fazer toda a diferença.

Segundo Maria Klawe (Presidente do Harvey Mudd College) existem 3 motivos alegados pelas próprias mulheres para que elas não entrem no mercado de tecnologia: falta de interesse, não acreditarem serem boas em tecnologia e não acharem que irão trabalhar com pessoas com as quais se sentiriam confortáveis ou felizes. O que podemos fazer para inverter esta realidade?

Acredito que a criação de “role models” é essencial. Não só na questão da diversidade de gênero, mas de neurodiversidade, raça, orientação sexual e etc. Quando vemos que outros já trilharam caminhos difíceis e que não estamos sozinhos, geralmente temos mais motivação e acreditamos sermos capazes. Como comunidade, acredito que devemos divulgar mais que tecnologia não tem só a ver com “programação” e que tech pode ser muito plural, nosso mundo é movido por tecnologia hoje e precisamos de novas mentes brilhantes para inovar e criar novas tecnologias que não seja dominados de “bias” de homens héteros brancos. O ambiente de trabalho em tecnologia por ser dominado por homens pode não ser tão confortável para mulheres, e é por isso que é tão importante que homens sejam aliados nessa luta, e iniciativas de Diversidade e Inclusão nas empresas sejam mais do que mera vaidade.

JULIANA ARAUJO Quais são os maiores desafios que as mulheres que desejam se aventurar no mundo da tecnologia enfrentam hoje?

Acredito que ainda há muitos bias nos processos seletivos e homens brancos tenham preferência sob outros currículos. A falta de modelos de referência também é um problema, principalmente no mercado de trabalho brasileiro. Costumo dizer que estamos fazendo um bom trabalho com diversidade na “base da pirâmide” em cargos mais operacionais. Em cargos de liderança e boards de empresas temos um longo caminho a percorrer porque ainda são dominados por homens brancos heterossexuais.

O que as empresas podem e devem fazer para atrair mais mulheres para o sector de tech e para posições de liderança (não somente na atração de talentos mas também na retenção destes talentos)?

Criar iniciativas de diversidade, equidade e inclusão que sejam realmente levadas a sério.

Investimento financeiro é necessário, assim como investimento de tempo e de pessoas capacitadas no assunto. A questão salarial também é bastante importante, ter a certeza que homens e mulheres não tenham disparidade salarial em função de seus gêneros. Criar políticas internas como licenças parentais (maternidade e paternidade) e principalmente abrir canais de discussões onde mulheres tenham como ser ouvidas e compreendidas em questões que passam em seus dia-a-dia como o sexismo benevolente.

Há alguma pessoa específica em tecnologia que te inspira?

Minha maior inspiração hoje é minha co-founder Denise Muniz. A Denise é uma mulher brasileira, desenvolvedora de software e imigrante na Suécia como eu, que fez uma mudança de carreira recente pra tecnologia e tem enfrentado todos os desafios que isso traz sendo mulher e mãe. Denise é uma das mulheres com mais garra que eu já vi, muito dedicada e competente e ela me inspira todos os dias a dar o melhor de mim para criar essa comunidade incrível que estamos criando.

Qual seria sua mensagem para as mulheres que estão tentando entrar na tecnologia?

Costumo dizer que entrar para tecnologia é apaixonante, quase um caminho sem volta! Saber que você está fazendo parte de uma das maiores revoluções do nosso planeta é realmente inspirador. Saiba que o seu trabalho pode ter um impacto gigante no mundo e que mesmo que o caminho seja muitas vezes árduo, você não está sozinha! Acredite que você pode, e que a sua contribuição é única para criarmos um mundo mais diverso e incluso.

O que você acha que devemos fazer para encorajar mais meninas a considerarem uma carreira em tecnologia?

Incentiva-las desde pequenas a pensar logicamente, a acabar com os tabus de que jogos e computadores são só para meninos (e ciências exatas também!), expô-las mais a mulheres que fizeram tecnologia e se tornaram modelos de inspiração.

Qual é a sua frase favorita? “ Aproveite o tempo ... Viva agora! Faça agora sempre o tempo mais precioso. Agora nunca mais voltará.” - Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek the next generation).

APROVEITE O TEMPO ... VIVA AGORA! FAÇA AGORA SEMPRE O TEMPO MAIS PRECIOSO. AGORA NUNCA MAIS VOLTARÁ.

FAVORITE QUOTE JEAN-LUC PICARD JULIANA ARAUJO

NATASHA BORGES Engenheira de Segurança

Conte-nos sobre você e a sua carreira, Natasha!

Tenho um amor inveterado por tecnologia e comecei a trabalhar no ramo bem jovem, ainda adolescente. Em 2014 comecei a trabalhar efetivamente com Cybersecurity e se naquela ocasião restavam quaisquer dúvidas sobre o rumo da minha carreira, elas foram deixadas ali.

Iniciei minha jornada em Governança e Conformidade, desde sempre em ambientes altamente regulados, e com muito carinho fiz uma transição de carreira para Engenharia de Segurança.

Cada experiência que vivenciei foi valiosa para começar construir o perfil que sempre almejei: excelente fundamento teórico proporcional a excelente habilidade técnica. É só o começo!

Fale sobre a WOMCY: seu papel e o que adicionou em sua vida e carreira.

Integrei a Womcy como voluntária, após participar da apresentação do projeto pela Andrea Thome. Fiquei absolutamente deslumbrada com a iniciativa e por ver quantas mulheres tem interesse pela área mas que não temos a oportunidade de encontrar no dia a dia.

Minha admiração pela Andrea em si me fez procurá-la para um bate papo, e ali encontrei quem seria minha maior referência como profissional, mulher e líder em Cybersecurity. Após um tempo fui convidada a integrar o time de liderança da Womcy, especificamente no programa Womcy Jobs, o qual continuo fazendo parte.

A Womcy para mim, além da motivação ideológica, é uma grande oportunidade para viver experiências de estratégia, gestão e relacionamento a nível executivo. Uma grande honra e um grande aprendizado!

NATASHA BORGES Conte-nos sobre a sua experiência pessoal em Cybersecurity.

Eu ingressei no mercado de Cybersecurity durante um hiato na minha carreira em tecnologia: eu abri mão de trabalhar em uma consultoria de grande porte para me dedicar integralmente aos estudos. Como eu já tinha me adaptado ao ritmo de trabalho e estudos, a nova realidade apesar de muito privilegiada me trouxe bastante desconforto, e por isso decidi retomar ao mercado. Nesta ocasião, após muitos 'não's, eu fui aprovada em uma vaga para trabalhar em uma área operacional de segurança, e logo em seguida, fui convidada a trabalhar com governança de segurança.

De lá para cá, eu tenho me dedicado muito em obter o máximo de conhecimento que está ao meu alcance, e também me especializei e me certifiquei em Cybersecurity. Hoje, como engenheira de segurança, vejo que a chave é justamente manter a habilidade de aprender constante durante todo o caminho... A jornada não é linear, mas se transforma a medida que nós também nos transformamos.

O setor de Cybersecurity ainda é um campo dominado por homens. Como vocês encaram este desafio? É inegável a participação dos homens no mercado de Cybersecurity e o que eu diria é que esta é uma herança que o nosso trabalho - individualmente em nossas empresas, e coletivamente na Womcy - visa transformar. Toda mudança leva tempo e esforço, por isso levo com bastante naturalidade pois tenho o entendimento da minha contribuição. Vale dizer que os homens em sua grande maioria são grandes aliados para esta mudança.

Olhando para trás, eu vejo vários gestores, mentores, colegas de trabalho e amigos que valorizaram e incentivaram o meu trabalho, que me ouviram e me deram voz. Claro que eventualmente alguma exceção foge a regra, mas eu gosto de olhar a vida da perspectiva da abundância.

O que pode ser feito para que mais mulheres entrem no setor de tech?

Acredito muito em projetos como a Womcy e iniciativas de diversidade empresas, especificamente para as áreas tech e cyber. Não basta divulgar as um esforço consciente em trazer mulheres para estas vagas. As razões mulheres não chegam até o mercado tech são inúmeras, por isso acredito quem acolhe e prepara de quem acredita e contrata.

e inclusão nas vagas, mas sim pelas quais as na união entre

Qual seria a sua mensagem para as mulheres que estão entrando na área de tech e por que elas deveriam se especializar em cyber?

Valorize cada passo da sua jornada, ainda que em um momento presente você não tenha o entendimento e se posicione firme e respeitosamente, ainda que em um momento presente você não se sinta segura. Certamente há um longo caminho de estudos em tech, mas os valores como integridade e honestidade serão seu guia durante o processo. Quanto a especialização em Cyber, o que posso dizer é que é uma área com inúmeras possibilidades de atuação, desde áreas extremamente técnicas até áreas que requerem um profundo conhecimento metodológico e normativo. Cyber atende pessoas que adoram rotina de operação, até quem tem um pézinho na academia e gosta de pesquisa.

NATASHA BORGES Na sua opinião, o que as referências e iniciativas dedicadas a mulheres podem fazer em parcerias com as empresas para trazer mais diversidade?

Há muitas possibilidades! Não há uma bala de prata ou resposta pronta - O que é positivo, pois assim cada projeto e empresa tem autonomia para testar modelos diferentes. Iniciativas para capacitar, mentorar, acolher mulheres, até processos seletivos dedicados ao público feminino são sempre muito bem vindos.

Acredito também que é importante programas de conscientização nas empresas para que o maior número de pessoas tenham o entendimento do papel das mulheres em tech e cyber.

Quais são os maiores desafios que as mulheres enfrentam hoje?

Acredito que algumas atividades são estigmatizadas, e que as mulheres decididamente precisam estabelecer os limites de uma forma bastante contundente para conseguirem manter o controle sobre suas carreiras. Isto é exaustivo, uma vez que neste caso eu vejo bastante influência do gênero.

No meu entendimento, historicamente as mulheres ocupam em maior volume cargos em áreas de apoio sob o estigma do servir, apoiar e suportar. Encarar isso como um desafio não é um mero incentivo para que mulheres ocupem posições técnicas e/ou de gestão (embora isso também seja importante), mas sobretudo fomentar o direito de escolha e a liberdade das mulheres sobre suas carreiras.

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ARTIGOS

Laurie Wang

A IMPORTÂNCIA DO ENTENDIMENTO DO PROBLEMA PARA A CONSTRUÇÃO DE MODELOS DE APRENDIZADO DE MÁQUINA Recentemente estava vagando na internet quando vi uma matéria indicada pelo Google do blog Olhar Digital que se chama “Modelos de aprendizado de máquina: 90% nem chegam a ser lançados”, lançada em Julho de 2021. Aprendizado de máquina é uma sub-área da Inteligência Artificial que vêm crescendo bastante nos últimos anos, de acordo com uma pesquisa realizada pelo Deloitte em 2020, 67% das empresas estão usando aprendizado de máquina em seus sistemas e 97% estão planejando utilizá-la nos próximos anos.

Neste artigo apresentado pelo Olhar Digital, trazem vários fatores que contribuem para que os projetos de aprendizado de máquina não cheguem até a etapa de lançamento, como por exemplo a falta de acesso aos dados de qualidade. Concordo que esse é um fator bem importante, entretanto acredito que há um outro ainda mais importante: a falta de entendimento do real problema a ser solucionado.

Quando realizamos a construção de modelos de inteligência artificial, grande parte das vezes queremos sanar/mitigar um problema seja ele vindo de uma empresa ou algum problema social, então com base nas reuniões com os usuários levantamos algumas informações importantes para a construção desses modelos. No entanto, essa etapa de entendimento do problema é muitas vezes pouco valorizada comparada com outras etapas da metodologia utilizada nos projetos de ciência de dados.

CRISP-DM é uma das metodologias mais utilizadas nos projetos que envolvem ciência de dados, pois fornece um modelo de processo genérico que pode ser especializada de acordo com as necessidades de qualquer indústria ou companhia. Ele é divido em 6 etapas principais: Entendimento do problema, Entendimento dos dados, Preparação dos dados, Modelagem (Construção do aprendizado de máquina), Avaliação e Entrega.

É importante ressaltar que os problemas de qualidade em cada etapa afetarão diretamente a qualidade de todo o resultado. Todavia, em muitos casos as empresas nas reuniões iniciais já querem falar sobre modelos e tecnologias antes de compreender os aspectos de negócios da tarefa que estão resolvendo.

Não trabalhar com um objetivo claro ou critério de sucesso bem definido, o projeto tende a falhar pois pode levar a uma solução final errônea que não soluciona o problema principal e além disso a solução pode se tornar inviável por não ter um critério de sucesso definido. E assim projetos desse tipo ficarão para sempre no próprio estágio de pesquisa, porque nunca sabem se estão fazendo algum progresso, pois nunca ficou claro qual era o objetivo.

Como por exemplo o caso da AI Robot que falhou em conseguir admissão na Universidade de Tóquio. Os pesquisadores tentaram desenvolver um robô Todai, para quebrar o teste de entrada para a Universidade de Tóquio. Infelizmente, os resultados foram contrários às expectativas, já que a IA não foi inteligente o suficiente para entender as perguntas.

Portanto ficou evidente que faltava mais informações relacionadas ao teste, para que o robô pudesse aprender mais e assim conseguir responder às perguntas corretamente.

Para muitos cientistas de dados, principalmente os que estão iniciando na área, é muito difícil conseguir extrair as informações importantes dos clientes e para te ajudar a sanar esse problema, o blog da KDNuggets fez uma matéria em 2017 com o título "Qual é a etapa mais importante em um projeto de aprendizado de máquina?" e eles explicam um pouco mais sobre a metodologia CRISP-DM e trazem algumas perguntas genéricas que você pode fazer para extrair informações sobre o problema que você pretende resolver, são elas: O que estamos tentando alcançar, em termos de negócios? Por que isso é importante?

Dada a solução para essa tarefa, como isso afetaria as operações?

Como vamos medir uma solução sugerida? (KPIs) Temos os dados disponíveis? É muito difícil extraí-los? Podemos usá-los?

Quem desenvolverá a solução? Temos as habilidades necessárias internamente?

O que quero deixar para você caro leitor, é o seguinte questionamento: se não temos claro em nossa mente o motivo e como avaliar se estamos indo na direção certa, como conseguiremos lançar esses modelos?

Autora: @Laura Damaceno de Almeida Cientista de dados na IBM, onde trabalha com machine learning para auxiliar os clientes na tomada de decisão e atuarem de forma proativa no ramo. Graduada em ciências da computação e co-fundadora da comunidade AI Girls.

PUBLICANDO APLICAÇÕES ESTÁTICAS COM STATIC WEB APPS & AZURE DEVOPS! Fala Coders!

O que é Azure Static Web Apps?

O Azure Static Web Apps é um serviço que cria e implanta automaticamente aplicações Web completa no Azure desde um repositório de códigos, que nesse caso é usado o GitHub Actions.

Com esse serviço, te permite realizar deploy automático, de maneira rápida, fácil e totalmente gratuita usando quaisquer bibliotecas ou frameworks mais conhecidos do mercado, tais como: Angular, React, Svelte, Vue ou até mesmo usando o Blazor.

Já no lado do Back-End, você pode integrar a sua aplicação estática usando o Azure Functions, que te permitirá criar uma API de uma maneira muito mais rápida, dinâmica, resiliente e escalonável!

Se, vocês desejarem, temos inúmeros treinamentos de Azure Static Web Apps totalmente gratuitos na plataforma Microsoft Learn! Para listar alguns aqui...

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Agora que vocês já sabem o que é o Azure Static Web Apps, agora é o momento de focarmos no tema principal desse post: 'Como podemos publicar um site estático usando o Azure Static Web Apps integrando com a poderosa ferramenta do Azure DevOps? Vamos começar a fazer um hands-on com um tutorial? Aqui vamos nós!

O que vamos fazer?!

Bom, nesse tutorial vamos aprender a fazer uma plublicação de um site estático em Vue.Js usando o Azure Static Web e integrando com o Azure DevOps. Na versão preview isso não era possível (de uma certa forma, não... mas tem gente que conseguiu). Mas, agora com GA do Serviço, isso agora é super possível e é justamente o que estarei ensinando à todas as pessoas aqui!

Demo Time!

Para essa demo, vamos precisar dos seguintes recursos: Visual Studio Code Vue Conta Azure Conta no GitHub Para fins de demo, estaremos fazendo uso do recurso do GitHub: GitHub Templates.

Se deseja saber mais como criar um template e entender o que é bastam acessar AQUI. Cliquem nesse link https://github.com/staticwebdev/vue-basic/generate e logo em seguida crie um nome para esse repositório, conforme segue a imagem abaixo: (vocês podem escolher o nome que desejarem. Não necessariamente igual o meu.)

Logo em seguida clique no botão: Create Repository from Template. Após isso, estará já criada uma aplicação modelo em Vue.js para que possamos testar a nossa aplicação!

Usando o Azure DevOps! Vamos agora começar a fazer a integração da aplicação recém criada no GitHub e usar o Azure DevOps. Para isso, entre no link abaixo, para começar a usar o Azure DevOps de maneira gratuita!

Criando um Projeto - Azure DevOps Escolha as opções gratuitas. No meu caso, estou escolhendo a opção: Plano Básico - Free.

Depois de você incluir as suas informações de dados, aparecerá a seguinte imagem abaixo:

Vamos no passo a passo a partir de agora!

Passo 01 - Criando um projeto no Azure DevOps Crie o projeto e coloque de acordo com a imagem

Depois que você preencher todas as informações do seu Projeto, clique no botão: Create a Project. Depois de clicar nesse botão, a tela terá a seguinte formato:

Passo 02 - Importando o projeto no GitHub para o Azure DevOps Vamos agora implementar o código (template padrão) da aplicação Vue.js criada recentemente lá no GitHub e integrar no Azure DevOps. Vão em: 1. Repos 2. Files 3. Import a Repository 4. Import Aí abrirá uma nova janela, ali colocaremos, justo o GitClone da nossa aplicação (.git) e depois clicar no botão: Import Se não entenderem como proceder, mais abaixo terá um vídeo desse tutorial que gravei ensinando passo a passo, justo para ajudar todos vocês. E, também uma imagem que também auxiliará vocês nesse passo a passo:

No final, o seu Azure DevOps estará da seguinte forma:

Se estiver dessa forma, é porque você integrou com sucesso a sua aplicação Vue.js no Azure DevOps. Agora, vamos dar continuidade!

Passo 03 - Criando a Aplicação Estática no Azure Nesse passo precisaremos de uma Conta Azure, que inclusive vocês podem estar criando de maneira gratuita! Só precisa incluir os dados do seu cartão de crédito para fazer uso dos 12 meses gratuitos dos inúmeros serviços gratuitos disponíveis!

Aqui nesse post já mencionei sobre uma conta Azure for Students, que dão a vocês estudantes, vários benefícios de fazerem uso da Conta Azure de graça sem necessidade de incluir dados de cartão de crédito!

Depois que criar uma conta no Azure, você deverá acessar o Portal Azure Sigam os seguintes passos: 1 - Clicar em Create a Resource

2 - Depois, na parte da busca, digitem: Static Web Apps. E, em seguida cliquem no botão: Create

3 - Preencha todos os dados necessários nessa tela, que são: Resource Groups Static Web Apps Details -> Name (aqui o nome deverá ser único e nunca igual) Region: CENTRAL US (vocês podem escolher outras regiões também) Deployments Details - Others (escolha essa opção! Pois estaremos usando o Azure DevOps e não o GitHub Actions!)

E, por último, clicar no botão: Review + Create -> Create

Se tudo der certo, aparecerá a seguinte imagem abaixo. Caso sim, bastam clicar em: Go to resource

Agora, vamos fazer algumas modificações importantes. Vá até: 1.Overview 2. Manage Deployment token Aparecerá uma nova janela com um token gigantesco.

Copie e cole esse token em algum notepad de sua preferência. Pois vamos precisar dele posteriormente!

Passo 04 - Criando os Pipelines Task no Azure DevOps para a nossa Aplicação Estática!

Agora vamos usar o poder que o serviço do Azure DevOps nos proporciona integrado com o SWA!Retorne ao seu Projeto hospedado no Azure DevOps e vá até o botão: Set up Build

Depois disso, aparecerá uma nova janela.

Escolha a opção: Starter Pipeline

Copiem e colem o YAML abaixo e coloquem no pipeline de vocês:

Na parte de output_location precisaremos alterar! Pois em Vue.js a pasta de artefato, que é a pasta que gera os arquivos estáticos é a pasta dist. Para diferentes frameworks são nomes de pastas diferentes. Caso queira saber do framework que você esteja usando, temos uma lista dessas pastas AQUI Agora, vamos incluir aquele token criado lá no Portal Azure. Para isso, vamos usar um recurso bastante interessante no Azure DevOps: Variables.

Vá até: Variables New Variable Name (deployment_token) Value (o valor do token) Clicar no botão: Ok -> Save

Agora que já salvamos o nosso deployment_token vem o momento mais esperado: executar essa trigger e ver a coisa funcionar! Cliquem no botão: Save and Run

Feito isso, veremos o Pipeline da nossa aplicação estática sendo executado (job):

Se o (job) ou Build da aplicação der os checks todos verdes é porque o build foi executado com sucesso!

Passo 05 - Retornando ao Portal Azure Agora que o build foi executado com sucesso no Azure DevOps, é aquele momento de sabermos se a nossa aplicação foi devidamente publicada no Azure! Retorne ao recurso criado da aplicação no Azure e clique no link, conforme a imagem abaixo:

E, como podem ver, o deploy foi realizado e integrado com sucesso com Azure DevOps! Se vocês desejarem, estou disponibilizando o link da aplicação disponível na web Aplicação TodoList em Vue -AQUI Palavras Finais Espero que esse tutorial de SWA + Azure DevOps seja de grande ajuda à todas as pessoas!

Glaucia Lemos Cloud Advocate in JavaScript & Node.js Developer Relations

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CIÊNCIA DE DADOS EM CRÉDITO COMO OLHAMOS PARA AS VARIÁVEIS NOS MODELOS DE CREDIT SCORING? Conforme dito no artigo passado, a ciência de dados aplicada a crédito ajuda as empresas do mercado financeiro (bancos, empresas de empréstimos, varejos, seguradoras, e por aí vai) a diminuir seus riscos e perdas. Mas como isso é feito? Chegamos agora no passo a passo para obtermos um modelo de credit scoring que auxilia o mercado de crédito.

Antes de mais nada, é importante sabermos como olhamos para as variáveis dos modelos de crédito. O modelo preditivo é baseado em um algoritmo de machine learning que é treinado com um histórico de informações do cliente. Dado isso, escolhemos uma data de referência (M0) e olhamos as informações passadas dos clientes (M-1, M-2, M-3), como: os produtos que já contratou, se seu cpf foi muito consultado, se acabou se endividando, se procurou muito por crédito no mercado, etc.

Depois, olhamos para o futuro da data de referência para verificarmos a performance de alguns clientes ao contratar um produto de crédito e, dentro horizonte de performance (definido de acordo com a necessidade do projeto e do produto: podendo ser de 3 meses, 6 meses, 12 meses...), verificamos se o cliente deixou ou não de pagar algo para assim podermos marcá-lo como bom (pagou direitinho) ou mau (deixou de pagar).

Agora você pode estar se perguntando: "Mas Andressa, onde essas informações sobre a minha vida de crédito são achadas para serem usadas nesses modelos?". Essa é uma ótima pergunta. Hoje em dia, temos diversas empresas Brasil afora que recebem essas informações dos bancos, seguradoras e varejos que utilizamos e podemos vir a ficar devendo. Dois exemplos dessas empresas são os famosos e temidos: SCPC/Boa Vista e Serasa. Você já pode ter recebido ou já pode ter visto alguém receber uma cartinha de algumas dessas empresas avisando que se a pessoa não pagar o que deve num período X de tempo, seu nome entra em negativação. Essas empresas, além de marcarem essas informações de negativação, também possuem informações sobre nossos pagamentos (ou falta deles), consultas de cpf, quantos e quais produtos de crédito temos no momento ou já tivemos no passado, etc. Não é à toa que ambas as empresas Serasa e Boa Vista produzem seus próprios credit scores e os vendem para companhias que usam crédito de alguma forma (como os já citados: bancos, seguradoras, varejos, etc). Os scores dessas empresas são bastante usados no mercado para ajudar as empresas a saberem quais clientes são mais propensos a deixar de pagar algo, mas nós nunca sabemos exatamente como esses scores são construídos. Então, além de poder vender seus próprios credit scores, essas empresas também podem vender as informações relacionadas às dívidas dos clientes, produtos contratados, valores das dívidas, quantas consultas os clientes possuem, e por aí vai…

Essas empresas, como Serasa e Boa Vista, possuem um grande poder quando falamos de crédito pois concentram muitas informações dos brasileiros como um todo e já têm seu nome feito no mercado. Mas na maioria dos lugares, também são usadas informações internas para fazer os modelos de credit scoring. E por que isso? Porque gastamos menos, uma vez que geralmente compramos menos (ou nenhuma) variáveis de empresas externas (se as internas forem boas e bem construídas), e também temos mais controle e especificidade sobre as variáveis, uma vez que foram construídas internamente e podem falar especificamente de um produto que queremos atacar sendo melhores do que variáveis mais genéricas que são as que geralmente as empresas externas nos oferecem com maior frequência e preços melhores.

Nesse artigo, falei um pouco sobre como olhamos para as variáveis que usamos nos modelos de credit scoring e também de onde elas são tiradas. No próximo, falarei dos modelos de fato: quais modelos mais usamos e por que?

Até lá, galera!

Autora: @Andressa Freires The best way to introduce myself is to say that I'm passionate about data and people! I am a data scientist at PicPay and one of the representatives of the inclusion and diversity group, and also a part of the culture group and mentor for the inclusion of diversity in the Data area. I'm a columnist for AI and Diversity for Female Tech Leaders magazine. I am the administrative coordinator of UneAfro, which offers popular courses to black and low-income youth. I'm part of AfroPython, which is a movement for inclusion and empowerment of black people in the Information Technology area. I am a mentor at BOSS. I am an event coordinator at AI Girls, which is a movement to include women in Data. I'm also part of PyLadies, UXPMP. I have been in the data science area for more than 3 years and before PicPay I also worked as a data scientist at Koin and Itaú (internship), in addition to having done scientific research in Computational Neuroscience at USP.

MULHERES NA LIDERANÇA DOS NEGÓCIOS E NA CIBERSEGURANÇA Desperta, faz a sua meditação, treina e, então, é hora de realizar a segunda parte da rotina da manhã: café e início das atividades profissionais. Durante o dia, divide-se entre a empresa e a casa de forma maestral. Sim, essa é apenas uma mulher de toda a nossa sociedade.

Há diferenças físicas e comportamentais entre homens e mulheres. De acordo com estudos de Daphne Joel, pesquisadora da Universidade de Tel Aviv, o cérebro humano é um mosaico com características comuns a ambos os gêneros. Porém, o feminino tem uma dimensão entre 8 e 14% inferior ao masculino. E não para por aí: o hipocampo, que é a zona associada à aprendizagem e a memorização, é maior nas mulheres; além de mesmo em atividades similares, homens e mulheres ativam áreas distintas do cérebro.

A explicação científica auxilia na compressão das diferenças e do porquê as mulheres conseguem executar diversas tarefas ao mesmo tempo em detrimento dos homens que abrem uma caixinha de cada vez. Assim como a atenção aos detalhes é o lado mais sensível para diferentes situações.

Saber aplicar essas nuances na vida pessoal e na profissional trazem inúmeros benefícios para o dia a dia das mulheres. Mesmo assim, elas devem ficar atentas para que comportamentos e hábitos não interfiram no processo de aprendizado e desenvolvimento.

As mulheres e o mercado de trabalho Para entender como se dá essa relação, voltamos para a Revolução Industrial, que contribuiu com a entrada das mulheres no mercado de trabalho. Anteriormente, elas eram as organizadoras do lar, enquanto os homens eram os provedores. Porém, apenas entre a Primeira e a Segunda Guerra Mundial é que este movimento se intensifica e elas passam a assumir funções antes tidas apenas como masculinas.

Por outro lado, as mulheres mostram que são capazes de assumir responsabilidades e atividades antes tidas apenas como “para homens” — piloto de avião, mecânica, caminhoneira são alguns exemplos desses casos. Não podemos deixar de citar a cibersegurança — mas teremos uma seção dedicada a ela mais à frente.

As características femininas agregam ao ambiente de trabalho, ao inserir novas perspectivas sobre temas, situações e relações que ficavam restritas ao olhar masculino. Segundo Sally Helgesen, especialista em liderança e autora do livro How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise (Como as Mulheres Chegam ao Topo: Elimine os 12 hábitos que impedem você de alcançar seu próximo aumento, promoção ou emprego, em português), as responsabilidades em casa adiciona às mulheres habilidades como empatia, escuta e trabalho em equipe, as quais não costumavam ser encontradas nos ambientes de trabalho antes da chegada delas.

Quando colocadas e respeitadas, as características de homens e mulheres contribuem e se complementam para a geração de um ambiente de trabalho mais estruturado, multicultural e inovador.

Mulheres e a cibersegurança De acordo com relatório (ISC)2 Women in Cybersecurity, edição 2020, cerca de 11% dos profissionais técnicos da área de cibersegurança eram mulheres em 2013. Quase uma década depois, esse número já é de quase um quatro.

Tanto que, na América Latina, temos 40% de mulheres em cibersegurança, a maior região global, seguida de Ásia-Pacífico (30%), Europa (23%) e Estados Unidos (21%).

Mesmo com avanço, os dados indicam que o gap ainda é grande, mas como já observamos, a pluralidade nas equipes impacta diretamente no lucro e na produção das organizações.

Para diminuir essa lacuna, as empresas e as organizações, como a WOMCY (Women in Cybersecurity), têm incentivado a especialização das mulheres, bem como dado espaço para desmistificar o estereótipo que perdurou por muitos anos acerca dos profissionais da área.

Sabendo que temos tanto os perfis técnicos quanto os focados em negócios, a cibersegurança é plural, está em pleno crescimento e tem espaço para que as mulheres possam contribuir e seguir carreira na área.

Mulheres e cargos de liderança Também é científico que as mulheres são melhores líderes. Um estudo publicado pela Business Insider com 16 mil líderes indica que o sexo feminino superou em 14 das 16 competências analisadas. A integridade, honestidade, capacidade de superar desafios mais difíceis, eficiência na gestão de equipe e mais iniciativa às colocam à frente dos homens.

Outro hábito das mulheres que se destacam na liderança é perguntar o que pode ser melhorado aos liderados.

Atualmente, vemos o crescimento de líderes mulheres em diversos segmentos. E os resultados também são notórios. Um dos exemplos brasileiros mais recentes é a chegada de Cristina Junqueira, uma dos cofundadores, ao cargo de CEO do Nubank. Ela faz parte dos 13% de mulheres que são CEOs no país. Entretanto, 19% já ocupam cargos de liderança nas empresas do Brasil, segundo o Insper em parceria com a Talenses, em posições de diretoria, vice-presidência e em conselhos.

Os segmentos que contam com mais mulheres na liderança atualmente são varejo, farmacêutico, cosméticos e bens de consumo, sendo que as áreas com mais profissionais são RH, Marketing e Comercial.

Uma pesquisa da Page Executive realizada pelo PageGroup indica o aumento de 20% dos cargos de liderança ocupados por mulheres no ano de 2020. Isso se dá não apenas pelo melhor preparo delas, bem como pelo aumento de mulheres nos processos seletivos.

Por outro lado, as empresas têm buscado equilibrar os cargos ocupados por homens e mulheres, assim como já perceberam que ter executivas em seus times aumenta em 50% as chances de rentabilidade e 22% a margem EBITDA, de acordo com um estudo da consultoria McKinsey realizado na América Latina.

Outro número que chama a atenção é o crescimento das mulheres nas empresas de capital aberto. O Teva Índices, em parceria com a Easynvest, mostrou que das 15 companhias listadas na B3 com valor de capitalização maior do que R$ 300 milhões, mantém entre 22 e 50% de conselheiras mulheres.

Esses dados reforçam a previsão da Organização Internacional do Trabalho (OIT) de que as empresas com mulheres em postos de liderança obtêm mais lucro em seus negócios.

Como estamos falando do cenário brasileiro, 71%, das 451 empresas entrevistadas, disseram que aumentaram o lucro de 5 a 15% contando com mulheres em cargos de liderança.

Mesmo com todas as características marcantes das mulheres, como autoconfiança, capacidade de influência, bom humor, resiliência e assertividade, que destacam os resultados dos negócios, ainda há o maior tempo dedicado ao lar e aos filhos, bem como a diferença salarial de até 22% menos do que os homens, segundo dados do Dieese (Departamento Intersindical de Estatísticas e Estudos Socioeconômicos). É possível equilibrar a vida profissional e pessoal de forma que a mulher contribua para o crescimento dos negócios, mas sem se privar das relações familiares, o que ainda é um desafio e tanto, principalmente para as que não ocupam cargos de liderança. *Por Mariana Alves de Assis, cofundadora da MA² Business and Communications, voluntária da WOMCY Brasil, e uma apaixonada por cibersegurança.

Mariana Alves de Assis Empreendedora, internacionalista, comunicadora e jornalista, com 10 anos de experiência, sendo quatro deles dedicados à empresas internacionais.

Coordena os times de PR no Brasil e América Latina no desenvolvimento, implementação e gerenciamento de projetos de comunicação, incluindo interface de comunicação interna e externa; treinamento de equipes; produção de eventos; ações de marketing e relações institucionais.

Desenvolvimento e implantação do programa de novos negócios, e programa de comunicação de empresas de segurança da informação.

Apoiou a criação de área de inteligência digital de agências. É cofundadora da MA² Business and Communications e voluntária da WOMCY Brasil.

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