The theme for this year's International Women Day is Break The Bias. This means showing commitment to smashing stereotypes, breaking inequality, and rejecting discrimination. At Team Deazy we wanted to show one of the ways our team is showcasing extraordinary women. Our all female product team is a rare sight in the tech industry which is made up of 75% men.
Today, we wanted to sit down with these exceptional women and ask their thoughts on women in tech, what barriers they overcome, what it's like working with female developers and how they think we can encourage more women to join the tech industry.
Sharon
Sharon is a product manager at Deazy who has been part of the team since October of 2020. She is outspoken and strong-willed, always standing up for what she believes is right, championing for women every step along the way. Sharon works hard juggling multiple clients and engagements at once, keeping her teams accountable at all times.
Sharon has worked at Deazy since October of 2020.
01 What does working in an all female team, within a male dominated industry, mean to you?
I'm extremely proud of the team I work in and what we've achieved since we've been together at Deazy. Whenever someone has a problem they are struggling to solve, we will come together and skill share. There's no egos or dramas, and everyone is ready to make sure that we all do a good job. I'm especially proud when I see products we've helped shape together out in the marketplace, or the continually celebrated success of our ever growing Deazy Platform and the knowledge that these have all been created by an all female team.
02 What do you enjoy the most about working in an all female team?
We're all really similar within our team, which helps with the dynamic and the drive to get projects over the line for our clients. Having similar backgrounds and barriers that we've had to overcome means that we all support and celebrate each other's successes. We're really great at encouraging each other to improve and progress. We're all really career driven, and knowing how difficult it can be to progress as women in the tech industry helps create a great bond between us.
03 As a woman, what would you say is the biggest challenge faced by women in tech?
These days within junior roles in the tech industry the gender split can be very much 50/50, but as in other industries, once you go above that level, into more senior positions, it becomes very male dominated. I think women can be uncomfortable pushing for promotions until they are very confident that they can do the role and they have to work much harder to be recognised for a job well done and often feel that they can't make mistakes.
04 Can you give an example of a barrier you’ve personally overcome as a woman working in the tech industry?
Within this industry and especially in a previous role I quite often found myself being the only women in the room. I had to prove myself and do it fast to ensure I was listened to and could keep my autonomy and decision making influence within a project. Now I'm more experienced I can go into any room and feel comfortable leading and putting my views on the table from the start. However, it has taken me a long time and a lot of learning to get to a place where I feel like I can manage any conversation without feeling that I'm out of place.
05 How have you found working with women in Deazy's developer ecosystem? Is there anything unique you've found they bring to the table?
I'm always delighted dealing with women within the Deazy ecosystem. I’ve found that the women I've had the pleasure of working with so far bring structure, positivity and confidence to any project.
06 Do you have any ideas about how we could encourage more women of the future to join the tech industry?
I think we need to get away from this perception that working in tech is for people who are introverted and sit in dark rooms alone. There are a wide variety of careers and it's the most collaborative industry that I've ever worked in. Ensuring job adverts have the right unbiased language within them and creating better shared parental leave policies is a good start.
Andrea
Andrea has worked at Deazy since August, 2020. As a Senior Product Manager, Andrea oversees all aspects of building Deazy’s own platform. She is observant, passionate and ambitious about making the Deazy platform the best it can be, strategically maximising value for all of our users. She has worked hard to create and perfect Deazy’s own internal delivery processes.
Andrea joined Team Deazy in August of 2020.
01 What do you enjoy the most about working in an all female team?
I feel so lucky to be working in a team where everyone is so talented and passionate about what they do. Everyone is so encouraging. Our shared experiences and challenges definitely help us empathise and support each other.
02 As a woman, what would you say is the biggest challenge faced by women in tech?
I think we are starting to see more women coming into tech but there is still a massive gender gap in the more senior, leadership roles. Without generalising, I’ve seen a lot of women be much more critical of their own skills, myself included. Then of course although this is by no means exclusive to the tech industry, there’s always the fear that starting a family will set you back years compared to male colleagues, who still take far far less parental leave than women.
03 Can you give an example of a barrier you’ve personally overcome as a woman working in the tech industry?
I don’t think I’m often aware of barriers being gender-specific and I’m very lucky that at Deazy I work with a lot of men who are my biggest cheerleaders, but I’m always super conscious of proving myself in any new group of people, especially when I’m the only woman in the room.
04 How have you found working with women in Deazy's developer ecosystem? Is there anything unique you've found they bring to the table?
One of the best things about working with the Deazy ecosystem is the diversity of talent and approaches that we have access to. In the past I’ve worked with many development teams made up solely of men with very similar backgrounds, but I passionately believe that the best teams are made up of people with different life experiences and perspectives so it’s brilliant that we’re able to build these kinds of teams.
05 Do you have any ideas about how we could encourage more women of the future to join the tech industry?
I don’t think the range of tech roles and the types of skills needed are very well understood. Like most people in Product, I fell into this career path by chance and even though both my parents have Computer Science backgrounds, while I was in education I had no idea that this role even existed, never mind that it was so well suited to my personality and skillset. I think a lot more can be done to promote tech career paths to women - it’s a fascinating industry with so much scope to make an impact.
Hayley
Hayley, Head of Client Services, has worked at Deazy since October of 2020. She oversees all aspects of Deazy’s long-term client engagements and leads the client product team. While juggling dozens of different responsibilities at once, she always makes sure to give her team time and space for feedback or to air any grievances. As a strong and fair leader, Hayley is never afraid to speak her mind, but always does so with care.
Hayley has been Head of Client Services since Oct 2020.
01 What does working in an all female team, within a male dominated industry, mean to you?
I am really proud to work in a tech business with strong female representation and am excited about the opportunity we have at Deazy to support women succeeding in tech and provide role models for women within this industry. Seeing is believing!
02As a woman, what would you say is the biggest challenge faced by women in tech?
Under-representation of women in tech is a challenge for those already in it. It impacts us a number of ways, from unconscious biases in culture, working models and benefits of businesses, to the confidence women feel in their roles. Self-doubt effects everyone, but this is amplified when you are often the only woman in the room.
03 Can you give an example of a barrier you’ve personally overcome as a woman working in the tech industry?
Personally I found navigating the bias around ‘female’ characteristics challenging. Being assertive was labelled as aggressive, taking the lead seen as bossy. It took experience, and exposure to some great people, to build the confidence to not let these biases hold me back from expressing my ideas and taking the lead.
04 How have you found working with women in Deazy's developer ecosystem? Is there anything unique you've found they bring to the table?
Having the opportunity to work alongside and support other women across the globe to excel in their roles, and help shape the future of the Deazy ecosystem and the tech industry, is an absolute pleasure!
05 Do you have any ideas about how we could encourage more women of the future to join the tech industry?
Accelerate the progress of women to leadership positions in tech. With more women leading, not only would the pace of change to support women progressing in tech increase, but the number of women entering the industry would naturally rise, in line with the increase in visibility of women leading.
