This International Women’s Day (IWD) we wanted to share some of the stories of our own colleagues. The theme for this IWD is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality, focusing on how access to both digital and technological advancements is crucial for achieving gender equity and empowering women and girls.
Women’s lack of inclusion comes with massive costs, their exclusion from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the GDP of low- and middle-income countries in the last decade, a loss which will grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025 without action.
IWD 2023 will also celebrate and recognize the women and girls who are championing the advancement of technology and digital education. By bringing women and other marginalized groups into technology, there is greater potential for creativity and innovations that represent more diverse groups. So, we asked 3 of our colleagues their thoughts and experiences on breaking the barriers for women in tech.
Genna Bonifant, Pre-Sales Engineer
“I’m proud to work in the field because it is a male driven industry. Whenever I have conversations with others, and they hear that I work in the tech field, they are usually quite surprised or impressed by what I do. That’s why I think it’s important more women enter STEM fields because it can further gender equality and show others that women can do everything that men do as well.”
Namira Adani, Analyst
“I’m proud to work in STEM because I love what I do and it’s fun to solve problems and help others, and I’m also very passionate about creating pathways for other women to join the industry. When I first started, it excited me to see other women working alongside me or in leadership positions, it made me realize that I could also be her in the future. Now I’m that woman, and I hope I can provide that visibility for other women joining the industry.”
Demi Brauer, Dynamics 365 Technical Consultant
“A real inspiration for me is my mom, she worked in a male dominated industry, and that visibility should never be underestimated. When I joined the workforce in IT, the fact that it is a male dominated industry never crossed my mind because of my mom and that’s the power of visibility in STEM industry.”
