Women in tech
What challenges have you encountered if any being a female in the tech sector? I work for a tech company in the mobility sector, this is a traditionally a male dominated industry. We have been very lucky to be able to hire incredible women to lead our warehouses, operations and mechanic teams. I have found that men in this industry love working with women and that they find us a breath of fresh air. Te main challenge I have is that language that is used in the
industry at large is still very male orientated. I get called a “guy” multiple times a day and oſten find people will only refer to He/ Him in a number of different contexts. Although it is small, it does reinforce that men are still the default gender when talking about business, tech or engineers. At Zoomo, we encourage people to say “thanks Zoomers” at the end of call rather than “thanks guys”, and to refer to new hires equally as he/she or they. It always makes me happy when I hear a she or gender-neutral term being used, representation matters.
What are your interests and passions in regards to working in the tech channel? I love innovation and disruption, I love the fact that we can bring new ideas and business models to the world. I also love that new business models and technologies can help us improve the world and lead to the betterment of society and the planet. To that end, I am particularly passionate about people, and
especially people that are less visible in our society. Te customers that Zoomo serves, delivery couriers, are not a group that is served by many other companies. We provide them high quality, aspirational vehicles and we aim to ensure that their work is dignified, safe and valued. I am passionate about delivering that experience to our thousands of customers every day.
How can the channel drive greater diversity in the sector? We need to start seeing more VC investment being put into women-led startups in the technology sector at large. In 2020 Crunchbase revealed that the amount of VC funding toward women-led startups dropped to 2.3%. It simply is just not good enough. Tere are so many women out there building leading tech companies of the future, but they are not getting the funds to start, or grow, their businesses. Te lack of investment in women-led startups has a ripple effect.
Without the financial backing, their businesses don’t thrive, and when their businesses don’t thrive, they don’t get the attention they need (i.e. inclusion in panels, media articles highlighting founders). It can be easy to conclude that women don’t start companies or are
not founders. It can be easy to limit these lists to the top 10 men in a sector. I would suggest that instead of going down this well-trodden path, we highlight senior female leaders who might not have gotten their funding but are still making a huge impact. By doing this, we help fight the status quo, perhaps even
changing the minds of decision-makers in VC. Te more women in leadership roles that we are exposed to, in the press, on panels, at conferences, the more likely we think of them as leaders and that financial institutions back them with capital. We can all play a role in increasing the 2.3% from 2020.
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Here is where we can start: • Talk about women that inspire you. • Make lists of the 10 ten people in a field and include 50% women. • Put women on panels. • Promote women. As a woman myself, I pledge to also talk about my successes. Te more confident we are, the more confidence others will have in us.
How can the channel look to attract more females into leadership positions within the channel? Representation is key. By promoting more women and providing them with support and resources, you can assist in setting them up for success. When it comes to job descriptions, they are written to be exciting
and show all the responsibilities the individual will have. Tis can also be intimidating. I would suggest that future job descriptions focus on communicating how the individual will be supported and mentored, rather than focusing solely on the responsibilities associated with the role. Another approach is to offer and facilitate mentorships and
connect female leaders. At Zoomo, we recently hired a woman into a leadership role who didn’t have the same level of experience as some of our leadership team, however we saw her immense potential and as part of our offer to her, we put forward the inclusion of a coach (that we would supply) to help set her up for success. By offering these benefits and inclusions, we build a stronger network of female leaders in the business and at the same time, give females the confidence necessary for them to succeed. A win all round! It is also essential to prioritise diverse teams within the workplace.
At Zoomo, we actively look for incredible female talent and do our best to encourage them to join us and be part of the tech and mobility sector. Tis process requires persistence and constant effort, but if you are committed to it, you are the ones who will reap the rewards once they join. To appeal to women, I would also consider benefits that work in
favour of diverse teams including flexible job share, remote working and maternity leave.
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