In celebration of International Women's Day 2023, we interviewed a couple of our very own Women-in-Tech to get their insights on what brought them to a career in technology, and their experience and perspectives on the future of the industry.
Marina Kopylenko (Finance Business Analyst)
What first sparked your interest in working in the tech industry?
When I was in high school, docents(associate professors) from Kyiv Polytechnical University came to advertise a foundation course covering physics, mathematics and computer basics. I joined because I liked physics and math, but was not sure about future specialization. Several years later I’ve got a part-time job and a desktop computer to work from home. Since that day I changed my profession several times, but it has always been related to computers.
What advice would you give yourself just starting out?
Trust your intuition and do not be afraid of failure.
How much do you think the industry has changed since you joined?
The telecommunication industry is changing at high speed and has dramatically changed our lives over a short period of time. The initial idea of a “detached” phone has transformed into full mobility in communication, business and entertainment. High-speed Internet is often viewed as a basic human right.
While some technologies did not survive the changes - I saw the rise and fall of MMS and WAP, mobile banking via SMS is almost forgotten with bank apps and NFC on every phone and smart device, others are progressing on a steep curve, with the ongoing development of mobile fraud and social engineering, along with security solutions to balance that."
"Diversity and inclusion are beneficial because it provides many points of view on the same/known issue. The tech industry is highly competitive and fresh ideas are really valuable."
- Marina Kopylenko
Why is it important for women and girls to get involved in tech?
New generations are growing up surrounded by electronics. It’s even hard to imagine any professional not supported by technologies nowadays.
A woman's perspective can provide technical insights to improve technology design for this demographic as well as others, providing a more rounded understanding of design needs. From the top of my mind, dishwasher was invented by a woman.
Tech jobs are well-paid and flexible. The COVID years showed how important it is to be able to work remotely to continue to earn income, and the way technology supported this has changed the way people work, particularly parents.
The ability to work in a tech position and still be present in the home makes these roles even more accessible to women with family responsibilities.
Tech jobs are contributing to the future. They are ever-evolving: there’s always something to learn, but the experience is still valuable. It helps to feel modern and young.. Women can also offer further insights on personal and children’s security for development and use of various apps, social networks, and banking technologies.
How can we encourage women into tech?
I believe it starts at a very young age. Toys are still very gender-distinct and discourage most girls from tech interests. I don’t think gender biases could be changed at a snap. We need tech giants to promote the benefits of tech jobs as mentioned.
What is Tampnet doing to attract women in the tech industry?
Tampnet is providing a welcoming environment and targets diversity among employees. Here you can meet people from different countries with amazing job experience and hobbies. Working hours are flexible and many can work from home, it really saves a lot of time on commuting. Coming from a big corporation, I am impressed by the attention given to employees’ family matters. It’s a friendly and inclusive team. The attraction of talent among women is given special attention. There is an internal program “Women in Tech” promoting the importance of gender balance to top managers and teams. There are already changes in hiring and promoting processes, and the company is always looking for areas to improve.
What first sparked your interest in working in the tech industry?
I took my first computer science principals course my sophomore year in high school sparking my interest in the tech industry. Having a supportive teacher and peers during that time contributed greatly to me staying on this path. I felt free to learn and make mistakes without being put down for them. The fundamental learning from the small games and applications we created in that class have followed me throughout my courses and into my first tech job after college. The excitement of solving your first problem or coding your first game or application is what kept me interested and excited to learn more. Throughout high school and college, I really enjoyed problem-solving and being able to see the result in real-time, whether it was debugging code or designing graphics for an application.
Haley Trebus (IT Operations Engineer)
What advice would you give yourself just starting out?
Being supportive of the younger generation, especially girls, to pursue careers in the tech industry is the best way to promote how they can succeed in whatever they put their mind to. Growing up, I didn’t see myself working in the tech industry until I saw other women holding those positions and being recognized for their work. Knowing that they were able to succeed in those positions showed me that the possibilities are endless. The advice I would give to my younger self and girls just starting out in the tech industry is to take things at your own pace. The world of technology is always changing, and no one will ever know everything. I’d encourage them to keep learning, keep asking questions, to not be afraid to make mistakes, and to remember that trial and error is the best teacher.
How much do you think the industry has changed since you joined?
Although I just recently joined the tech industry, I still witnessed a lot of things throughout college or online about how others perceive women in tech. Being the only girl in some of my STEM classes was really intimidating at times. There were many instances where I didn’t feel confident enough to ask questions in class because of the fear of my other classmates’ opinions or due to the responses I would get from some professors and not feeling like I had their support. From my freshman year in college to the time I graduated, I noticed a lot of change for the better. By the end of my college career, there were more girls in STEM classes, more girls in tech-related clubs, and more girls speaking up in class. I experience and learn something new every day within the tech industry and I don’t expect that to change. The culture in tech positions is changing for the better to become more inclusive and the technology itself changes daily.
Why is it important for women and girls to get involved in tech?
It’s important for women and girls to get involved in the tech industry because women offer a different mindset and approach to problem solving. As more women join the tech industry there will be more women mentors, less of a gender bias in the workplace, more equal growth opportunities comparable to men, and equal pay for the same positions that men hold. Diversity and inclusion is not a one-time effort from companies and management. This effort is continuous work that needs to be developed, maintained, and cultivated. Companies overall tend to do better when being an equal opportunity employer. They’re viewed better by the public which already puts them above companies that don’t prioritize being an equal opportunity employer. The benefits aren’t just in the public eye, but also having more women in the company and more women holding management positions improves the work dynamic.
How can we encourage women into tech?
Ways to encourage women into joining the tech industry is starting early in school to encourage girls to learn about STEM, address the biases and cultural stereotypes that discourage girls and women, and encourage mentorship and positive role models. Having campaigns to encourage women in joining the tech industry will show that it’s not as intimidating for women to join as it may be portrayed to be. Women being highlighted in the marketing campaigns for tech courses in college or for tech positions would broadcast that it is possible to be successful and do rewarding and beneficial work in the industry. Steps must be taken inside the workplace as it’s just as important as recruiting them. If the workplace is inclusive and diverse it will promote that equality and attract the right people to the job.
"Diversity and inclusion is not a one-time effort from companies and management. This effort is continuous work that needs to be developed, maintained, and cultivated."
- Haley Trebus
What are the 3 top actionable ways to improve gender balance?
Promoting gender balance in daily life can be things as small as discussing with your friends, family and kids about gender equality, supporting mothers and parents, supporting women owned businesses, and encouraging financial inclusion. Promoting gender balance in the workplace and attracting a gender balanced workforce is all about how the company stances themselves with the issue. Most organizations have a diversity statement, but some don’t share it. Sharing a diversity statement and making it known to the public that this company is promoting these good values and will in return attract likeminded individuals.
What do you think the benefit of having more women in tech is?
Having more women in tech would benefit the ideas that are produced from the team, offer unique perspectives to meet challenges, solve problems, and design new products. With more women in the tech industry there will be more women role models in the field which in turn promotes more women into being interested in the tech industry. Having more women in tech also promotes a better work culture and the overall balance of the workplace.
What is Tampnet doing to attract women in the tech industry?
Tampnet is focusing on ideas that definitely attract women to join this company, as well as promoting for women to join the tech industry in general. With Tampnet being in so many different countries with so many different nationalities involved it’s very easy to see from an outside perspective that we’re a diverse and inclusive company. One of the more notable attractions is listing on the job postings how having women apply is a priority to the hiring process and in return, will encourage more women to apply to our job postings as well as support women in applying for other tech positions.
Read more about Tampnet’s Women in Tech initiative here.
