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In celebration of International Women’s Day, we talked to some of our female employees from around the
world to ask them what IWD 2021 theme means to them #Choosetochallenge.

 

Bridging the gender gap

 

As an innovative global tech scale-up, we recognise that there is a significant gender gap in our sector – with only 3% of women choosing a career in technology as their first choice compared to 33% of men, we believe there is still a lot of work to be done across the sector to support and attract females into tech.

At Deliverect we have superstar women working for us, and we are using the whole month of March to celebrate them. Our female employees make up 30% of our workforce and we are focused on creating an inclusive work environment with equal opportunities for all.

According to PWC’s 2020 research 78% of female students surveyed can’t name a famous female working in technology – this is something we are aspiring to change! At Deliverect we are committed to listening and educating our employees which is why we will run internship schemes that aim for 50% female representation with Ghent University in Belgium near our HQ to help break the stigma of women working in tech and appeal to the younger generation.

International Women’s Day is a great chance to bring these kinds of conversations about our industry and gender inequality to the forefront.

 

Deliverect #IWD festivities

 

Alongside our ‘5 minutes with’ series, for International Women’s Day we created custom made t-shirts which feature IWD’s theme for 2021 #Choosetochallenge and #IWD2021 and we will be encouraged all our employees to wear them on 8 th March as well as receiving a special gift.

Our employees were also invited to join our IWD event, where Catherine Barba, who serves on the board of directors at Renault and Etam as well as being named as one of the 50 most influential figures in Europe’s digital economy, lead an insightful talk about the landscape of digital retail, innovation, and women in technology.

In our ‘5 minutes with’ series, we interviewed five female employees and asked what Choosetochallenge meant to them. The video will be shared throughout March on our social channels, helping to highlight the importance of challenging inequality in and outside of the workplace.

 

How we choose to challenge

 

Challenging gender inequality and driving change will not happen overnight, but IWD helps businesses and communities from around the world address certain issues and start these conversations. Deliverect is no different. In her ‘5 minutes with’ video Shelby Torrence, head of marketing at Deliverect, said: “I think International Women’s Day is a chance for the world and that includes both men and women to unite and work together on the challenges that women face everywhere. I am an African American woman; I have lived in three different countries so my experience and circumstances may be different to other women. But many of the challenges that women face are common across countries and cultures. IWD shows what we can accomplish when we unite in a fight for rights of women around the world.”

When asked about this years’ theme Shelby continued: “I really love this theme because it can help us break through stereotypes and bias. It’s important to encourage women and especially young girls to be comfortable questioning and challenging.”

 

 

Lisa Pattyn, our team leader for partner integrations, and Kateryna Vitenko, our customer success team leader’s ‘5 minutes with’ videos offer insight into the day-to day at Deliverect and how as a company we are champion inclusivity.

 

 

Echoing this, Kateryna Vitenko, our customer support leader, commented: “I, myself do not feel the difference between genders at Deliverect, which is a good thing. We get equal opportunities and I see more and more female leaders in the company. Never for a second have I ever felt discriminated against because of my gender or not appreciated enough. Deliverect is a very female friendly company through and through.”

 

Growing an inclusive and diverse company and further

 

Choosing to challenge stereotypes and call out inequality is high on the agenda in our sector and it may begin at the workplace, but it also extends to our customers. Deliverect customer Ruth Christianson, founder Maize Blaze believe that "healthy debate is the best way to challenge inequalities as situations arise in the lives of friends and family. It’s often not so black and white so I think it’s important to analyse the different narratives women play out in society that men are exempt from and make sure we all make choices aligned with our progressive worldview.

I think this is just as important in my work environment; to monitor the dynamics of my company’s working environment and step in, if needed, to ensure we are all on the same page of what is expected in terms of workplace language and conduct."

 

We invite you to get involved in IWD by finding out more about the day here: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/.


Consider yourself a tech whiz or want to be part of an innovative and creative scale-up? Visit our careers page to see our latest vacancies: https://careers.deliverect.com.

Jennifer Gardner
March 8, 2021 by Jennifer Gardner

Head of People at Deliverect