International Women's Day - Share Your Story!

[MGV · Accepted solution]

• What does International Women’s Day mean for you?
  • A reminder that there is so much still to be done for equality.
• What advice do you have for developers in technology to push for progress in the workplace?
  • At school, I would be the only female in my class or 1 of 2.  Then it was similar at work.  I want technology to reflect society.  And I want everyone to be taken seriously regardless of their gender, race, etc.  Women have a lot to bring to the table and we need to make sure they get that chance.  Do not give up. 

[Richa]

What does International Women’s Day mean for you?

•     International women's day is celebrating the realization of women's rights and getting equal participation in all walks of life.

How do you plan to #balanaceforbetter?

•     By striving for a gender balanced world which is essential for economies and communities to thrive.

What advice do you have for developers in technology to push for progress in the workplace?

•     Be passionate, be diligent and enjoy what you do.

[dhomisak]

IWD is a great opportunity to celebrate the ground breaking work of women in tech, both past and present. It is also a great way to engage future female developers. I landed in tech at Visa as a third career, if you will. I started my career in biology, then got a masters in business, worked for IBM in sales and worked in several divisions at Visa before coming to VDP. I work with many women project managers, product owners and developers both at Visa and at our clients. I have seen the number of women increase dramatically over the course of my career, in increasingly more senior roles. But of course, as many women have posted, we constantly have to balance family and work. Fortunately, working in tech can afford a woman flexibility when it comes to work schedules and working from home.

The best advice I have for women in tech is to produce results in any role you are in. When you produce, you gain credibility and credibility helps you be heard as an agent for change. When I began my career, the slogan of the time was: women have to work twice as hard to be thought of as half as good as men. While I think this sentiment has shifted, there’s still nothing more important than excelling at what you do. There is more work to be done with respect to wage equality and work/life balance. And it takes all of us as a community to push for change. It’s our time………..

[monicag22]

International Women's Day for me is a day of awareness as well as a celebration of how far we've all come. It's a day to bring to light the issues we are facing trying to build a balanced world and encourages us to have conversations with one another on what we think we as an individual can do to help. As much reflection as we do and talk about ways to improve, it is still a day for celebration. We have made it so far through the help of all those who fought for us and paved the way; for all the hard work they went through, we need to celebrate our achievements. The day is also a day for encouragement. We should all feel empowered to have our voice heard and encourage us to become mentors and leaders. I'm excited for International Women's Day because it's a day to celebrate, inspire and reflect.

The balance for better starts at a young age. I believe working with our younger generation will set us up for success in the future and drive a positive attitude. Currently I see the problem being that diversity being a "number", I don't want us to be working towards meeting a specific quota because I see that drives a negative energy throughout an organization. We need to encourage our peers and leaders to think that the balance for better starts at fixing the root cause of the problem and not quick fixes by hiring x number of people to meet a number. We don't want to be characterized like that because it takes away from the merit of a candidate. I plan to encourage my teammates become more aware of the issue and understand how the impact of a false perception or negative attitude can hurt us from building a balanced future. Volunteering with younger kids and encouraging them to feel empowered can also help our next generation to enter the workforce with a positive attitude and passion for change.

I'd like to encourage everyone to let their voice be heard, get involved and don't give up. As I said earlier, we're where we are now because of the people ahead of us paving the way and we should make it our job to continue with that mindset to set up the next generation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or challenge the thought process of a peer because talking to others and learning from each other is how we can become better individuals.

[hgodara]

What does International Women’s Day mean for you?

     It reminds that there is so much work still needs to be done in for equality in different sectors and regions of the planet. It reminds me how fortunate I've been to have parents who never differentiated my sister and I because of being a girl. They have empowered us from the start and now we are confident young women. I'm thankful that as an engineer at Visa, I've always received the support I wanted and haven't seen any biases on gender. Every women's day, I'm grateful to be women. 

• How do you plan to #balanaceforbetter?  Balance for better starts from within, being a independent strong women inspires people around her. Balance between work life and personal life, between healthy life styles and parties, between saving and travel. Being clear in where you want to be and what you want to do can help everyone. For me, the balance started at young age when my father believed in me and never said I can't do this because I'm a girl. In every girl's life I feel the balance will start, once they have someone to mentor them or someone who believes in them. And then every girl is capable of doing a miracle.
• What advice do you have for developers in technology to push for progress in the workplace? I would like to share the thing I've learned after joining Visa the first thing is always voice out your opnion. Never get intemediated by being the only woman in the room. Your opinion matters and people will listen. You might be wrong or right, but be open in sharing your thoughts. Even if you're wrong that's how you will learn. The second thing is always ask questions, even when you're the only one asking. Asking questions and clarifying your doubts in meeting and in life will help you progress faster and will expand your knowledge. 

[Chasingit]

• What does International Women’s Day mean for you?

This is a holiday to celebrate and reward for all the women who use their talent to dedicate their roles as mother, daughter, wife and professionals and more.

• How do you plan to balance for better?

Make your work life balance better. Make your stress balance better. Make confidence balance better.

• What advice do you have for developers in technology to push for progress in the workplace?

I am the gal who work in the business enviroment and always being interested in Technology. That's how I get involved in Women in Tech - Denver. I would agree with Manu. This is a mesage more than advise :). Dont limit yourself and go exploring more areas that you find that you are interested. I am planning to complete my first java class in next couple months.

Cheers! To the best of we!!

[KPB_14]

I am glad to share my story here and advice to all the women out there. Firstly, I am a Data Scientist at Visa. And when I started my job, I was the only woman in my team among 10 other men.  Initially, that felt a bit odd, was not sure what to speak when. But with supportive managers and mentors, here I am in my 3rd year 🙂
International Woman's Day is a day to celebrate a woman's individuality and tell them that there is nothing that is stopping you from doing what you like, the way you like it.
How do I plan to balance for better? Encourage more and more young girls and sparkle in them, the passion to reach heights. Not only technology, but there are so many fields out there where new inventions are possible. With women, I feel that we need that one person to tell us that- yes that is possible, take that step ahead. And so, why not do that?

My advice to the developers in technology would be to ask questions, be curious! If things are always done in one way, think why they are done in that way. Can we make it better? Look for problems around you, think of solutions. And speak up.

Good luck 🙂

[mallinaik]

Hello visa Dev community. I am Mallika and I work in the Visa Foster City office as a Senior Software Engineer

• What does International Women’s Day mean for you?

For me International Women's Day means a day to celebrate how far we as a community have come and to remind that we have to  continue breaking the glass ceiling and paving a better path for all of those following after us!

• How do you plan to balance for better?

Balance can be achieved when boundaries are set and achieved. And boundaries can be set when goals are planned and set. what helps is making conscious decisions to achieve these goals and strive for that balance.

• What advice do you have for developers in technology to push for progress in the workplace?

Many times we set limits on ourselves unconsciously. We must all try not to limit ourselves and be curious to learn without worrying about the "what ifs"

[gaushukl]

• What does International Women’s Day mean for you?

It means thanking and celebrating all the women who have played a pivotal role in my life! They are the best jugglers, multi-taskers and filled with so much kindness to spread. 

• How do you plan to balance for better?

Balance at an individual level is quintessential to create an impact on the outside. To be accepting towards everyone is a trait of only a confident person and well balanced person. Thus, I think balance starts from within.

• What advice do you have for developers in technology to push for progress in the workplace?

Don't be limited by the calibre of others and keep trying and learning something new everyday. The bar is always driven upwards by someone so keep trying and progress will follow.

[siuma]

Happy International Women's Day!

I have been in the tech industry for over 20 years.  I remember the first day I walked into the Computer Science lecture theatre, I was one of about 15 women out of about 100 people there.  And by the time I graduated, I was one of 4 women out of about 80 people graduated with Computer Science degree.  2 out of 4 women graduated with first class honours.  I'm glad this has brought to the tech industry's attention, and we are doing something about it. 

My advice for the developers in technology is to believe in yourself.  If you are enjoy technology and are detemine to succeed, you can push yourself for progress in the workplace.