Women for Tech
“Each one of us, starting with me, is responsible for supporting, celebrating, and empowering women. Not only here at Docplanner, but in all aspects of our lives.” Mariusz Gralewski, Docplanner CEO
It’s nothing new that women are underrepresented in the Tech world. There are various reasons for it. Some of these are connected with biases women experience at work. When taking the Gender Science implicit association test, we might discover that some of us have stronger preconceptions towards men being in science and technology-related fields and women in liberal arts. This impacts how women perceive themselves in tech roles.
Another common problem is the family penalty. “Women are more likely than men to share about foregoing marriage or children and delay having children. Most women and men who left engineering said that interest in another career was a reason, but women were far more likely than men to also cite time and family-related issues. Additionally, women in STEM are more likely to have a partner who is also in STEM and faces a similarly demanding work schedule. In a situation like this, the man’s career is often given priority”*. Scientists have also discovered a phenomenon called the children penalty — while comparing the salaries of women and men with and without children, women without children earn more than mothers, and men without children earn less than fathers.** When you notice all these problems, and you add an unsupportive workplace environment, feelings of isolation, extreme work schedules, and lack of work-life balance on top, it becomes very difficult for women to succeed.
While many reasons can explain the gaps between men and women in various sectors, the tech world seems to be particularly affected. Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) face numerous additional barriers. Unfortunately, some myths persist, such as the belief that there are no women in STEM, that men are naturally better at science, or that women and girls are simply not interested in these topics.***
The promising thing is that more and more companies are becoming aware of these problems and tackling them from different perspectives. As a first step, they are identifying the problem by checking their company culture practices and reflecting on whether they are contributing to the diversity pay gap. It’s also important to identify key individuals in the organization who are already championing these topics and raising awareness in their unique ways. In Docplanner we are currently looking at our people processes through a diversity lens, which includes hiring, promoting, career development, and leave policies, amongst others. There are many ways to challenge the status quo, and each company will need to identify its unique approach to diversity.
In Docplanner Tech we decided to focus on celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day (3.8.2023) by supporting, empowering, and celebrating women in tech. We want to show that there is a place for them in our teams and in the Tech industry in general.
Now that the initiative is closed, we are happy to share the story behind the scenes showing how we achieved our mission: Supporting, empowering and finally celebrating women.
The idea
Have you ever had an “AHA moment”? As people working in the tech industry, we are used to focusing on our users’ problems and finding solutions for them. This time was no different. While discussing the significant gap between the capabilities and talents of women in the tech sector, and their actual representation in the industry, we tried to think of ways to address the issues effectively.
That’s when it hit us: we need to recognize and encourage women. We decided to give back to the community one thing we believe can help them to grow and feel empowered — feedback. Giving feedback is part of our culture and company values. We understand its power and we wanted to share that part of our culture with all the women seeking to advance their careers in tech!
The goal of the project
Our goal is to empower women in Tech. We wanted to provide women in Engineering, Product, Design, Security, User Research, and Data Analytics with the resources they need to develop their confidence and skills and find growth opportunities. To achieve this goal, we collected work samples and paired applicants with talented members of Docplanner’s tech team to receive feedback. We believe that recognizing and supporting women is the first step toward creating a more diverse and inclusive tech industry. And that’s something we can all stand for.
We all like to be recognized. But mostly, we believe we want to be seen and heard. That’s what this action is all about: seeing and hearing women in Tech and saying out loud, “Your talents are valued here”.
Team
Almost 40 experts from our company volunteered to represent all of our teams: Engineering, Design, Content Design, Research, Product, Security, and Data & Product Analytics. They all offered their expertise and tips for free. We were speechless.
Output
In the end, we received almost 50 applications. While this may not seem like a lot compared to the number of applications we usually receive for job offers, it’s quite remarkable when you consider the impact we hope to make in the lives of these individuals. We have empowered them to see the tech world as a potential opportunity for their future. That’s something we can all be proud of!
Women at Docplanner Tech — numbers
Is gender diversity strong within Docplanner, specifically in our tech teams? It depends on the perspective you take.
We are proud to say that we have made great strides in terms of gender diversity. Currently, 46% of our workforce is female. In terms of our engineering team, 10.6% of our engineers are female (market representation is at 11%). For design, the market representation is 53.5%, and we are at 53.8%. Additionally, 47.2% of our product roles are filled by women.
While our numbers are quite aligned with trends in the market, we have a strong desire to do more. We believe that strong gender diversity is not only beneficial to our organization but to the tech industry overall. Women bring a unique set of skills and perspectives to the table that is essential for driving innovation and progress. We ask ourselves: how can we build products and achieve our mission of making healthcare experience more human if we aren’t tapping into the needs of half the population? That’s why we’re committed to creating an environment where all genders feel respected, accepted, and valued.
At Docplanner Tech, we’re taking the necessary steps to ensure equal representation and opportunities for everyone. We’re confident that our efforts will help us grow, thrive, and make a positive impact both inside and outside our organization.
What’s next?
We have embarked on an amazing journey to discover the many facets of diversity. Recently, we launched PODs (Power of Diversity) groups, including one devoted to Women of Docplanner. We are eager to gain a deeper understanding of what it’s like to work at Docplanner as a woman, and how we can continue to foster an inclusive environment.
Final thoughts
Are you looking to implement initiatives to support women but don’t know where to start? It’s not as daunting as it may seem. You don’t need a lot of experience or a hefty budget to get the ball rolling. Consider the resources you already have at your disposal, and tap into the talent and expertise you already have on board. Most importantly, make sure to build a culture of feedback within your organization that benefits women.
If you are a Woman in Tech — we see you, we root for you, and we hope we meet. Just to give you the feedback you might have been waiting for.
We can all do our part in celebrating women in technology. The future of Tech and Docplanner is female! We are confident that our new initiative (and more to come!), will ensure a bright and diverse future for Tech.
This article was co-authored by Tania Koppens and Marta Serafin.
*https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2020/03/why-so-few-research.pdf
**https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/child-penalties-across-countries-evidence-and-explanations
***https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/myths-and-misperceptions-reframing-narrative-around-women-and-girls-stem
