International Women’s Day — Graphy spotlight on Zofia Góralewska

IWD

What is your role and current job?

Senior Software Engineer

How did you get into tech?

Didn’t know what to do with my life after high school and tried out Computer Science and then continued after graduating.

What have the biggest biases you’ve seen as a woman in tech?

Some biases I’ve heard that come to mind:

• As a woman you would not fit in in the men-only group — it’s very hard to be the first woman in a group of only men cause men are afraid of losing that ”bro vibe”. That’s what I heard after getting a job in a very small startup once. Some of the people there were against hiring me just because I would be the only woman.
• You’re not competent enough — you start from the worse position and then you have to prove you’re worth it. First weeks in a new place can be very harsh cause people tend to treat you with little respect.
• You won’t fight for your opinion — I remember it was easier to be a junior because you’d just learn by observing stuff. After becoming more senior when you take part in making decisions and expressing your opinion, then there will be people trying to prove you’re wrong and undermine your position.
• Pregnancy can mean your career is over

Have you overcome any of these issues? If so, how? + What advice would you give others in a similar position?

• Quit when people are too toxic — it’s important to try to influence others in a good way but sometimes it’s too detrimental for your health and it’s better to give up. I left one job where I was treated very badly. I knew it was too much after leaving an informal meeting, organized after working hours, crying because I was the only woman there and a couple of people were just making fun of my work and no one stood up for me.
• Find an ally — sometimes finding even one person who supports you makes a huge difference. Finding someone like that definitely helped me with not feeling “not competent enough” or becoming more confident to fight for my opinions
• Don’t pressure yourself — knowing that you represent some minority it may be hard to let your guard down sometimes and afford to make mistakes. We’re still human and behaving in a stereotypical way should be still fine

🏆 What are you proud of at the moment?

I’m very proud that I’m fully independent. I’ve just bought an apartment without a mortgage, before turning 30, without anyone’s help just by doing what I like.