International Women’s Day 2019: A Q&A with Vitória Braiti

How long have you been a honey badger? Five months.

Which location do you work in? Curitiba, Brazil

What is your role in the company? I’m an SDR.

How did you hear about Pipefy? After graduation, my father and I started a storage company business. It was great, but I was in need of more colleagues and communication. I heard about the environment and the culture at Pipefy, and I was curious. I have found a team here who is very good at what they do and nice.

What kind of changes do you hope to see for women in your lifetime? The world is changing, but not fast enough. We had a lot of progress going on here in Brazil, but a sexist president slowed down some of the waves of revolution for women. Men sometimes are fighting against equal opportunity. But the world has changed so much. My grandmother didn’t have access to education, and there is a lot of hope now for women.

I trained in Taekwondo. People would make me a ‘compliment’ saying I was ‘too good for a girl.’ They told me guys would be ashamed if we fought and they lost a match as if it were my responsibility to shield their feelings of inadequacy. I used to worry that maybe I wasn’t feminine enough. I kept with it and was named Brazilian Taekwondo champion.

I’m proud to be a woman. Humanity still has a long walk for equality, though. I want to be free to safely travel the world on my own without worrying about getting attacked. I will say that with my Taekwondo background if I were attacked it would be a tough fight!

Who is your biggest inspiration as a woman? My grandmother. Although she wasn’t able to get an education, she had to be pushed into the workforce when my grandfather died. She was 35 years old and had two daughters. Without skills, she had to start out cleaning public schools to earn a living for her family. She worked so hard there that she climbed the ranks and actually become secretary of one of the schools.

What kind of values do you think women specifically contribute to the workforce? We tend to be more careful and have the ability to multitask. Women also bring a human balance to the work environment because we seem to care more about feelings and emotions.

Do you have any plans to celebrate International Women’s Day? I want to have more conversations, not just on Women’s Day, but every day. There are too many men who are heads of departments and too many men at the top. Women have to prove so much more than men do to get to the same position. There is this perception that women are weaker and not as stable, so they don’t deserve the same leadership roles as men. We need to fight every day to expose this sexist culture.

What advice would you give to a young woman starting her career? Trust yourself. When you have an idea, don’t be afraid to speak up. When you’re in doubt, remember you should be approaching men with your discussions the same way you approach other women.

By the way, we’re hiring. Take a look at our open positions here.