International Women’s Day; a brief introduction of two of our talents
To celebrate International Women’s Day, the UN wants to challenge stereotypes that limit women and girls. We also want to celebrate women’s rights and inspire people to act in the ongoing fight for gender equality.
Two of our top talents are Eliza Camberogiannis and Anna Dohy. Eliza is senior developer, and a certified Google Developer Expert on voice assistants. Anna is responsible for the great designs.
We caught up with Eliza and Anna to know what their story is on women in tech.
Eliza Camberogiannis, Senior Developer
Firstly can you introduce yourself a bit?
Hi! My name is Eliza and I’m an Android developer. I’ve been at Pixplicity for a bit over 4 years. In parallel to my work, I volunteer to the local and international tech communities, I give a lot of talks in conferences and write articles about the struggles our team has had and our solutions. In my free time, I enjoy long walks with my dog, Idefix, traveling, a good book or a challenging puzzle!
Tech is still male-dominated, but we see change. How do you feel about this?
That’s a fact. And to be more specific: white male dominant. Do I think that it’s changing fast enough though? Yes, but we can do much better. Sadly, the stereotype of the housewife of the 1950s is still what comes to mind to some people when they hear the word “woman”. In my opinion, this is mostly because of ignorance and rarer due to misogynists, so it is a solvable problem. Thankfully the active people in tech communities show huge support to all the minorities, not just by not being tolerant against discrimination, but by speaking up when they see injustice.
What are the pros and cons of working as a woman in tech?
Some of the cons are that you have to prove yourself over and over and over again, and it never stops. You have to deal with some very skeptical people, and sometimes a screw up from you is 10 times worse than a screw up from a male developer and will get much bigger attention. Due to all these though, there’ a much stronger bond with the rest of the women in tech; we help, consult, support and mentor each other regularly. This is something that men don’t do as often.
Is there a person that inspires you in your career?
Not just one person but my entire family. My dad used to be a developer as well so he was the first role model I had when I decided to follow this path. My mom is the one to always give me the courage and taught me how to trust my brain and powers enough so as not to care about unpopular opinions.
What kind of advice would you give to a woman thinking of starting a career in tech?
Just do it! Things only get better and we need more talented, and passionate people in tech. Find people within the community for support, don’t be afraid to ask questions and for help if you need to, and never, ever believe people telling you that you can’t do it because that’s the biggest lie! I was told countless times that I should quit and “tech is not for you/women” when I was making my first steps towards my career. Here I am almost 10 years later, enjoying a much happier life than all the people that said that.
Anna Dohy, Lead Designer
Firstly can you introduce yourself a bit?
We are surprisingly similar:
Tech is still male-dominated, but we see change. How do you feel about this?
I hope everyone’s story will be equally important one day.
What are the pros and cons of working as a woman in tech?
The same thing: usually there are fewer women than men.
Is there a person that inspires you in your career?
All of them!
What kind of advice would you give to a woman thinking of starting a career in tech?
The world is changing they say. Probably yes, but you are living now.
Want to see what Anna and Eliza or any of our other talents can do with your tech challenge? Let us know! Please send us an e-mail, call us or drop by one of our offices!
