Stand Up, Be Confident and Make Yourself Visible!
New Internal Event Series on Women in Technology Kicked Off at the SAP AppHaus Heidelberg in June 2017
Creative and supportive, with a high level of social sensitivity, as well as strong communication skills, women are the key ingredient to run the world effectively! Their attributes also apply to business, and especially to technology. With their diverse innate abilities, women do not only contribute to a balanced, holistic approach to business today, but they also foster innovation and allow business to grow.
History has shown that women have had to face many challenges through the ages. They kept fighting for their rights and held their opposition to discouragement. It was a long journey of hard work to get where we are today. The momentum is in full effect, and we don’t want this development to stand still now.
Women in Technology — start making an impact
Aligning with this mission, the SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg kicked off a new internal series of events on Women in Technology at SAP on June 30th, conducted by Lone Aggersbjerg, VP Chief Operations of Products & Innovation at SAP, and on behalf of Sinead Kaiya, COO of Products & Innovation at SAP.
The team aimed to create a platform within SAP that provides networking opportunities in an atmosphere that fosters open discussions, as well as creativity. The event’s format consisted of break-out sessions, running in parallel, that enabled the participants to express opinions and share their insights to inspire each other.
The first event focused on the “Future of Work,” addressing questions like, “How are women shaping the technology workplaces of the future?” and “What must we do to ensure our workplaces attract and retain great female technical talents?”
Seventy ambitious women from various areas of SAP came together, highly motivated to make a meaningful impact. After being briefed on the event format by Lone, the participants were welcomed by Eva Zauke, VP IoT & Digital Supply Chain at SAP. She pointed out the enrichment women constitute for technology, and why it is important for them to always communicate who they are and what they do.
Inspired by those thoughts, participants began active discussions within the following breakout sessions and, in the end, developed great conclusions and ideas. In the first event of the series, the participants were offered three breakout session topics:
- Future of work — the Human Side of Digital Transformation — led by Sarah Traeutlein, Product Specialist & Executive Assistant at Innovation Center Network — Future of Work at SAP
- Get inspired by the Intrapreneurship Program — led by Josefine Harzmann, Developer at Ruum by SAP
- Turn up the volume — increase your influence with social media — led by Malin Liden, Digital Marketing Senior Manager at SAP
The future of work is now
When Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, launched the company’s sustainable living plan — a program that aimed to double sales while halving the environmental impact of its products — in November 2010, people doubted it was possible to combine profitability with environmental and social goals. However, he succeeded, and outperformed the competition.
Following his example brings along new challenges and requires change — in thinking, decision making, leadership, organizational structures, paradigms, and much more. Diversity plays a key role as well. The question that participants dealt with within his breakout session was:
To what extent, and how, does diversity affect the future of work, and what chances and risks might arise in that regard?
The active participation and the drive by which ideas and insights were shared was eye opening. Sarah, who led the session, is still impressed by the team’s passion and is convinced that, when a company has a real purpose, it will manage to reach its goals. What is certain now, is that there is a lot more to discover in the “Future of Work” and many challenges await us.
Only 15 percent of tech start-up founders are female
… and the percentage is even lower in Germany. Meanwhile, Bloomberg states, female-funded or female-led companies achieve an average ROI that is 35% higher than that of male-led companies. But what is it that prevents young, talented women from accepting this kind of challenge and become founders? What can we do to overcome current obstacles?
Josefine, who led this breakout session, provided insights — she successfully participated in the SAP intrapreneurship program that helps passionate and creative entrepreneurs with a powerful vision to build a game-changing startup inside of SAP. Under her influence, the project Ruum emerged. It will certainly change the way we work. Her combination of knowledge, practical experience, and clear vision enabled the team to come up with new findings and ideas to shape the future.
One of her many key messages was that there is no need to have a complete business plan when founding a start-up. Having the idea is enough at the beginning — the rest will naturally follow step-by-step. Be brave, follow your own path, and make the start-up scene more female.
A lion needs no introduction in the jungle
… but you need one in business! And you know what? No one is going to do this for you. You have to become active yourself.
Women in technology have a vast amount of expertise and knowledge to share. But still, they are under-represented at conferences, in panels, during interviews, and in other instances of knowledge-sharing.
Is it because they are perceived to know less, or are less inclined to contribute? Absolutely not! Visibility is key.
So, turn up the volume and make sure you are seen and heard.
According to a saying, if a door is locked, you must look for the window to climb through. This window is social media. You don´t need an invitation to access platforms that allow you to shine light on your expertise — pave the way for yourself and create your brand using social media. As Malin, the lead of this breakout session, states in “Speaking up is a responsibility — Turn up the volume!”, by sharing and engaging publicly, women become visible role models for other women- younger students and professionals who are considering a career in technology. By making yourself visible, you not only push your career, but also strengthen those of the female community in technology. And that, dear reader, is how we drive change.
Within this breakout session, the group discussed how to leverage their visibility through cross-linking, what is important when blogging, and which channels reach the largest audience. In the end, the group revealed many valuable insights and recommendations. For example, always focus your efforts to have a clear message in order to build up a strong brand. Also share content more consciously — don’t spam by lazily retweeting or using empty phrases, but provide your audience with an added value that, at the same time, shapes your brand.
Successful start of an impactful event series
The attendees left the AppHaus more confident, and with a stronger willingness to shape the future of work. Inspired by female role models Sinead Kaiya, COO of Products & Innovation at SAP, who is very active and passionate about women in technology, and Maggie Chan Jones, CMO at SAP, who has long been an advocate for female leadership, the attendees recognized a clear mission to follow. They can now stand up, be proud, and raise their voices to be visible and receive credit for what they do.
Recently, SAP officially announced that it has reached its 2017 goal to increase the number of women in management positions from 18% in 2011 to 25% in 2017. This is a great success, demonstrating that it is worth making the female community in tech more visible.
What is your company doing to strengthen the influence and visibility of women? Join us in our mission and share your experiences.
Together we can make a difference that matters!
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