A Conversation with WiT @SSENSE
This article is based on internal conversations, panel discussions, and data compiled from internal surveys led by the SSENSE WiT working group composed of Aruna Dasari, Jenny Dho, Lucile Marbeuf, Claudia Moroy, Venky Rajaraman and Amina Sherif.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day globally, at SSENSE we take this opportunity to reflect on our shared responsibility to advance gender equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The day also serves as a call to action for accelerating women’s equality across the world while honoring acts of courage and determination by those who have played an important role in fighting for women’s rights.
The SSENSE WiT working group — committed to enabling and fostering the balanced representation of women in technology — recently engaged in a broader conversation around women in the field of tech. Recognizing the leadership and contributions of the women at SSENSE, we asked our colleagues to share their experiences, motivations, and perspectives.
Why did you choose to work in tech?
“It was an area with lots of growth opportunities and new knowledge and skills for me to get under my belt. Once I got my foot in the tech door, I quickly learned that women were extremely underrepresented in this industry which drove me to continue learning and mentoring others.” - Jessica Bornstein, Employee Tech Services Manager
Despite being one of the fastest growing industries of our time, there is still an underrepresentation of women in technology, with women currently holding only 27% of tech-related jobs. The common misconception that STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is ‘for the men’ often deters women from entering the field. So let’s set the record straight: women ARE interested in tech!
Feeling fulfilled and challenged by our careers, we want to help other women discover what the tech industry has to offer.
Why we ❤️working in tech @SSENSE
Compensation: Though we don’t recommend selecting your vocation solely based on money, it helps to know that those in the tech field are known to be well compensated, often right out of school. At SSENSE, we also apply a gender lens in reviews of career development, salary, bonuses, employee performance and ratings, ensuring fair and competitive compensation for our workforce.
Work-life balance: The tech industry was one of the pioneers of remote work and SSENSE is no different. We work in a hybrid environment which offers the flexibility of working from home or from the office as needed.
Job satisfaction and accomplishment: Working in technology can be challenging. Things don’t always go as planned so brace yourself for many many iterations. But the satisfaction that comes from seeing your hard work go-live is unmatched. At SSENSE, there’s a natural bias towards building versus buying. Building proprietary technology solutions and systems from scratch allows our team to push the boundaries and explore unconventional solutions.
Continuous learning & development: Technology is ever-evolving, and at a fast pace. We always strive to be at the forefront of innovation by continuously exploring new technologies and how to best utilize them. Whether you want to develop your skills in AI or ML, dabble in mobile app development, or further your engineering skills, there is always something new and exciting around the corner. Take this blog for example. Our goal is to give our team the opportunity to share their talent and expertise in the hopes of bringing value to our readers while meaningfully contributing to important discussions in the industry at large.
“Women in tech is a personal thing for me as I grew up surrounded by women (mom and two sisters). We all know this, but I can assure you firsthand that innovation and problem solving thrive with diversity, it’s what propels us forward and helps us uncover the next great idea.“ - Phil Thompson, Chief Technology Officer
What motivates you?
When we broached the topic of motivation at work, the unanimous consensus was the sense of purpose we get from knowing that our work contributes to impactful initiatives for both the company and our customers. We are motivated by being part of a forward-thinking team and working on innovative projects. From our website and mobile app, to our warehouse management system and internal tools that help our teams perform more effectively, to hyper filtering and personalization solutions, or our newly launched AI personal styling chatbot powered by OpenAI, our ambitious roadmap is as diverse as it is challenging.
Girl code
On a more personal level, our motivation comes from the relationships we have built with our colleagues and the support we offer one another. There is strength in numbers and together we know we are stronger. There has long been a stereotype that women don’t support each other and we need to collectively work towards abolishing this notion by amplifying each other and prioritizing collaboration over competition.
“Working in technology at SSENSE, I’m fortunate to be surrounded by many inspiring women who bring their unique perspectives and expertise to the table. From collaborating with the Engineering team to coordinating with the Merchandising, Finance, Pricing, and Logistics teams, I’m always amazed at how our different backgrounds help challenge each other’s ideas and drive innovation. What strikes me most is how empowering it is to work alongside such driven and ambitious women who not only celebrate each other’s successes but also extend a helping hand when navigating challenges. Together, we create a dynamic environment where collaboration thrives and our collective efforts pave the way for building innovative and scalable products.” - Alexandra Valdescault, Lead Product Manager
What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
To celebrate IWD, we recently held a panel discussion at our Headquarters with women leaders from different teams across the business. The discussion was inspiring and insightful, with shared experiences and valuable advice for women in the workplace across all sectors. Some of their words of wisdom are scattered throughout this article.
“Oftentimes we think about a ‘mentor’ or ‘coach’ as a person, when in reality that’s kind of a narrow way to think about it. These words are also verbs. Any experience, in any form, can provide incredible mentorship or coaching moments if you intentionally examine and reflect on them. It can be a podcast, a book, a conversation you had with someone, or a presentation you watched — it can be found in the minutiae of everyday life — as long as it inspires you to think critically. This kind of mindset removes the burden of relying on any single person to fill such an important role for you. This mindset empowers your own agency and makes it so much more accessible to everyone regardless of your individual circumstances, background, and needs.‟ - Frances Thunder, Senior Director, Global Operations Excellence & Continuous Improvement
The pursuit of knowledge
The tech industry moves quickly, so staying up-to-date with the latest and greatest is key. Prioritizing continuous learning and keeping our skills up-to-date is crucial for personal growth and career advancement. Within the SSENSE Tech team, we help each other develop through knowledge sharing and continuous learning, which we refer to as SSENSE University.
Creating a safe feedback loop
We can’t stress this enough: feedback, feedback, feedback. In order to learn from each other, we encourage seeking and providing honest feedback. We talk about embracing diverse perspectives but how can we concretely embody this mindset? One way is by building an open dialogue where everyone feels safe and comfortable to share their thoughts. It takes courage, humility and curiosity to truly seek to understand diverse perspectives, but the rewards are well worth it. A healthy exchange of ideas — flowing from the bottom up and the top down — will help you think critically and ultimately lead to better decision making.
What advice would you give other women?
Imposter Syndrome 🛑
We don’t need to consult research studies to know that a very large number of women across industries have experienced ‘Imposter Syndrome’ at one point or another in their careers. Second guessing ourselves is natural, everybody does it, but associating this ‘syndrome’ with women is not. Perhaps there are more women who feel like outsiders… But what we should be asking ourselves is why they feel this way… Could it be due to systemic bias within our society? 🤔
We digress… It’s normal to second guess ourselves — even healthy at times — but don’t allow yourself to stay stuck in that place. Ask a colleague, leader, mentor, or even a friend or family member for their perspective. Seek support in developing the skills you feel unsure of, breaking them down into smaller targeted areas to work on. Practice! Seek out safe environments in which to practice these skills and build your confidence.
Lean in. Ask questions. Share your ideas. Your voice matters.
Find your squad
Networking is essential for your career, serving as a vehicle to build long-term mutually beneficial relationships, exchange ideas, and discover new opportunities. The right relationships will also act as connectors, introducing you to people and sharing opportunities you may not otherwise come across. Having a strong support circle you can go to for advice and share experiences with will not only help you advance in your career but also help boost your professional confidence and social well-being.
Whether it’s attending industry events, joining professional associations, seeking out mentorship or coaching, or leveraging social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram and X, be sure to start building those meaningful connections.
“I was inspired by someone telling me that their joy came from elevating and supporting the success of others. I’ve made it my personal mission to grow others, particularly women in tech.” - Jenny Dho, CISO
How can we increase the representation of women in tech?
“As a woman who has faced multiple hurdles in my career, fighting against stereotyping, gender bias and unfair representation at the table, women in tech is very near and dear to me. Having more women in the field allows us to tap into a wider range of experiences, approaches, and perspectives to solve problems and design more innovative products. It is high time we inspire and encourage women to pursue careers in technology. By consciously investing in the mentorship and growth of female talent, while offering a flexible hybrid work environment, SSENSE is committed to attracting more women in tech.” - Aruna Dasari, Vice President, Technology Operations.
Women represent half the users of technology, so it makes sense that they be involved in designing it. In fact, a mountain of studies show that a diverse team makes for a better product, and isn’t that the ultimate goal? With 52% of the SSENSE audience identifying as women, it’s important to us that our Tech team be representative of our diverse community.
As leaders in the industry, we need to uncover why there is an imbalance and how we can work together to break down the barriers to entry. Part of the problem starts at the source: there aren’t enough women studying in the field and as a result there aren’t enough women working in the field.
Sparking interest
Encouraging enthusiasm for tech at a young age is one of the key ways in which we can help create the next generation of women leaders. There are several organizations across the globe dedicated to introducing young girls to tech and supporting women in the field, including Women in Tech, Canada Learning Code, Rewriting the Code, Ada Developers Academy, Kids Code Jeunesse, Girls in Tech, Black Girls Code, Girls Who Code, and Women in STEM, to name only a few.
“One of the key drivers for me as a WiT is to show young women different career paths they can pursue and how non-linear a career in tech can be. Additionally, I believe having a diverse tech team significantly enhances innovation and results in more inclusive technologies.” - Amina Sherif, Manager of Application Development
Exposing the diverse career paths in tech
Tech has been growing exponentially and is expected to continue this trajectory in the years to come. It is certainly a promising industry with huge career opportunities across all sectors and many different avenues to explore.
When thinking of a career in tech, what typically comes to mind is coding. While it is a major component of technology development, there is a vast array of roles to consider. Our team, for example, is composed of application developers, dev-ops engineers, data engineers, architects, AI/ML engineers, data scientists, systems administrators, quality-assurance testers, user-experience and user-interface design developers, product managers, employee tech service technicians, cybersecurity analysts and engineers, and data governance analysts.
Culture matters
An inclusive culture is key to retaining and attracting women in tech roles. At SSENSE, we all play an active role in cultivating an open-minded environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
In discussions with our WiT colleagues, culture was one of the main aspects that made their work at SSENSE enjoyable. Our passionate and talented colleagues, company values, hybrid work environment, pet-friendly office, employee-led events, and collaborative mindset keep us inspired and connected.
“Having worked in tech my entire career, I am lucky to have almost never felt like a ‘woman in tech’ but rather like a ‘person in tech’ (6 of those years having been at SSENSE). I think that says a lot about the environments I have worked in and the company values.“ - Alexandra Mohsen, Senior Product Manager
The SSENSE WiT working group knows that achieving gender balance within our Tech team will lead us to even greater success. Having diverse voices at the table can only enrich our experience. While technology is advancing the way we live, we want it to advance in a way that caters to all users. We know we are not alone in this journey and in the shared goal of achieving greater gender balance in the industry.
We are determined to increase representation, professional growth and community building throughout the SSENSE collective. With 51% of our workforce identifying as women, we have equal representation at the company level but our aim is to have this same representation within our Tech department.
“Having more women in tech is important on several fronts. Diversity of opinion and experience is instrumental for success at the individual, team, and company level. At SSENSE, one of our strategic objectives is to ensure we are able to retain, develop and attract a high performing diverse team and this is particularly pertinent when it comes to our Tech team.” - Venky Rajaraman, Vice President, Data Platform
Tech @SSENSE
The technology vertical at SSENSE is powered by a team of over 300 individuals. We aim to raise the bar by building proprietary technology solutions and systems from scratch, striking a balance between our intuition and data-driven mindset. Every team across the tech organization is encouraged to explore unconventional solutions for building, testing, and learning. Working in an agile environment, our squads tackle challenging and innovative projects.
To join our team, keep an eye out on our Careers Page.
Editorial reviews by Janet Park & Mario Bittencourt.
