The Women of Seeq SEEN recognize the impact female colleagues, leaders, mentors and more have made over the course of their careers.
March is Women's History Month, a time to celebrate women's contributions to history, culture, and society. At Seeq, we know that women in the workforce should be represented and celebrated every day. We are proud to have a leadership team led by influential women in tech who are paving the way for the next generation of innovators and helping to create a more diverse and inclusive future.
Reflecting on the significance of Women's History Month, the Women of Seeq SEEN (Seeq Employee Engagement Network) took time to recognize the impact female colleagues, leaders, mentors and more have made over the course of their careers and why they were motivated to pursue a career in tech.
Elevating Women in the Workplace
Female mentorship leads to new opportunities.
Tatum O'Kennedy - Analytics Engineer
I would encourage any young women entering the workforce to build a network and seek out mentors. Being a woman in tech can feel isolating at times, but having a support network of women around you can help ground you. If you can, find a woman in your organization who can mentor you. This can help with finding future opportunities, taking risks that you may otherwise have passed on, and getting involved in projects that you might not have been pulled into otherwise.
Female leadership is a deciding job factor.
Allison Buenemann - Industry Principal for Chemicals
As a mid-career female, when I look at a company with a strong female presence in the senior leadership team, I think, "Wow, this is a company that I can see myself growing with." Knowing that there's a seat (or 5!) at the table for strong female leaders is a huge deciding factor in both choosing a company, and choosing to stay.
Strong female role models make a difference.
Mandi Burley - Software Engineer
Women are often socialized to be peacekeepers who prioritize harmony over everything else, but the most successful women I've met in tech have dispensed with some of those tendencies in favor of a firmness that I've tried to emulate in my own work style. The women I look up to professionally gave me strong examples for approaching challenging situations: how to disagree productively, how to deliver bad news, how to lead engineers who have more technical expertise, and how to keep cool when everything's on fire. I'm grateful for all they've taught me.
Women should claim their confidence and authority in the workplace.
Amy Vasquez - Sales Operation Manager
The best professional advice I've received is to stop over-apologizing. This is a learned female behavior, sometimes from childhood. Women tend to have a lower threshold of what is considered offensive, and "being polite" was likely a more important trait in young girls vs. young boys. However, over-apologizing in the workplace can undermine your authority, and tends to minimize a woman, her presence, and her contribution. Apologize if YOU have done something wrong, but don't apologize for things out of your control, challenging ideas, or to empathize.
Uplifting Women in Tech
The tech industry empowers you to flex your innovative, problem-solving skills.
Nikki Bishop - Chief Customer Officer
I've been drawn to the tech industry for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I was fascinated with anything technical and anything I could solve or build. I spent a lot of time as a kid with my dad tinkering with various projects and learning how to fix just about any electronic device. He was known to all as the person who could fix anything! I had the opportunity to attend an engineering and robotics magnet program in high school and I was hooked. I love that there is always something new to learn in the tech industry as the industry is constantly changing. I also love that the tech industry brings together expert problem solvers to collaborate on some of the world's toughest challenges in innovative ways.
A career in tech provides opportunities for creativity and collaboration.
Katie Pintar - Analytics Engineer
What I love most about working in the tech industry is the culture of creativity and collaboration. There are opportunities every day to solve unique problems. And because of the ability to quickly iterate in tech, you can try many different approaches to develop the best and most innovative solutions. This creativity is enhanced by an ingrained culture of collaboration, which makes developing solutions thrilling and deeply satisfying. I am amazed every day by the problems we tackle and solve together.