Technology is a constantly evolving field that has historically been dominated by men. However, fortunately and after much struggle, women are rapidly gaining ground and making significant contributions in this sector.
For this reason, the event organized by Latinas in Tech and Walmeric , in Walmeric's own offices in Madrid, entitled 'Women leaders in technology, challenges and learnings' , wanted to bring together a prominent group of women leaders in the technology industry to share their experiences, challenges and lessons learned during their careers.
The event kicked off with an introductory talk by Beatriz de Tena, CEO of Walmeric . In her speech, she first highlighted that the event was informal, but her message was clear and powerful: the female team plays a vital role in the world of technology and must be aware that they are an example to follow for future generations . In addition, she wanted to encourage breaking that unpleasant historical barrier that suggests, or even claims, that women cannot enter engineering or technology careers and stressed that the glass ceiling must have its days numbered. In short, Beatriz conveyed to the attendees that we are in the right moment to empower women in technology.
Attitude, confidence and leadership
The round table began with Celiana Carreño , Head of Product & VP of Technology at Globant, taking on the role of moderator. Sabrina Alonso López , Inside Sales Manager at Walmeric, Tamara García Jiménez , Customer Success Manager at Walmeric, María Álvarez Pérez , Associate Creators Manager at LinkedIn and Marta Marrodán López , Product Director at Globant, took the floor.
The first point of discussion focused on those life lessons that have marked her path. While Sabrina advised her past self not to worry too much , conveying the certainty that malaysian whatsapp number everything would ultimately be okay, Maria stressed the need to believe in oneself and repeat the affirmation “I can do it” as a reminder of confidence in one’s own abilities.
Furthermore, Tamara stressed that attitude plays a key role in success and Marta brought a unique perspective by redefining leadership as the ability to reinvent oneself, maintain a strong vision and empower others. She emphasized that as a leader, one is nothing without one’s team, underlining the importance of collaboration and mutual support.
Difficulties of being a woman in a traditionally male world
In the second point of the roundtable, the participants addressed the challenges that women face in the technology industry . Marta mentioned loneliness as a fundamental challenge, given that women often lack role models in this field. She also highlighted that, despite the talk of cultural change, changing the culture completely will take a long time, despite what is promulgated by institutions.
“We must unlearn gender norms
to overcome cultural gaps”
“We must unlearn gender norms and surround ourselves with people who share modern principles to overcome cultural gaps.” This was Tamara’s concrete, yet inspiring statement in this block.
On the other hand, Maria highlighted the impostor syndrome as a significant challenge affecting many women in the technological field, since, according to the LinkedIn representative, women do not always fully trust their own competence, despite their ability.
Furthermore, Marta again stressed that equality does not yet fully exist and mentioned a case in her environment that affects the male gender. In this example, a man did not agree to perform certain actions due to his family responsibilities, which is often frowned upon in the male environment. She also debunked the belief that women step on each other's toes.
To close this block, Sabrina commented on one of the most common and unfair cases that women suffer: motherhood . The inside sales manager of Walmeric shared how she faced difficult situations in her workplace, despite having a female boss, although at the same time she highlighted the importance of not falling into victimization easily.
As a final conclusion, we could say that the lessons shared by these leaders mainly highlight the importance of attitude, confidence and the need to break down gender barriers in a field traditionally dominated by men. Despite the challenges and obstacles, these women are forging a brave path towards a more equal future in technology, the fruits of which we will gradually see.