In direct alignment with our people-first approach, on International Women’s Day, we wish to tell you an authentic human story. The story’s protagonist is a female ITWorxian; let’s call her Sara.
Sara joined ITWorx as an intern back in the year 2007, upon graduating from the Faculty of Computer Engineering. Sara was initially nervous; she had always been subject to sexist comments and remarks. Sara could not count the times she heard phrases like “Engineering is not for women”; “No one will choose to hire a female engineer”; “Males are generally smarter than women, especially when it comes to engineering and math.”
Sara’s fears, however, quickly disappeared from the moment she was interviewed by ITWorx’s Talent Acquisition Team and saw for herself ITWorx’s commitment to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Furthermore, upon meeting her team, Sara realized that there was no room for sexism at ITWorx; her direct manager was a female, while many of her engineering colleagues were also female. The strong presence of females at ITWorx did not only extend to the technical departments but also to all other departments.
Seeing all of this, Sara immediately felt comfortable and safe; she knew that ITWorx must truly be an organization that supports women, otherwise, why would all these amazing women – most of whom had been at ITWorx for years, and some of whom were mothers – choose to continue their professional journeys with ITWorx?
Sara quickly made an impact; she displayed the type of agility, passion, and integrity – valued by ITWorx – in every project she worked on and every task she was assigned. Because ITWorx never fails to award those who embody these values, in 2010, Sara was promoted to Senior Software Engineer.
Shortly after her promotion, Sara found herself at a crossroads; while the mid/late twenties are often one’s ‘career-making years’, they are concurrently the years when couples consider starting families. While it is theoretically possible to do both, Sara panicked. Sara could not imagine slowing down her booming career; similarly, Sara could not fathom a future life devoid of children. Sara stayed up all night reading blogs about women who have incurred professional losses and paid the Motherhood Penalty.
The sheer psychological toll of this dilemma negatively impacted Sara’s performance in the workplace. Seeing this, her direct manager (let’s call her Dana) scheduled a one-on-one meeting with Sara to ensure she was alright. Sara openly communicated her concerns with Dana. Dana re-assured Sara by stating how ITWorx supports working women in general and working mothers in particular:
- An Assortment of benefits
ITWorx’s healthcare plan holistically covers pre-natal care, giving birth, and post-natal care (including needed doctor visits, blood tests, necessary medications, etc.). ITWorx’s healthcare plan also covers up to four dependents (with no cost incurred on Sara). Furthermore, ITWorx has partnered with various reputable daycare facilities, supporting working mothers.
- Hybrid and Flexible Work Model
Since its foundation in 1994, ITWorx has adopted a model of flexible working hours; this was revolutionary at the time. More recently, ITWorx adopted a hybrid work model. Hybrid and flexible work models directly benefit females with caretaking responsibilities. In other words, being resilient, flexible, and treating ITWorxians – as human beings first – is part of ITWorx’s DNA. Suppose Sara, for example, cannot rejoin the office after her three-month maternity leave ends. In that case, Sara can contact Dana, and an agreement is reached that accommodates Sara’s new role as a mother without impacting her career progression.
- Diversity & Inclusion
With ITWorx being an Equal Opportunity Employer, we do not discriminate based on sex or family status. Additionally, ITWorx does not tolerate any discriminatory or sexist practices. This is evident by our whistleblowing policy and our Code of Conduct; as such, Sara is fully protected from any workplace discrimination that she may generally encounter as a woman, or more specifically as a mother.
- ITWomen: Putting the Female “T” in STEM.
On average, STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Medicine) professions are generally and mostly occupied by males. Indeed, according to Zippia, women make up only 28% of the tech. Industry’s workforce. What do these facts and statistics have to do with Sara? Because Sara is an ITWorxian, she is not limited by the usual glass ceilings, and sexism women encounter, especially in engineering and technology. Sara is surrounded by positively empowering female engineers and role models; our leadership engineering team is predominately female (55+% female). This statistic means that Sara has a community of peers and colleagues who share her experience and narrative as a woman in technology and a working mother. Furthermore, due to the high concentration of females in leadership positions at ITWorx, policies, and work processes are greatly influenced by female decision-makers.
- Transparency & Open Lines of Communication
Working with ITWorx means becoming part of an organization implementing open-door policies at all levels and across all functions. ITWorxians are encouraged to present novel ideas and communicate concerns openly and directly through our assortment of internal initiatives- like Mondays with the President. This fosters an environment of transparency and creates room for ITWorxians’ voices to be genuinely heard. This culture of transparency and candid communication created the space for conversation between Dana and Sara in the first place. Can you imagine what would have happened if Dana had not had this conversation with Sara? Moreover, can you imagine what Sara’s life will look like as a working mother if she does not have a direct manager to whom she can sincerely talk about her evolving needs as a human being and mother?
It is now 2023, and Sara is still an ITWorxian; only now she is a Director with a Ph.D. in Software Engineering and two daughters (who always express how proud they are that Sara, their mother, is a C-Level Executive in the technology sector).
