#CollectivePower: WiC Community Gratitude in Action. Join Me In Recognizing People Who Make A Difference

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“No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”– Alfred North Whitehead

After the harsh year 2020 has put the world through, our society needs healing. More than ever before, we need to show gratitude and appreciate all the positives we hold close to our hearts. What are you thankful, and grateful for? Who do you want to say ‘Bravo, you did it!’ to?

I know my answer. I am thankful for the 25,000 women in the Women in Cloud community; I am grateful for the 100M women we can collectively impact through our work. And I want to say Kudos to all the women and men of this global network!

Why? According to Forbes, the TrustRadius survey revealed that women in tech are 1.6x more likely than men to be laid-off or furloughed. They found that 8% of female respondents had lost their jobs, as opposed to 5% of male respondents. This was consistent with results of a much larger survey of the general US population conducted by Langer Research, which found that 37% of women vs. 28% of men across industries have been laid-off due to coronavirus. TrustRadius speculates that more women have been let go because, according to the Harvard Business Review, they generally have less seniority than men.

Within our community, the Women in Cloud Covid-19 Impact Survey reported that the average loss of revenue in the next 24 months, across 57 women-led companies, expanding 16 industries, is $500k – $1M per company. An additional $1M – $5M per company is expected in opportunity loss in the next three years.

The global pandemic and social injustice impacted women in the most severe and unpredictable manner. But what happened next?

Well, we didn’t give up! Despite the tough times, we banded together. We built a 100M Global Network of Women with organizations like UN Women and Microsoft Alumni Network. We carried 2 cohorts through the Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator, ONLINE. And now, we are hosting the first 100% virtual three-day Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021. 

Despite the harsh realities, women and men of the technology industry chose the mission; $1B in economic access and opportunities by 2030 for female tech entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers. This makes me immensely proud to call Women in Cloud my community. 

So kudos to everyone who continues to support the Women in Cloud mission and contribute to UN SDG 2030. Kudos to all the men who are dedicated to changing the technology landscape for a domino effect. And kudos to all the women who fight daily for their spot at the table.

Join me to give Kudos to women and men all around the world who are affecting real change.

Click here for the KudoBoard and share your gratitude, kudos, or thoughts!

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Women’s History Month: Our Paths Are Not Walked in Isolation

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“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” — Maya Angelou

All throughout March, we celebrate Women’s History Month, a time to highlight and honor the contributions of women today and throughout history. While March brings International Women’s Day and shines light on the achievements of women, I’m proud that I work for an organization that empowers women throughout the year. Last year, Insight was recognized for advancing gender equity — with a third of its corporate board being comprised of women, exceeding the current average of 23.4%. This month, we celebrate our one-year anniversary of Women With Insight, a teammate resource group created to honor, empower and grow the skills of women throughout our company. And, I am honored to work on an executive team that has strong female representation.

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One of the primary messages that comes out of Women’s History Month is the importance of supporting other women. Earlier this year, I was invited to speak at the Women in Cloud Summit 2020, which focused on how we can advance, together. I love communities like Women in Cloud because they grant me the opportunity to learn from, be inspired by, and share wisdom with fascinating female leaders. 

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My topic was “High Performance Culture: Managing Multiple Generations.” I focused on how to support and ensure all teammates are working in an optimal environment, why trust and respect among all teammates is crucial and how meaningful results increase when you can achieve this kind of team culture.

If you reflect on your own career, it’s likely there was a person or moment that changed the course of your path for the better. Maybe, it was a coworker or someone close to you who gave you tough criticism. Personally, making a positive impact on one person’s career is a tremendous honor and joy. I hope that by sharing my own life and professional experiences, I can create meaningful connections and enable women in their own journey.

I think it’s important to support fellow women in their career paths — particularly in an industry that has, historically, been dominated by men. Today, women are finding their voice in technology, and that’s worth celebrating.

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Women in Cloud has created a 21 Days of Action campaign to #empowHERaccess to fair and equitable economic opportunities for all. I pledged my support and now you can do the same. You can add your name here: https://www.womenincloud.com/pledge/

Behind every successful women is a tribe of other women who have her back. I encourage everyone to not only wish for equality, but to show up and take action. You don’t have to be in a leadership position to be a force for change, to impact your community and those around you. From the conversations we have over cups of coffee, to the mainstage speeches we give, we’re working towards a better future, together… because our paths are not walked in isolation.

About the Author

Amy Protexter has always been fascinated by ideas. As a history major at Augustana College, she noticed the way a single idea expresses itself in different forms through the conduct, art and culture of a society. Her talent for connecting those ideas into a compelling message led Amy to her master’s degree in executive leadership from the University of Nebraska. Her success at leading change in corporate cultures brought her to Insight, where she guided the
company’s 2015 global rebranding and works daily to distill its message to the world through some of the channel’s most compelling digital marketing strategies. Amy started her career in healthcare, where she developed an ability to challenge an organization’s status quo and better align its mission and messaging. As senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for Alegent Health — and later as a vice president at Vanguard Health Systems — she created messaging, projects and advocacy efforts to push structured corporate healthcare systems to a more patient-centric model. In 2012, Amy took her innovative approach into education. As vice president of marketing at Edgenuity, she led a complete renaming
and rebranding of the digital learning provider. She also fostered internal and external strategies that focused the corporate message and emphasized student empowerment. Amy joined Insight in 2014 as vice president of marketing, and was promoted to senior vice president North America marketing in September 2017. A lifelong learner, Amy applies the latest marketing ideas to the global rebranding (her fifth) and supports Insight’s identity as a problem-solving provider that puts the client first.

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The Importance of Woman-Centered Spaces By Toni Colman

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 My grandmother always said the biggest business deals were made on the golf course. When I looked around at the majority-male 2016 WTIA Golf Tournament, her words reverberated in my mind. How many women were missing out on forming valuable industry connections that day? Later, WTIA – the non-profit I work for as Director of Member Relations – received feedback from people who echoed my concerns. The desire to see women participate in the tournament was there, but it wasn’t actually translating to the golf course even though, at least technically, all genders were welcome at the event. It was clear that despite the great strides women have made in the professional sphere since my grandmother first began forming her observation, the imbalance I was witnessing wasn’t going to fix itself. It would take intentional, strategic action.

 I decided to form the tournament’s first women-only training group and team. I rounded up eight members and we met up once a week for six weeks and learned how to play golf. We drank beer, ate snacks, and worked on our skills in a pressure-free environment. Once the tournament rolled around, however, we were hit with a dose of reality. One man asked a teammate what hole she was working at, assuming she wasn’t there to play in the tournament; another asked a woman if she could connect him to one of the partners at her company, not considering the fact the woman herself might be a partner (she was). Someone else expressed frustration at us for going the wrong way on the lawn, and other men gave us unsolicited coaching advice. For better or for worse, we weren’t exactly surprised by these uncomfortable interactions. After all, changing people’s biases doesn’t happen overnight. The all-women team members agreed that it was a beneficial learning experience overall, and wanted to continue making male-dominated spaces more woman-centered.

 

To that end, I next put together a women’s poker tournament. Poker is another activity typically coded as masculine, which means few women learn it and those who do can be averse to playing it since they’ll likely be playing with men. (Fact: Significantly more women play poker online than in-person, probably for this reason.) The interest in the event was staggering—75 women ended up participating. The turnout reaffirmed my belief that many women were interested in doing traditionally “manly” things, as long as intentional spaces were created for them to feel comfortable in. Being the only woman on the golf course or at the poker table can be a daunting experience, and those spaces will remain male-dominated if we are only relying on women to brave such spaces independently.

These experiences have opened my eyes to exactly what it will take to challenge the ubiquity of professional, male-dominated spaces. I’m taking all I’ve learned to my company so we can use it to best empower women in tech. WTIA is committed to creating intentional, professional spaces for women where networking and growth can flourish without being stifled by the pervading cultural norms that discourage women from full participation and therefore maintain the gender imbalance. If you care about doing this work with us, contact me at [email protected] and tell me how you want to shake things up or come see me at the Women in Cloud Summit on January 26th to build your network and expand your tribe!

Credit: This article was written by Toni Colman, Director of Member Relations, Washington Technology Industry Association

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Celebrating Women in Cloud: Charting the Route for Fellow Female Leaders By Kelly Browning

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The cloud has officially touched almost every aspect of the business: from infrastructure and AI to mobile workforces and social impact. We hear about major industry trends, technologies, and M&As, but what we don’t often hear about are the women in the workforce that are powering these technologies and organizations.

I’ve been working in the Cloud Computing community for the past 2.5 years and while the technology advancements and latest startups are constantly changing, one thing has remained the same: the amount of women in the industry who are highlighted is nowhere near their male counterparts who are touted as industry experts, thought leaders, and keynote speakers. Attend any tech conference or industry trade show and guaranteed it’ll be the one place you’ll ever go where the line for the women’s restroom is shorter than the men’s. Great for us at the time, but not as great for the overall industry in the long run.

So how do we address this ongoing issue? By coming together and sharing our stories, experiences, insights, expertise, and advice to lift each other up and give voice to those who wouldn’t otherwise be heard.

BrightTALK has done this by launching an online Women in Tech community where we’ve partnered with the Women in Cloud initiative to help provide a platform for these conversations. Since it’s inception in November 2016, we’ve grown the community to over 18,000 subscribers.

Check out some of the sessions hosted on BrightTALK here:

The Women in Cloud Summit is another fantastic way of addressing and closing the gap between female and male leaders in the industry. It’s a once-a-year opportunity to come together and hear from the top women in Cloud Computing on how they’ve gotten to where they are today and what both men and women can do for future generations of women in technology.

Whether you’re looking for a mentor/mentee relationship, how to stay ahead of the technology curve in this fourth industrial revolution, network with like-minded professionals or learn a new skillset, there’s something at the Women in Cloud Summit for everyone.

Register here to join us in January and play a key role in supporting the Women in Cloud community.

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Please connect with Kelly Browing to explore mutual opportunities!

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