International Women’s Day 2022: Women at Gapstars breaking the bias
WonderWomen At Gapstars
There is a starting point for even the most pivotal of revolutions; a starting point that, at first, may seem like a drop in the ocean. Women’s Day is one such revolution; defined by so much more than celebration and frivolity. In its essence, it is the culmination of countless stories of strength, empowerment and decades of #BreakingtheBias
At Gapstars, it’s not just about Women’s Day, it’s about a woman’s entire journey. It’s about how we can be a part of something illuminating and uplifting, not just to one woman or one team, but to a community of people who want to strive forward, and to the countless generations who will see the world as their oyster.
The tech industry is known for being favoured more by men than by women, with the global participation rates of women in the tech industry attesting to that. Globally, only 27% of women would consider a career within technology, as opposed to 61% of men. (Source)
The Sri Lankan IT sector sees a female participation rate of around 25%, and from a macro-perspective, this is a rate that we all strive to increase. The question boils down to how — how do we increase female participation? How do we challenge gender biases and encourage more women to enter the IT industry? There is no overnight brainwave to make this possible nor any instant solution to see a massive shift in the workforce, because like we said, it all boils down to the little things.
BreakTheBias
Empowerment is a word that is often casually thrown around; but it holds more weight and promise than we would initially think. At Gapstars, female empowerment is a big part of our identity, and it starts with the complete removal of biases in our hiring process. Over 25% of our workforce is female, and over 48% of our growth and support teams are women playing pivotal roles in taking this organization forward.
We encourage women to see their careers as part of their identity, rather than just a byproduct of family-oriented responsibilities. Through flexibility, empathy and recognition, we push our women to be the best that they can be. Empowerment begins with belief, trust and understanding, which are the fundamentals of our culture — bestowed upon all our employees, irrespective of gender, age, race or religion.
We believe that in order for women to grow in the tech industry, they need to be given the resources to push themselves even further. Our Gapstars Academy is instrumental in creating a learning culture, where ideas can be bounced around within teams and everyone learns from successes and challenges alike. We want our women to flourish, not just within the company, but in their personal lives as well — our people are multi-faceted, and we want to celebrate that. While tech is, of course, the essence of our DNA, other areas, like personal branding, financial management and emotional wellbeing, are also topics we dive into when giving the best to our stars.
However, this is not the end-all and be-all of our mission. We know that the experience of one woman can help to inspire several, and this is why we believe in the importance of providing women with a platform to showcase their journey, their expertise and their talent. This month, we will have our women joining the stages of Diversity Collective, Google Women Techmakers and the Women in Tech Meetup as speakers and panellists across areas stretching from tech to talent acquisition, to management skills.
We will also be hosting a live Q&A session with an all-female panel, where you can learn more about starting out your career in Quality Assurance, with guidance from our QA experts and advice from our talent acquisition and HR professionals as well! You can sign up here and send in your questions to be part of the discussion: https://share.hsforms.com/1Fjj8tu1IQWqdJL1lEooQNA3y98l
#AskOurAchievHERS
At Gapstars, one woman’s journey is the whole company’s journey. One experience is magnified to reach and inspire every star in our galaxy, and every aspiring achiever of the upcoming generation.
With every success, every obstacle overcome and every challenge met head-on, we continue to Break the Bias.
International Women’s Day 2022: Women at Gapstars breaking the bias was originally published in Gapstars on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.