"The impact of women communities in tech organisations"
"The impact of women communities in tech organisations"
Tue May 20 - 7:50 AM EDT/New York (See in local time)
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05/20/2025 7:50 AM
05/20/2025 08:10 AM
America/New_York
#WTGC2025
"The impact of women communities in tech organisations"
#WTGC2025
"The impact of women communities in tech organisations"
https://www.womentech.net/ringcentral
https://www.womentech.net/ringcentral
"The impact of women communities in tech organisations"
"The impact of women communities in tech organisations"
Don’t miss out and join visionaries, innovators, and thought leaders from all over the world at the Women in Tech Global Conference.
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Session: The impact of women communities in tech organisations
According to the WomenTech network, women currently make up around 35% of the tech workforce. Women are 1.6 times more likely to be laid off than men, often due to less seniority, and 66% of women lack clear career advancement paths. Moreover, the lack of representation increases with seniority, with only 25% of C-suite positions being held by women [1]. While progress has been made in the last years towards closing the gender gap in tech companies, there is still a long way to go. In today’s fast-paced technological landscape, fostering diversity and inclusion is no longer optional. It is essential for innovation and growth and gender related goals have become a common focus for many organisations. Women in tech communities (also called Networks or Employee Resource Groups) have emerged as a powerful force that can help create a support network, empower women and help them with career development.In this presentation, we will explore how having a women community can help drive cultural change, empower women and create a better work ecosystem for everyone in the organisation. For this, we will follow the story of the women community at Ocado Technology, and we will see how creating a women in tech committee helped with increasing engagement, driving initiatives within the women community while contributing to company inclusion goals. We will explore how such a committee can be structured, what initiatives can be explored, how to get involvement from senior leadership and how to get engagement and support from allies. Finally, we will have a look at some of the challenges faced along the way, we will highlight key learnings and offer practical advice on how to build a culture that promotes diversity and inclusion in any organisation.
Whether you're a woman looking to build a support network, a leader looking to strengthen diversity efforts or an ally seeking to support women in the workplace, this speech will inspire actionable steps to create meaningful change within your organisation.
[1] Women in Tech Stats 2025. Uncovering Trends and Unseen Data by WomenTech Network. Available at https://www.womentech.net/en-us/women-in-tech-stats
Key Takeaways
- An active Women in Tech community can greatly impact a tech organisation. These communities provide valuable support for women, help accelerate their professional growth, foster strong support networks, and enhance job satisfaction for all employees.
- An active Women in Tech community brings visibility to the diverse roles women hold within the organisation, creating transparency and helping individuals plan their career paths.
- A well-structured committee with clearly defined roles and responsibilities helps oversee a Women in Tech community, ensuring that key initiatives are effectively driven forward.
- Sponsors are senior leaders who support the community by enhancing its visibility, connecting it with key stakeholders, and providing essential resources.
- Sharing stories within the Women in Tech community fosters a sense of belonging and well-being, especially among minority groups who face similar challenges in the workplace.
Bio
Stefana is an Engineering Team Lead with over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. She joined Ocado Technology Barcelona in 2018 as a backend engineer and transitioned into a leadership role about a year ago. Currently, she focuses on the Order side of Ocado Technology’s ecommerce stream, leading the Customer Engagement team, which manages all communications with our end-to-end Ocado Smart Platform customers.In addition to her role, Stefana co-chairs the Women in Tech community, representing the EMEA region at Ocado Technology. She drives initiatives aimed at creating a more inclusive and supportive workplace for women. Passionate about celebrating women’s achievements and amplifying their visibility, she strives to empower them as role models who inspire others.
Her interests span a wide range of topics, including people management, leadership development, and diversity and inclusion—particularly in supporting and empowering women to advance their careers. She is also passionate about software architecture and coding best practices.
Preeti is a Senior Data Analyst with over 12 years of experience in data, analytics, and data warehousing. She specialises in transforming data into actionable insights that drive business success. Since joining Ocado Technology in 2020 as a BI Analyst, she has worked across Supply Chain and Ecommerce and is currently focused on Merchandising Tools at Ocado. Her expertise lies in defining key metrics, measuring success, and optimising business KPIs to help Ocado Smart Platform partners grow ecommerce sales while maintaining profitability.
Beyond her professional role, Preeti co-chairs the Women in Tech community, leading initiatives that foster a more inclusive and supportive workplace for women. She is passionate about empowering women to take charge of their careers with confidence and helping them recognise their potential.
Preeti thrives on mentoring, simplifying complex problems, and breaking down concepts in a way that even a 12-year-old can understand. She is driven by collaboration, continuous learning, and making data accessible to all, ensuring stakeholders can make informed, strategic decisions that drive progress.
