In celebration of International Women’s Day today, we are recognizing some of the wonderful, talented and influential women making an impact at Truescope. We acknowledge that women continue to be under-represented in all technology industries, and in SaaS globally make up only 30% of the workforce (Mattermark, 2020). Given innovations from a team that include at least one woman are proven to be more economically valuable and have higher impact than those with only men involved (Forbes, 2020), we realize the importance of sharing stories of women in tech and highlighting the benefits women bring to this industry, and thereby hopefully playing a part in achieving greater gender diversity in the exciting and rapidly growing world of tech . We have also made a commitment to continue to recognize and celebrate the contributions our women leaders bring to Truescope, every day, not just on March 8 each year. We’re pleased to be building a supportive culture for all our employees across North America, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia, hear more about it from our team.
Jean Saucier, Senior Vice President, Truescope North America
After graduating college in the mid-90s, I began an internship with a public relations firm specializing in technology focused clients. It was the beginning of the internet age and my experience of opportunities within technology communications, public relations and media monitoring in the United States is that they have been gender inclusive. I do think that over the past 20 years or so, women have had tremendous growth into executive leadership roles.
When my son was young I was fortunate to work in a home office based role, enabling me to be the at-home parent while staying active and vital in the technology communications industry. This was extremely important to me and my family and I had the best of both worlds.
At Truesope, the resources, talent, technology and most importantly a strong team of people are, to me, what makes it such an exciting organization to work for. Here in the US we are poised for unlimited growth and expansion!
What I might say to other women pursuing technology careers is to feel confident in your knowledge, expertise and capabilities. Do not be hesitant to ask for what you need/want in an opportunity. Share ideas, expertise, and always find ways to help others on your team. Nothing is accomplished by just one person. It's important to stay goal-oriented and team focused.
Sophie Vu, Junior Software Engineer, Truescope HQ (Australia)
From a very young age, I loved working with computers and using software applications and technology to do things faster and better. Working in the tech industry has always been my desire.
I used to think that hours spent in front of a computer and coding were not suitable for a girl. Additionally, many statistics showed the low percentage of females in STEM. The rapidly growing technology industry has led to the rise of career opportunities in this area. I chose a degree in Business Information Systems with the aim of working in a position between IT and business people.
However, I became increasingly interested in programming and building software. Creating awesome applications for people to solve problems with technology, which involves skills in teamwork, problem solving, programming and attention to detail, is just so enjoyable, and so I shifted my studies to software development and engineering. I believe gender should not be a barrier to career success in this industry.
Truescope has a great startup culture with a supportive work environment where we share the values of collaboration, team success, open communication, self-development and self-discipline. It’s a great, motivating environment, and I see myself continuing my career and learning as a frontend developer, in an exciting and growing organization.
Veronica Hu, CX & Operations Director, Truescope Singapore
The technology industry is a demanding one; I believe in being productive during working hours so I can still maintain a healthy work-life balance. Being part of a good team who can bounce ideas off one another is crucial, and it’s also important to have continual optimisation and self-reflection - we always question ourselves about how we can do things better and faster next time.
Machine learning and AI continuously influence the tech landscape. With more innovative solutions out there, with ChatGPT being an example, the space might evolve at a quicker pace than we can ever imagine. The challenge is then how we could keep up with the momentum.
We have a high-energy, motivated and helpful team of people. Our developers listen to our needs and introduce upgrades and new features to address them and to meet and exceed client expectations - this keeps us motivated. We’ve come a long way since we started Truescope Singapore more than two years ago, and we’re not slowing down - everyone on board is dedicated to achieving the same goals of growth and client satisfaction.
Kirsty Harman, Head of Growth, Fuseworks and Truescope New Zealand
In my role I deal directly with our customers and prospective customers - the people who use our products on a daily basis and decision makers, the majority of whom are women.
So, when considering issues and advice for women in tech, I don't have advice for other women as much as the blokes! Tech leaders and product teams need to wise up to the competitive advantage and secret sauce that women bring to a product team in designing for our target audience. We might not be the loudest voice, so you may have to lean in since we're still a bit out numbered...
Girls, don't be shy - women out there need you to design better products for them!
Sarah Phillips, CX and Product Lead, Truescope HQ (Australia)
I moved from account management to product management because I was passionate about improving services to support clients' needs. For women, juggling young children and a career is the biggest challenge. Both need ample attention and at times it can feel like you aren't doing either well. Routine is important. Being disciplined in ensuring work and family get enough of my time is important, otherwise, the wheels fall off somewhere. Making time for myself, exercise, friends and being outdoors are all important for overall well-being.
There are a number of similarities between product management and raising children, actually, so I think women, often the primary care-givers, are well-placed to succeed in this role.
- Both require a long-term view. You make decisions based on a future state.
- Both involve managing multiple stakeholders and keeping everyone happy.
- Both require adaptability. Just as children change and grow, so do the needs of clients, market trends and technology
- Both involve problem-solving and coming up with solutions to improve development/wellbeing
- Both require effective communication
I think women make excellent product managers and would encourage any woman into this area of technology. We are emotionally intelligent and have excellent multi-tasking, communications and collaboration skills which are important for keeping stakeholders informed and cross-functional teams engaged and demonstrably valued throughout the product development process.
