Conversations #98: Thriving Where You Are – Embracing Staying Power and Preparing For What’s Next

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Natalia Daies, Senior Director of Communications and Marketing at Women Who Code, shares her talk, “Staying Power.” She discusses thriving where you are, embracing staying power, and preparing for what’s next. She also talks about the challenges women often face in the tech industry, whether the lack of representation, gender bias, or limited growth opportunities, and how understanding these obstacles can create a more inclusive tech landscape. 

Imagine you find yourself amid a thriving career in the tech industry, where you excel in your current role and feel a sense of fulfillment and contentment. The constant worry about what’s next or the pressure to move up the ladder no longer consumes your thoughts, allowing you to immerse yourself in the present fully. You’ve harnessed staying power. It’s become the driving force behind your incredible success.

What if this principle could be extended beyond just your journey? What if you could use this concept to empower more women in the tech industry to break through barriers and reach their full potential in their careers and earnings, significantly decreasing the number of women who leave tech by mid-career? This is where the true significance of staying power comes into play, not just for individuals but for the industry. 

Staying power means you’re fully invested in your current role and responsibilities. You’re biding your time when the next big opportunity comes. You’re seizing the moment and giving your best right now. Staying power is about being content in your current role, fully embracing it, and giving your best effort.

This combination of dedication, passion, and resilience can propel you forward and set the stage for future success. While it may seem counter-intuitive, dedicating yourself to your current role can lead to significant personal and professional growth. When you focus on what’s in front of you, you become more effective, learn more, and develop your skills, consistently delivering high-quality work, building trust, and building a strong reputation. Cultivating staying power paves the way for advancement and empowers you to take advantage of sponsorship opportunities. You are in the present moment, but you are also always ready for the unexpected.

There are things companies must do to create brave spaces where women can thrive where we are so that women in tech who are mid-career see the value in continuing in tech. Companies are responsible for implementing policies and practices that promote diversity and inclusion. This includes actively recruiting and retaining women in tech roles, addressing gender biases in hiring processes, and providing equal access through training and development opportunities.

At Women Who Code, our job board company’s team is working to create resources for organizations that support cultivating more inclusive spaces, starting at recruitment. Our talent tool kit and other resources are designed to ensure that companies have the tools to take action toward more equitable hiring processes and work environments where all employees feel valued and heard. This can mean establishing mentorship and sponsorship programs to help women, gender-queer, and non-binary technologists grow in their current roles. Companies that get good at resourcing ERG groups understand retention and support historically excluded groups.

Intentional company-sponsored mentorship opportunities are important for retention and encouraging women to develop comprehensive career plans. These structured road maps can help you set yourself up for advancement while also cultivating a stronger sense of purpose where you are. It makes you more likely to pursue development opportunities, seek out more challenging projects, and ultimately find joy in thriving where you are. It can also help you identify any skills or knowledge gaps that need to be addressed and allow us to seek out the necessary resources and support proactively.

In my career, one of the things that has always stood out for me is working for mission- and purpose-driven organizations that live into their advocacy. When you seek out organizations to work for, you want to ask questions about culture, retention growth, and development opportunities. Companies that care about their people are investing in their development and have a plan for where they’re going next. Companies should foster an inclusive work culture that values diversity and offers equal opportunities. This attracts women in tech and retains us in the industry.

Many women face unique challenges and bias in tech, leading to disproportionate attrition rates. Inclusive work cultures that actively support and promote diversity can help address these issues and create an environment where all employees, regardless of gender, feel valued and empowered to succeed. Fostering an inclusive work culture starts with a commitment from senior and executive leadership to prioritize diversity and inclusion. 

The last thing I’ll elevate as a way for companies to increase staying power for women in tech is to address pay disparities and ensure equity in pay structures. Ensuring equal pay for equal work is a matter of fairness and justice and a key element in creating a more inclusive and balanced work environment. Women have historically faced significant obstacles and discrimination when it comes to receiving fair compensation for their work.

Women make about 84 cents for full-time, year-round earners for every dollar made by non-Hispanic white men. If you look at women of color, black women, Hispanic women, Asian women, native and indigenous women, that number varies from group to group. The impact of addressing pay disparities extends far beyond just the workplace. It sends a powerful message to employees, customers, and the broader community, emphasizing the company’s commitment to fairness, diversity, and inclusion. It says we value innovation and creativity and don’t just throw those words around to create buzz around our products. Closing the gender and pay gap requires a multi-faceted approach. Companies should conduct regular audits to identify and rectify existing pay disparities. Transparent pay scales and compensation structures should be implemented to ensure equal pay for all employees performing the same job roles. 

Let’s discuss five ways you can increase your staying power this year. These practices are not just about surviving in tech but thriving, leading, and paving the way for more women and non-binary folks to follow. The first one is continuous learning, skill development, and leadership. You have to stay current with the latest technologies and trends. This can be achieved through certifications, workshops, online courses, bootcamps, self-taught skills, and coding challenges, like Women Who Code’s Days of Code. It’s important to develop your leadership qualities and take on leadership roles to demonstrate your capability and readiness to move up within the organization if that’s what you desire.

Networking and mentorship are the second. Building a robust professional network can provide support, mentorship, and opportunities. Attending industry conferences, joining women in tech groups, like Women Who Code networks, and participating in tech communities can be beneficial. Seeking out mentors and becoming one can be powerful. Mentors have shown me where I needed to grow and what I was doing well in my career.

Mentors became sponsors so that when people wanted to know my quality of work, they were the first to advocate for me to get opportunities and be in spaces where I couldn’t have been if I had not been networking. Creating or being a part of a support system that can offer advice, share opportunities, and provide emotional support during challenging times is essential to cultivating staying power. If you’re not connected, you should get connected. You can join a Women Who Code community, attend an event, and find people to journey with you through your tech journey. It will make it more fun but also more productive, bringing you more success.

The third thing you should be doing to increase your staying power is increasing your visibility, speaking at conferences, contributing to open-source projects, publishing articles, or taking on speaking engagements. This can help in building your reputation as an expert. Building a strong personal brand is what I’m talking about so that you can highlight your skills, your accomplishments, and areas of expertise.

I’m an introvert, so visibility isn’t always easy for me, but one of the things that I’ve done is set myself a personal goal so that each month, I do something that puts me out in front of people, whether it’s writing a blog, commenting on a popular post on social or publishing on my website. Whatever it is, I make sure that I am doing something constantly. I’m committed to doing something constantly so that people can see the work that I’m doing and know that their interactions with me are not one-offs. This is who I am. I’m committed to my work and ensuring that women in tech thrive. 

The fourth thing is advocacy. Advocating for diversity and inclusion can help change the culture within tech, making it more welcoming for women and other underrepresented groups. This also helps cultivate resilience so that you can overcome challenges and setbacks in your personal and career journey. This includes self-advocacy. I will speak up about your achievements and aspirations, advocate for pay raises for new opportunities for projects, and ensure that people see the value you bring to the company. This increases visibility and opportunities for advancement, but it also paves the way for other women in tech to be able to come forward as well.Number five is risk-taking. You have to be a risk-taker. Be open to new opportunities where you are. Sometimes, we can be so invested in our current role that when new opportunities come up, we don’t see them as opportunities. We just see them as more work. We see them as another commitment instead of an opportunity to get outside our comfort zone, lead, and show our growth. Every time you take a calculated risk, your career and life pays off.

Staying power holds tremendous potential in empowering women in the tech industry to achieve our goals and aspirations. It’s about breaking free from the notion that success is solely defined by rapid progress or constantly seeking the next big thing. Instead, it’s about cultivating an environment that values dedication, resilience, and the ability to thrive in the present moment. Through individual and collective support, we can create a powerful ripple effect that transforms the tech industry into a more inclusive and equitable space for everyone.