Success Stories – Women in Tech Part 3

Part three of the Women in Tech Success Stories series leaves us filled with inspiration as the list of women keeps growing! A far cry from what it was a mere 10 years ago. So until next time, here are some more amazing women in tech we need to highlight and here’s to celebrating many more!

  Annie Parker – Co-Founder muru-D 

Another mover and shaker on the tech scene and startup landscape in Australia is Annie Parker, who last month was appointed Microsoft’s Global Head of Startups.

Parker co-founded muru-D, a startup accelerator program in Australia and Singapore that is sponsored by Telstra. Muru-D supports tech startups who are solving challenging global problems by offering a range of services including seed funding, access to mentors, global connections and co-working spaces. The Telstra-owned incubator is a model for other corporates looking to tackle innovation.

Parker is one of Australia’s most prominent tech evangelists and Director and Chair of Code Club Australia, a network of coding clubs for Australian children aged 8–15 with a mission to #getkidscoding!

Parker’s muru-D invests in up to 10 startups every six months, giving advice to entrepreneurs to help scale ideas and leverage the experience and networks that Telstra brings. So far it has invested in 44 startups of which 41 still operate, generating over $14 million in funding and $7.8 million in revenue, as well as 269 jobs.

Elaine Stead – Head of Venture Capital, Blue Sky Funds

A stem-cell biologist turned venture capitalist, Stead heads the venture capital of one of Australia’s largest tech startup funds, Blue Sky.

In 2016, the company invested a record-breaking $25 million into online wine seller Vinomofo – it was the sole investor and the first time Vinomofo took on venture funds.

Blue Sky also invested $13.6 million in Thailand-based aCommerce, its first investment in the south-east Asian market and first international bet outside of US-based companies. Stead is also a board member of several boards including, Vinomofo, Eloquii, Thrive and Shoes of Prey.

Cyan Ta’eed – Co-Founder Envato

Envato is a digital creative assets marketplace which has seven million members who buy and sell digital stock and services.

The business has gone from strength to strength, reporting a revenue of $94 million in 2017. The company is also highly profitable, turning a profit of $37 million in 2016, and sharing some of it with employees.

Ta’eed started Envato in 2006 from her garage and the company now has 170 employees in its Melbourne headquarters. She also founded New Day Box, a social enterprise subscription box service and ethical chocolate brand Hey Tiger.

Last year Ta’eed was awarded Telstra Victorian Business Woman of the Year and EY Entrepreneur of the Year Australia (Services).

The post Success Stories – Women in Tech Part 3 appeared first on Launch Recruitment Agency Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane.

from Blog – Launch Recruitment Agency Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane https://ift.tt/2Itfuau

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2IxewKu

Taking Gender Bias Out of the Hiring Process

Whether you are in the business of hiring people or find yourself making key decisions on hiring a team for a business, there is a chance gender bias has made its way to the hiring process.

Sadly it still happens today, mostly with female applicants getting the rough end of the stick. Gender bias runs deep and it will take time for deep-rooted assumptions about women’s capability in management and leadership roles to change.

We can speed up that change to ensure the right person is hired for the job and that men and women can achieve and grow without the strain and burden of unfounded stereotypes.

Here’s how:

Male Characteristics VS Female Characteristics

Behavioural traits that display confidence, dominance, assertiveness and competitiveness are often considered masculine. Female traits are assumed to be behaviours that display caring, listening, nurturing and empathy. Somewhere along the line, it was deemed that female characteristics aren’t synonymous with good leadership where male characteristics are. In typically male dominated industries (like Tech), being successful is generally associated with possessing male characteristics, making it more difficult for women to become successful in these industries. Let’s unsubscribe to this deeply reductive view of management styles and gender. Great leaders are known to be a combination of many different behaviours, both nurturing and assertive. Men and women deserve better than this.

Understanding Why Gender Bias Needs to Be Addressed

Why is gender diversity such a hot topic? There is an abundance of research that identifies the benefits of diverse teams for organisations. Furthermore, to an extent, traditional stereotypes around a “man’s job” and “woman’s job” still play some part in the hiring process today. And most of the time, this gender bias occurs completely unconsciously. If you ever feel yourself unfocused on the plight to eradicate gender bias in the hiring process, or in fact your working environment, there are a few points that can quickly and easily get you back on track. What is the real benefit of a gender-balanced team? Well, plenty.

Gender diverse teams outperform non diverse teams. They are known to be smarter, listen to each other and give each other more time to talk without interruption. Interestingly one of the main features of a diverse team was a sense of “awkwardness” that forced them to clearly communicate, listen and hence be more effective at problem-solving.

Gender diverse teams generate significantly better returns. It’s no surprise that technology ranks among the lowest sectors in terms of gender diversity. However, tech companies who make a conscious effort to boost gender diversity can expect an average return of 5.4% more on an annual basis than the average yearly returns of their peers with less gender diversity.

Writing Inclusive Job Ads

Forget coding ninjas, digital gurus and growth-hacking gangsters. Describe the role without shrouding the description in superhero imagery. It won’t get you a wide array of quality candidates, but what will is succinct, inviting job descriptions that highlight the value the company places on diversity and inclusion! Launch Recruitment are strong advocates for encouraging women to join tech and we work hard to help tech companies reach their diversity goals. We partner with our clients to write inclusive job ads and educate on how to interview with diversity at front of mind. Read more about Launch Recruitment and our diversity program here.

The post Taking Gender Bias Out of the Hiring Process appeared first on Launch Recruitment Agency Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane.

from Blog – Launch Recruitment Agency Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane https://ift.tt/2GX6iOv

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2EkV8xD