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Gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Addressing this goal is an important component of the Lingaro Sustainable Development Program.
In the global IT market, women are still a minority, which is why we have been running a wide range of initiatives to ensure equal opportunities, nurture their professional growth, and emphasize our efforts to cocreate a supportive and inclusive workplace. Currently, women constitute 33% of the workforce and 34% of managers in Lingaro. To help address the gender gap in the tech sector, Lingaro works internally to promote gender equality across the company. We also organize external activities and establish partnerships to support female talents willing to start and advance their careers in IT.
Here are some key activities we’re doing to advance gender equality in the industry:
Women’s Community Meetings
The Lingaro Group Women's Community Meeting (WCM) was established in April 2017. WCM’s primary goal is to provide a platform for female colleagues to come together, share their professional experiences, and provide support and inspiration for one another.
Women volunteers from Lingaro share their insights on a variety of important topics, from experiences as working mothers and women in IT to work-life balance and career advice. Featured guest speakers, including accomplished female executives excelling in their respective fields, are invited to share their career journeys and provide insights and tips for women in the Lingaro community.
In our recent WCM in 2022, Lingaro Group CEO Sam Mantle opened with some insightful remarks on the powerful benefits of community and inclusivity, and how important they will be in shaping the company's future growth. The guest speaker was Tina Sobocinska, HR4future founder and HR strategic advisor, who shared her valuable perspective on women in business as well as some empowering advice on how they can be successful.
The recent event also had a panel interview that featured four exceptional women from the Lingaro Group community. Cherry Lou Yu, Head of HR – Asia Pacific, Magdalena Brych, Head of Marketing, Anne-Sophie Megevand, Senior Account Director, and Magdalena Rybicka, Delivery Leader, spoke candidly about their experiences in the industry, offered tips for effectively navigating organizational changes, and gave recommendations to other women who are on similar career paths.
IT Power Women Global Mentoring Program
The program empowers the next generation of female IT talent across the world. The program is designed to provide career mentorship and support to promising and up-and-coming female talents as well as serve as a starting point for them to grow their professional network. The recent edition was a resounding success thanks to the Lingarians in Poland and the Philippines who volunteered and participated as mentors.
Cooperation with women-led organizations
Lingaro builds and maintains strong partnerships with various organizations and work with them to promote our shared goal of advancing gender equality:
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European Network for Women in Leadership (WIL Europe): A network of more than 300 women in executive and leadership positions across 24 countries in Europe, WIL Europe serves as a platform for advancing the professional and social interests of women in leadership and aspiring female leaders.
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Vital Voices: An international organization that works with women leaders, Vital Voices aims to bring more visibility to women and help unleash their potential. It organizes international forums, capacity-building workshops, and training seminars. The Vital Voices chapter in Poland organizes various initiatives, such its Global Mentoring Walk and Open Mentoring Program.
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Her Impact: We participated in the social platform’s activities and shared our experiences on enriching their competencies and promoting the professional careers of women.
Sponsorships and participation to external events
Lingaro supports and participates in various events, sharing our own industry knowledge and know-how:
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Women Techstyle Summit: In the last few years, Lingaro Group has been a platinum sponsor of one of the biggest conferences in Poland dedicated to women in IT, and we continue to support and participate in their event. In the most recent one, we had the opportunity to share our own experience:
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Milena Kurpiewska, senior team leader in Lingaro’s data science and artificial intelligence center of excellence, gave a presentation on the seven key competencies for success in IT that she has identified based on her extensive experience.
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Michalina Błażejewska, HR project management leader, discussed women's involvement in the tech labor market and provided tips for successfully entering it.
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Joanna Pilch, IT project manager and team leader, Justyna Konstantynowicz and Zuzanna Kuczyńska-Cisowska, BI developers, Dominika Paleczna, UX designer and team leader, and Anna Ptaszyńska-Biały, talent acquisition and sustainability leader, represented us at our virtual stand, shared their career journeys, and described what they do in their current roles.
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IT Is a Woman Conference: Women from Lingaro gave presentations at a conference organized by the WSPA University in Lublin, Poland, focusing on women in IT and helping them start careers in this sector:
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Agata Szacka, employer branding leader, discussed female involvement in the technology industry and the Lingaro Group's key efforts to promote gender equality.
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Michalina Błażejewska, HR project management center of excellence leader, gave job candidates tips for successfully navigating IT recruitment processes.
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Zuzanna Kuczyńska–Cisowska, a BI developer, described the professional journey that led her to where she is today and what she has learned along the way.
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Vital Voices Mentoring Walk: Lingaro representatives took part in global mentoring walks, discussing personal and professional challenges and successes as well as providing the support and guidance that mentees need to fulfill their goals. The walks serve as a friendly environment for collaboration and networking among established and aspiring women leaders in their community.
Lingaro Group recognizes the impact that women make to our company and the IT industry. We proactively seek feedback, ask about our employees’ needs, and act on them. We are glad that our efforts toward gender equality are recognized by Lingarians — a score of 8 out of 10 based on 1,000 responses — but we're only just beginning. We are committed to advancing our diversity and inclusion agenda and we are constantly working on gender equality initiatives, internally and beyond, to drive meaningful, positive impact in the IT sector.
