Women's Month Celebration: Women of haku Discussion

Diversity is one of our calling cards at haku. We’re proud to say more than half of our team is comprised of women, and every department is filled with fantastic stories and paths into the tech world. As part of our celebration of women’s month, we sat down with five women of the haku team, representing different roles within the organization, different backgrounds and career experiences. We explored their paths into tech, their inspirational figures, and their views on the challenges facing women.

Our panel consisted of:

Ally Maass - Director of Customer Experience

Melissa Andersen - Director of Customer Experience

Mariely De La Cruz - Software Engineer

Shay Chase - Participant Experience Representative

Samary Rodriguez - Director of People Experience

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Can you describe your path into the tech industry? How or when did you feel this was something you wanted to pursue?

Mariely: I initially worked in marketing, managing a website, content management. Every now and then I would make edits to the website and I realized it was something I really enjoyed. I attended a one-day bootcamp for coding and tech, I really liked it, and the thought about making a career out of this stayed lingering. I decided to join a 3-month bootcamp where we studied, did projects, and it was really intense. Once I finished that, I was able to start as a software developer here at haku, and I’ve been here 4 years now.

Melissa: From a different perspective, because I’m not a coder! But I had taken an IT course in college, and my professor worked at Facebook and she was amazing. From that course alone, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in technology. I was fascinated by not only how challenging the industry was but also how rewarding it was. You can really make a difference in people’s lives. It’s ever changing and evolving - in tech I feel there’s always something that can be built or improved upon, and long story short, I’ve now been here 4 years also.

What advice would you give the you of 5-10 years ago?

Samary: Be patient with yourself and trust the process. Keep your goals in mind. With hard work and determination, everything will fall into place. I would tell myself that life has obstacles but you’ll learn and grow from them. Continue to network and seek mentors.

Who is your female inspirational figure?

Ally: Professionally, I think Erica Nardini is an inspiration. She’s the CEO of Barstool Sports. I think she’s not just a woman at the table, she’s the woman at the table. She’s fearless, a disruptor in the space and took a successful business and is making it skyrocket to the top. She empowers women’s sports and women across the industry. Her podcast has a ton of inspirational guests so yeah, she’s doing great things.

Mariely: My mom. She sacrificed her career and moved to the U.S so that my brother and I could have a better life. She kind of had to start all over again and I truly thank her for that.

Samary: I was also going to say my mom. I grew up in a single parent home, so she was the dad, the mom, and our sole provider. She taught me a lot about business and independence and to not rely on others. That was very inspirational for me growing up. I am the first of my immediate family to graduate college and do my masters, so following her lead definitely inspired me.

Melissa: Beyond my mom, I have one other, Melinda Gates. She’s such a highly regarded businesswoman, especially in the tech space. What stood out to me most was that she uses her platform to help others and increase women’s roles in tech. She really goes above and beyond to do philanthropist work and it’s so powerful because she could have used her wealth for anything but she uses so much of it to make a good example of how technology can be so impactful.

Beyond your firsthand experience in the tech industry in your everyday tasks, some of you get to go to events and support our partners in the endurance sports industry. From your perspectives, what can each of these industries do to drive growth among women and become more diverse?

Ally: We actually tend to see that over half the runners in many races are female, which is awesome. We’ve seen customers push women’s running groups, or races in general that are women-only events, like the Atlanta Women’s 5K. There’s also some themed races that encourage women’s participation, like Mother’s Day races, and one of our favorites, Champagne Gang, a virtual race by J&A racing that encourages you to get out there with your girl gang.

Samary: That event had great guest speakers too. It’s great for kids to see women in these roles, like in Microsoft, for example. The girls can see that and think, wow, I can be that one day. We also attended a Women in Tech event which showed me how many entrepreneurs and consultants and independent freelancers in this field are doing an amazing job. The flexibility of their positions was a major reason why they may have left corporate roles or chosen this path.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing women today? How can we improve upon those challenges as a society in general?

Melissa: I think one of the biggest challenges is still equality in the workplace. Both men and women need to encourage women to go get what they want in their careers and not give up. Like Mariely said, starting them young and having them see the options in front of them is important. It’s also not enough to have women sit at the table, we need to be heard. There’s a big difference. We could have a lot of women in our leadership team but giving them the ability to feel confident enough to be heard and valued, is a big differentiator.

Samary: Companies need to remove obstacles. Women shouldn’t have to make a choice of being at work or starting a family. They should be made to feel that they can thrive at both. Flexibility in work/life balance is a major key.

What are some of your long-term career goals?

Melissa: One of my goals is actually starting a company of my own. I’ve always been really fascinated by running my own business, and when I first joined haku, I learned about how Jackie, Carlos and Jose came together to turn an idea into something very successful. That has always been a huge driver for me, and being able to build something from the ground up.

Shay: Same as Melissa. I would like to start a music software company. I love music and tech so why not combine both? Nowadays music and tech go hand in hand, so I would like to start a platform for musicians to create, use their own sounds, edit, etc. I’d like to build an app, and I know I’m going to need support and coding and development, all that fun stuff.

Do you feel that just because you are a woman, and especially in the tech field, you will be more challenged to achieve these future goals?

Melissa: I do, and I don’t. I really wanted to be a sports medicine doctor and I found that it was almost impossible to break through in that field as a woman. I do think that kind of killed my young girl dream early on, but then I’ve been surrounded by so many awesome influences who have not let me quiet my voice and not let me stop my dreams and its very empowering here at haku.

Shay: It depends on different factors. If those above us want to make it more challenging on us because we’re women, they’ll do that. I do feel the tech industry is becoming more inclusive, and more diverse than it was 10-20 years ago.

Samary: It depends on the company and the industry. I think it also depends on your support system at home too. As women, we often play the lead role in parenting, but if you have a great support system, it can be a driver to show you can do both and companies need to realize this and provide new and inclusive opportunities and programs so that women are in a better position to thrive.

Mariely: I do believe as a woman you get questioned or second guessed more than men. Sometimes you may say something and they won’t take it serious, but a man could say the same thing and the response would be “great idea!” So you do have to sell yourself more, I think.

Ally: I was working in sports before this and it was definitely challenging to achieve leadership roles there. But we’re lucky to be working with a company that pushes for growth and pushes the women in the company to reach their goals.

A couple of you mentioned haku and a feeling of empowerment here. Look at every department here. Look at the roles you all have. Can you talk about empowerment from your coworkers, by leadership, at events, and the feeling it gives you?

Samary: In my prior company, a large organization, you didn’t always feel like your voice or ideas were always heard. You just didn’t see ideas fully come to fruition, because you were such a small part of a project. Here if you have an idea, great. Run with it and see it come to life and see the end result. Leadership trusts you.

The haku team is 60% women. What type of impact does that make on us internally, and what kind of message does it send to our partners?

Ally: For us, having a strong female presence definitely helps our work environment. You see women in leadership, you see women on the tech side and on the customer-facing side. It’s really well-rounded, and we have influencers in every corner of the office. I think for new employees who come in, it’s really inspiring for them to see women in all sorts of roles. It gives them confidence that there is opportunity to grow and for them to become leaders, as well. Partners like to see that we’re majority women, too. The running industry has not had a lot of women in leadership roles until recently. There are a lot of women leaders in the industry now, and our customers really resonate with companies who empower women.

Samary: I actually get a lot of feedback on our LinkedIn posts saying “wow, what a great culture you guys have,” or they’ll mention that they’ve noticed our focus on diversity and inclusion. It’s exciting to hear these positive messages from people who notice.

Let’s say you’re at a girls' event like the ones we’ve attended or volunteered at. Or let’s say you’re at your daughter’s career day at school. What would you want young women to learn, either from you personally or about what their future could be like?

Mariely: Yeah, never give up. Have perseverance. You can get anything accomplished. You’re always going to come against challenges and you just can’t give up.

Melissa: It’s a fight to be heard and to be valued. It’s not enough to sit at the table, like Ally said earlier. Sometimes we’re afraid to be too loud, or too emotional, but a lot of our emotional intelligence is actually a great quality to have. That sets us apart. It allows us to build these connections and build relationships with customers to show them we care not just as a partner but as a family member. Embrace the passion and emotion that we have.

Samary: If you think of that Code/Art event we went to, there’s not a lot of those events that feature non-traditional roles and inspiring girls in the tech field. I think as a parent, tell your daughter to seek what you’re passionate about and feel free to explore other roles or opportunities, regardless of what you’re interested in doing. Sometimes society can push very girly things, you know? Very girl-centric activities or hobbies. As a parent, give them freedom to pursue non-traditional opportunities.

Shay: I would love to be an inspiration for little girls to see that no matter what your dream is, even if you’re surrounded by a male-dominated presence in the workplace, you can overcome those obstacles and be who you want to be and get to where you want to get. Don’t let anyone discourage you or make you feel belittled because you’re a woman. We’re amazing. We’re so powerful. But society can make you feel like you’re so small or you’re second to men and that’s not true. Put your mind to it. Believe in yourself and love yourself.

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What better way to close than right there. It is refreshing to hear the incredible openness and honesty from these amazing women of the haku team. We look forward to holding similar discussions in the near future and sharing more thoughts from our team.