Cover Story: #WomenThatBuild

Women that Build… How do we put on display the gender gap we see exists in IT and are fighting to change, but at the same time, the incredible impact women are making? We decided that the best way to talk about all of this is by letting our Globers say whatever there is in their hearts to say. 

So, here are five of the awesome women that are part of our Glober community. Get to know about the daily impact they make to the world by what they do. 

We invite you to read these five different life stories and get inspired by them!

Lourdes Atilano | Web UI Developer | México

 

 “The brave man is not the one who feels no fear, but the one who conquers that fear”, Nelson Mandela.

I think that that is the phrase that best describes my journey at Globant.  Those words became the mantra that would direct my life moving forward.

I’m Luly Atilano and I’d like to share what has been the most challenging experience for me, professionally and personally. It started when I decided to put aside my International Relations (IR) career and take the Laboratoria Boot Camp challenge. That was the first generation of women developers in Guadalajara Mexico.

The process wasn’t at all simple. I had to leave my family in Guadalajara and move to Mexico City because Globant was looking for Front Ends. Entering an industry that I didn’t fully know at my 30’s meant learning terms that I had never heard before, exhausting hours of study, participating in developers communities without fully understanding what they were exposing, attending hackathons and many other things.

This was a 180° change in my life and I must admit that throughout the process, fear always accompanied me. I did everything with fear. Fear of the unknown and of failure, which resulted in constant confrontations with myself.

However, my eagerness to obtain both better professional and personal opportunities and the support of my family made the experience incredible. My entry at  Globant brought endless profits. I got the opportunity to interact with wonderful people who supported me without even knowing me. These turned out to be admirable women who were impacting the world with their intelligence, sympathy, effort, solidarity and empathy. I learned new skills such as thundering the code a little less and encourage teamwork with very talented people. To my own amazement, it turned out that the IT industry is just as diverse, overwhelming and exciting as the IR field.

The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is that any change that we attempt to make will involve effort, time, patience and resilience. But beyond that, to continue moving towards the future we want to build, we need a great portion of courage.

Raquel Canales | Web UI Developer | Chile

 

I always had a certain affinity with computers. As my dad is an electronic technician I’ve always seen how he turned our house into a tech cemetery full of cables, monitors and half-armed CPU’s.

I used to help in what I could and asked what I didn’t know. I remember that the first online computer game I made was called MUD and it didn’t have any graphics. It only contained a black background, a text describing what I was seeing and a line to enter commands that allowed me to interact with the other players.

With this in mind, I should have followed a tech career, but I ended up studying a Law Degree. It filled me from the humanistic point of view, but in practice, it proved to be much pragmatic than I thought.

Not satisfied with this, I decided to change my career path participating in a Bootcamp organized by Laboratoria. This organization teaches women how to code with short-term courses bringing together knowledge, opportunities and passion for women in the IT industry.

Different women attended the Boot Camp, with diverse backgrounds and realities, seeking new career opportunities in technology. The most valuable conclusion about the program is that it is never too late for anything. Continuous learning, adaptation to change and self challenge is always a bet. 

Laboratoria also gave me the opportunity to get to know Globant in Chile. And from the first moment, the company’s culture and fabolous team surprised me. Globant is full of people willing to teach and help others, even on Saturdays! 

I started working at Globant thanks to a program they were offering. And as in Laboratoria, it has been a hell of a ride. I’ve learned a lot, stressed a bit and met many people from all around the world. But above all, I’ve realized that I really love what I do and where I do it. 

I think that every experience I’ve lived has had an impact in the work I do now. I can see that in the way I interact with my colleagues, in how I face problems and in how I learn new things. And also, Globant is a place that values the development of each person, professionally and personally. I hope to continue growing with Globant for many more years. 

 

Aurelie Lionet |Strategy Consultant | London

 

I remember feeling completely scared of making the wrong decision when deciding my undergrad studies. This was because I thought that this would determine what I would be doing for the rest of my life. I could imagine myself as a doctor, as much as an architect, or as a business woman. All I knew was that I wanted to make a positive impact in the world but didn’t know how. 

I ended up opting for business studies because it would allow me to in any industry and in various specialties. It would give me some tools to build any project from the ground up – and I was right! How could I imagine, having grown up on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific, that I would end up working in a huge global tech consultancy, as a Service Designer creating digital services for big companies and governments in New York and then in London?. Today, my parents are really proud, relieved and happy. Sometimes when facing the biggest dilemmas, it’s key to listen to our intuition. We do not have to be scared of choosing one path over another. We should stay confident with the path we’ve chosen.

The more my career in IT progresses, the more I realize that this is one of the best ways to make a positive impact in the world. Here’s why:

By working in technology, we are at the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Technology is revolutionizing the way we live, work and relate to one another, like never experienced before. This revolution has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for many people. The possibilities are unlimited. Billions of people connected by mobile devices, with exponentially growing performance, access to knowledge, multiplied by breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things.

At the same time, there are concerns that this revolution will lead to greater inequality, due to the divide between low-skilled, low-paid and high-skilled, high-paid workers. In parallel, the climate crisis is showing that businesses and our way of consuming needs to change quickly and drastically.

Through technology, we have the opportunity to help everyone. This includes leaders, policy-makers and people from all income groups and nations. In this way we can harness converging technologies in order to create an inclusive humanity and planet-centred future. 

This is why I’ve been passionate about finding ways that could maximize our positive impact as tech professionals by making responsible decisions and leveraging technology to help tackle some of the world’’s most pressing issues. I’ve been building a Sustainable Design + Technology online toolkit with different resources that we can use in everything we do. If you’re interested in applying some of these tools to maximize our positive impact through the work we do at Globant, I’d love to hear from you and push these ideas further together.

Kuljeet Kaveeshwar | Technical Director | India

 

Throughout the years I’ve been fortunate to work with amazing and inspirational leaders who knew what it takes to succeed. This gave me the opportunity to learn how to do so too and apply it to my life. Therefore, here I am, passing on some lessons I’ve learnt to create the path of diversity and inclusion for my fellow associates.

1. Bring people along: A rising tide lifts all boats. When in a position of influence, make sure that you take people along and ask them to do the same.

2. Speak of your contribution: Make sure that both internal and external teams are aware of the good work you do. Speak about your role in the success of a team.

3. Inclusion and diversity: The responsibility is ours to ensure we engage in conversations where people feel respected and valued.

4. Have a plan: Seek for opportunities that help you showcase your talent. Be the director of your success and not the audience of your own life.

5. Be a problem solver: Listen… to understand people. Each person has their own story, become the support they need and be a positive role model.

6. Speak up: Don’t wait for the boat to come, steer your own ship. If you have valuable insights, speak them up.

7. Reach out: Who’s better to teach you than someone you aspire to be like. Ask and learn.

8. Never doubt your own capabilities: If you think you can or you think you can’t… you’re right.

You standing up for yourself means you standing up for your team too, for your loved ones.
Beyond all these, the most important lesson I’ve learnt is to #BeKind. To be able to give back to the community and to make this world a better place.

One of the ways in which we are achieving this is through “Empowering Girls Through Education”, a flagship CSR program run by the Globant Volunteers. This is a holistic program for girls (between 15-18 years old) through quality education. We draw on the expertise of the Globanteers to impart training to these girls. Our objective is to support girls in their transition into adulthood, the job market and to fully participate in society. This is the way we aspire to break the cycle of exclusion and vulnerability.

I feel honored to share what an outstanding job Globanteers are doing with the students. The girls respond positively to volunteers, and that’s due to how patient they are with them. We’ve seen how their skills improve and how their confidence grows with each session, even with the ones that struggle the most. It’s admirable to witness their unrelenting effort to meet each child at her ability level and work up from there. The children are so lucky to have Globers as their tutors!
Individually, while we strive for our own success, collectively, we make success a part of the natural landscape.

 

Carolina Sandoval | Technical Director | Colombia

When I was asked about women in technology, the first words that came to my mind were: strength, warriors, love for what we do, intelligence, among many others. This is why I believe we can achieve what we set out to do.

“We can never give up”. This is a phrase that is commonly said and puts a huge burden on women. We fulfill many simultaneous roles such as of professionals, leaders, mothers, wives, daughters, friends, etc; but in the end, what should really define us is the capability to fall and get back up again. We are not perfect but brave women who fall and get back up.

Let’s be women for these times, who don’t negotiate who we really are. We have many capacities and that’s why I want to see ourselves empowered. Let’s admit our weaknesses but also turn them into strengths, making decisions and always be sure of ourselves.

It gives me immense pride to work with so many women that constantly challenge themselves, and from whom I can learn. Each one of them is a cause for admiration.

Let’s support and encourage each other, because if we can do it by ourselves, together we can go even further. I can’t  imagine everything we could achieve!

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If these stories inspired you or touched you in any way, share them on social media! We also challenge you to take 15 secs to tell us: Why are you one of the world’s #WomenThatBuild? 

1. Put your camera in selfie mode

2. Make a video (under 15 seconds) talking about the ways you feel you make an impact by being a women that builds.

3. Upload it to Instagram with the hashtag #WomenThatBuild

4. Tag other #WomenThatBuild to join the challenge, inspire others and be empowered.