Behind The Scenes
To quote our COO Pat Caldwell: “We don’t see gender diversity & inclusion as an outcome, but rather a way of running a company. It’s the reason why we don’t have a Diversity Plan or pigeonhole diversity initiatives within our People Ops team. Progress in diversity and inclusion doesn’t stem from good intent. It comes from action.” Pat wrote this in last year’s International Women’s Day blog post. Our principles haven’t changed, and we've continued to make progress and actions behind our values in 2021.
As we can only speak from our perspective, this time we’ll focus on what it means to be a woman in enineering an engineer at FundApps, and give you a flavour of what it’s like behind the scenes. Co-Authored by Flavia Circiumaru.
Mindset
Get out of your own fecking way! You don’t need to tick all of the boxes in a job description. The mindset and attitude is the most important part that will take you a long way. Be willing to learn, grow and not be stuck in thinking that you can’t do something. Don’t do that to yourself, don’t put yourself in a box.
Everyone has a voice here. When we feel insecure, unsure or retreat back to our imposter syndrome, we are not afraid to tell our managers about our experience and how we feel. Speaking up is encouraged and never fails to open the door to solutions. Most of them usually just end up reminding us what an exceptional engineer we are and how much our unique skills and interests help our services and team grow bigger, faster, stronger.
Support
Advice needs to be tailored for you, if it’s not, you might find it difficult to apply. No matter what your gender is, the advice needs to fit your situation, you want it to be concrete and applicable.
We definitely have experienced that at FundApps - practical, concrete advice on how to handle situations with your colleagues, and educating each other on how to adapt to different communication styles. We get the support that we need, and the support that we didn't know we needed. We are encouraged to challenge ourselves and we are expected to take on pieces of work that tickles our amygdala, that gives us inspiration.
The support stretches beyond what would fit under the engineering work. Mental health has been on FundApps radar long before the pandemic, as it should be. FundApps offers monthly Sanctus coaching, Headspace subscription, health insurance, a 24/7 online programme for mental health support and, most importantly, a myriad of people willing to listen and lend a hand when they can.
Family
It’s not just about you at work, it also extends into our families, in whatever form that is for you. As a B-corp, we take everyone's family seriously. Whether it's juggling kids' school time, visits to the vet, sick time, or their curious lurking around mama's shoulder, we welcome everyone's life to align with their work schedule. The best part about it is, we are all treated the same, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion; whether you're a woman or a man, an engineer or a designer, a 4-spaces or an 8-spaces person.
Reality check
Some days suck. Some days you don’t just want to do it. And that's fine too.
We are trusted to behave like adults and take the time off as we need to, whether that is due to illness, a sudden personal issue, or simply having a bad day.
And if we don’t, then it’s called out. We are in this together.
And don’t get me wrong, FundApps doesn't always get it right, but that is ok because they are open for feedback and actively working on improving.
Clearing the way
We’ve been fortunate enough to find a supportive environment, a company that values our ability and attitude above everything else, including reminding us to not get in our own way.
Ideally, this is what the future of engineering looks like.
It’s on us now, to teach the next generation and change the mindset that stops us from applying to that job, or that promotion, or even saying yes to that task at work that you don’t think you can do.
We are not here for FundApps to be able to tick the box and say that there are women in the engineering team. We are here because of what we bring. Each and every one of us has changed FundApps in a fundamental way. Whether we talk about moving careers, promoting diversity, learning and transparency, specialising in a domain or bringing unique experiences to the extended Engineering team, every woman engineer has effortlessly established standards for future generations of programmers. These standards are not only there to be inspiring, but to be challenged, enriched and rethought by our exceptional newcomers.
We're looking for you to be part of FundApps’ history! Join us!
