Teena Glassick
Engineering Director
Breaking the bias is the theme for this year’s IWD. The theme is all about removing bias, stereotypes and discrimination to create greater diversity, equity and inclusion. What’s one way you strive to break the bias in your role?
I advocate for women within the software development industry through consistently and purposefully challenging my own and other's unconscious biases in our day to day work, recruitment activities, performance reviews, career development planning and through proactively mentoring and coaching women entering the industry
What do you think women bring to the tech ecosystem?
Diverse ideas and viewpoints, which challenge the status quo and ultimately drive us to create better products and solutions
What’s one piece of advice you could share with women entering the tech or start-up world that will help them on their journey?
Be yourself; you don't need to "fit the mould". Embrace your differences and recognise that you bring unique and valuable perspectives to the industry.
If you could swap roles with any of your colleagues for a week, who would it be? What role? Why?
I actually really love my role and what I do, so this one is tricky! I would probably swap with one of our Product Managers, mainly to learn and grow skills in this discipline.
What does your organisation do to ensure they are building an inclusive culture/environment for women?
Skedulo is building a strong program of initiatives around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Our support of the "Uniqyou" program is a recent highlight, where we provided software and implementation services to build a platform that matches teenage girls with mentors in industries where women are under-represented.
You can give a shout-out to a fellow woman in the tech industry who is giving it a shake up. Who are they? What are they up to? How are they doing it?
I am a huge admirer of Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of the fabulous book "Lean In", which raised the profile of gender inequity in the tech industry. Reading her book and watching her presentations increased my awareness about gender issues in the tech industry, helped me to understand and question my own biases and behaviours, and to value the unique qualities that women bring to businesses.
