At Wibbitz, we love to use every opportunity we can to celebrate the amazing team that we’ve built across our global offices. And on International Women’s Day, we have a whole lot to celebrate – 43% of our global employees are female, and 57% of our teams are lead by women. We’ve also been named as one of Comparably’s Best Companies for Women. Of course, these are not common numbers for a tech company to tout.
In the Israeli tech industry, for instance, women make up 34% of tech jobs and hold about a quarter of mid-level to senior roles. And the gap in the U.S. is even wider – women make up less than 20% of tech jobs and hold only 5% of leadership positions.
It’s clear that a lot of work needs to be done – and one day dedicated to women’s empowerment is definitely not enough.
So we decided to use this opportunity to showcase how companies can empower women every day, according to Wibbitz employees across our global offices. Hopefully, their insights will help inspire more companies to cultivate a better space for women in leadership roles – and that we can all work together to transform our entire industry into an uplifting environment for every gender, race, age, and person.
1. Representation matters. Start from the top, and start from the beginning.
Wibbitz leads by example by putting women into senior positions and allowing them to flourish in a nurturing environment, with an executive team that understands the importance of ALL diversity. Our CEO Zohar leads from the front on this. I feel very proud to be part of this culture and regularly talk about it with my market colleagues. It’s one of the reasons I joined in the first place!
Jane Loring, Managing Director, London
To get women into more tech roles, women need to be made confident to apply in the first place. From an early age, we must highlight the fact that any type of job can be a good fit for them, and we must show them inspirational women in tech profiles that they can identify with. A company that naturally hires women (and in our case more women!) into leadership roles is already one step ahead of the market. A company’s leadership has to be a mix of women and men visions. It is not just a gender question, it is also a cultural question: our leaders and employees as a whole must be from different backgrounds and have profiles that can complement each other, and learn from one other.
Philippine Aubourg, Marketing Manager, Paris
At Wibbitz, we hired women early on in the company and allowed them to grow into leadership roles. Our CEO and founder championed those women and gave them opportunities to step up and lead teams. All companies need to follow suit, and avoid promoting a sexist or discriminatory culture early on – by training their HR teams to properly handle complaints, and making sure that everyone is fully aware of their language and behavior in the workplace. And start practicing equal pay!
Elle Merritt, Senior Customer Success Manager, NYC
At past companies, I was always one of the only women in the office, which made me feel like an outsider at times. I chalked that up to being young and inexperienced in an office environment. Wibbitz helped me realize that it wasn’t my inexperience that made me uncomfortable with being a leader in the office. I simply hadn’t yet seen other women make noise and take charge in an office environment, so I didn’t realize it was okay to act that way myself. Every day, I see women being heard, respected, and applauded for their hard work. I don’t bat an eye when I see an even split of men and women at the helm during our Monday morning stand-up meetings. Seeing women do amazing things at Wibbitz helped me come out of my shell and take on leadership opportunities for myself. If a company wants to make the best use of their female talent, give them the opportunity to lead and act as role models for one another. Give women space to be heard. It’s done wonders to our company’s culture, and I’m sure it would greatly benefit any other company out there.
Katherine Salsgiver, Business Development Representative, NYC
I think Wibbitz has been able to cultivate this environment, as it has been instilled from the start and is very much expected. Senior management is empathetic and has a level of emotional intelligence that others in similar businesses may not possess. When this attitude comes from the top down (as it does here) it may play a significant difference in how people treat one another in the workplace.
Andre Glazier, Sales Manager, London
From the first few employees at the company, Wibbitz always embraced intelligent and strong people. So there should be no surprise that this would include women too. Women have played a massive role in the company’s growth, and this company has allowed its women to grow right along with it.
Jessica Feldman, Business Development Representative, NYC
Give everyone an equal opportunity to be heard & make an impact
More companies need to create an environment where women can speak up and know they will be heard. At Wibbitz, every opinion matters: woman, man, intern or VP. Because we know we work in this kind of environment, every person feels confident to take initiatives in order to grow faster in the company.
Louise Lorriaux, Customer Success Manager, Paris
We value transparency and open communication throughout the different teams and levels of the company. Every opinion and thought counts – from juniors to seniors. This serves as the groundwork to equality between men and women as well – and when everyone is equal, the opportunities are equal.
Rotem Dotan, Senior Product Manager, Tel Aviv
I believe that the industry as a whole should start embracing the idea that there is nothing surprising about a successful women leader. Because at Wibbitz, it doesn’t matter what you identify as. As long as you are a passionate, motivated team player then you to have a place to grow, lead and take this team forward. By providing truly equal opportunities for everyone, the biggest winner, in this situation, is the company.
Shir Cohen, People Operations & Administration Manager, Tel Aviv
It is important to advocate more and more equality, not only between men and women, but also between all human beings, and find a balance in order to build the world of tomorrow. In this sense, any company should not make any noticeable difference between men and women, whether in terms of pay or benefits of a different nature. Those who continue to do so will fall behind as the landscape becomes more and more diverse. One we go faster, two we go further.
Evan Jorssen, Video Producer, Paris
Wibbitz doesn’t try to empower women just because they are women, but because Wibbitz empowers people and believes in all our employees. Our nearly 50/50 split is an outcome of the company’s unique DNA that emphasizes transparency and equality among the employees on many levels, such as feedback, brainstorming and testing new ideas – which can come from anyone in the company. When you give equal opportunities to everyone, you bring more diversity to the company. Eventually, you will end up with a wide range of diverse, brilliant minds. That’s what Wibbitz has done, and that’s what I would suggest all companies do.
Roman Svirsky, Ad Operations Manager, Tel Aviv
We see more and more gender progressivism in Hollywood and politics, but it hasn’t yet trickled down into private sectors like the tech industry. At Wibbitz, equality isn’t something we strive for or even think about too much. It simply exists. It was built into the foundation of the company and has enabled us to cultivate a brilliant team. 43% of those team members happen to be women. Wibbitz always looks for ways to show, not tell. And sometimes, that extends beyond video creation.
Bobby Godas, Content & Social Media Marketer, NYC
Celebrate successes and promote personal growth
Cultivating an environment where everyone can flourish ultimately comes down to the people. It’s about what you look for in a team member, not only their professional strengths but what actually matters to them. Who you promote and recognize, to establish that hard work pays off for all. And how you facilitate connections and build respect across all individuals in the company. If you focus on people, it’s only natural you’ll find that women rise as leaders (as do men), and that people of all ages and seniority levels can make change. At Wibbitz, our people are not a byproduct of building the company, they are at the core of what we do.
Hilary Kay, VP Marketing, NYC
I’ve never felt like I’m underestimated at Wibbitz because of the simple rule that seems to be applied in here: We are all people. We are all equal. And we matter. Our feelings matter, our hopes, our ambitions, our passions, when gender… well, gender doesn’t matter. If you make an effort, if you care, if you love what you do, then you’ll be appreciated, and even promoted. The sky’s the limit. And I think that all companies can learn a bit from us.
Adi Fayer, QA Automation Engineer, Tel Aviv
More companies should celebrate wins and promote employee networking and camaraderie through team events, thereby instilling mutual trust between others. I feel that having a space to better connect with other human beings brings with it an understanding that each unique human journey can positively affect your own.
Johnny Villa, Marketing Intern, NYC
Wibbitz is extremely focused on giving everyone an opportunity to grow and continuously encourages it on a daily basis. People are constantly recognized for their accomplishments, which helps individuals understand what they are capable of and how they’re making an impact on the growth of both the company and their own career, and helps everyone understand what each person’s purpose is and how they’re contributing to the bigger picture. And the fact that there are just as many women as men that are making these announcements speaks for itself!
Marissa DelFavero, Customer Success Manager, NYC
In 2019, it should be obvious that there’s absolutely zero reason to consider women as less talented or qualified than men – but I know there are still (too many) companies that discriminate against women. Wibbitz is not among them, and I think that’s because any consideration about the sex of our employees is completely irrelevant for us. It is just in our DNA. We champion women leaders naturally and instinctively, and reward talent and hard work above all else! And that’s one of the things I like most here.
Youssef Louzir, Business Development Representative, Paris
More companies need to prioritize a healthy work-life balance – and that includes paid paternity and maternity leave. Employees that take time off should always feel comfortable and appreciated, and know their role will still be available after they take their needed break. Along with that, no hiring managers should be afraid to promote skilled women due to pregnancy, or any other reason for that matter – employees should only be evaluated on their professional skills.
Adi Bartal, People Operations Manager, Tel Aviv