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Samaneh Nasihatkon

Published at 07.03.2020

Company Culture

International Women's Day – March 8th

March 8th is International Women’s Day, the day that marks the fight for women’s rights.  It is a great occasion to celebrate women’s achievements and the remarkable advancement they have made in the workplace.  It has not been an easy fight, and it is not over yet. Many countries still struggle with some basic rights such as the right to education, vote, work, or holding a public office.   

Keep reading for more information about International Women’s Day, Women in Tech and Women in our team:

Table of Contents

The Women’s Rights Movement

One of the very first signs of women’s rights movements happened in 1647 when Margaret Brent demanded two votes from the Maryland Assembly: one as a landowner and one as the legal representative of the colony’s proprietor, Lord Baltimore.   The biggest movement did not happen until 1848 when women’s suffrage movement eventually resulted in women gaining the right to vote for the first time in history.  

Women have come a long way in their fight for equal rights.  As a result of their struggle, today we have many powerful and influential women in business (i.e. Sharon White, Irene Rosenfeld, Lynn L. Elsenhans), politics (i.e. Angela Merkel, Sanna Marin), and tech (i.e. Sheryl Sandberg, Abby Kearns, Padmasree Warrior, Ginni Rometty).  Yet the numbers still need to rise as although many of these exemplary women exist, the number is not proportional to the population, as less than 30 percent of people in the tech scene are women. This is while women have played a significant role in tech. For instance Ada Lovelace as the first programmer in the world. 

The question is no longer if women are capable and interested in tech.  Women such as Ada have proved the gender case irrelevant. So what is the reason for this huge gap in diversity in the tech industry? What’s keeping women away from the tech industry in general?  It is a question we will leave you with as it needs a lot of further discussion and studying of many factors in our societies. But for now!  

Happy International Women’s Day

Here are some ways to celebrate this day:

  • Raise awareness about the struggles of women
  • Honor women’s achievements
  • Question your assumptions about what people can and can’t do based on gender
  • Finding ways to recruit more women in the workspace and allowing them to prove themselves
Our Female Colleagues

Finally, on this special occasion, we want to thank all the women in our company, who have become role models for the next generation. 

We are proud of you!

We asked our female colleagues to write about themselves. Keep reading to know more about them: 

Name

Job Title

Department

Sara Fischer

Sales & Account Manager

a9s Sales and Accounting

Jessica Schuster

Human Resources Manager

a9s Human Resources 

Insa Gasper

Corporate Administrator

a9s Corporate Administration

Monika Dondorf

Full Stack Web Developer

a9s Cloud-Native App Development 

Melanie Siemann 

Financial Assistant

a9s Finances 

Kristela Kaja

Developer

a9s Cloud-Native App Development

Sara Fischer

Hey, it’s Sara (@SF_SaraFischer). I have been working at anynines for more than 8 years now. 

I started as a Project Manager back in 2011, continued working in Human Resources for some time, and after finding my passion and receiving proper further training, I started to work as Sales & Account Manager.  I have also been the organizer of several events such as CFSummit Unconference, Cloud Foundry and Berlin PaaS Meetup and Cloud Tech Community Meetup

During the years, I learned a lot from all these various experiences.  It was important to me to try my hands in various positions but never wanted to change my company.   

As a Sales Manager, you meet/talk (to) a lot of different customers and it is always fascinating and simultaneously complex to work on such a variety of job responsibilities such as making the first contact, going over a proof of concept and developing it, until getting to a signed contract.

I appreciate that diversity hasn’t changed within the last years as well as the flexibility that we have, e.g. join several conferences all over the world ? and work from everywhere you can also to be yourself in combination that everyone is kind to each other.

One of the sustainable experiences that I made during the years is to be quantified also to be encouraged to try out new things also to outgrow from your self-made box-thinking. 

But one thing I would like to change: more women in tech companies ☝??


Jessica Schuster 

Hey there, I am Jessica (@jschuster_a9s), the HR Manager of anynines

I joined the company four years ago as the first “official” HR Manager, which was very exciting for me [and I think for the team, too ?]

It was even twice as exciting because it also was my first job after my master studies in Business Administration at the Saarland University, but all colleagues made me feel like I have always been part of their working life. 

Within these four years, I have been granted a lot of freedom, flexibility, and variety in my daily tasks. 

I enjoy working with my colleagues, always being supported by them if needed. We all take care of each other as much as we can, laughing a lot so, and providing unconditional support.   Being a part of this team is what makes me proud of being part of anynines.


Insa Gasper

My name is Insa. I’ve been working at anynines in Saarbrücken for 5 years. I started as a working student in financial accounting and as I felt very comfortable in this company, after my graduation, I continued working as a corporate administrator.  

As a team member, I have always felt welcomed and valued.  Many generous gestures have made such a big difference in the quality of our relationships such as receiving small gifts on holidays or always receiving support when any problem arises.  

I find it very remarkable that anynines always endeavors to ensure the well-being and needs of its employees.  I need to mention that we were even given a massage chair! Last but not least is our monthly breakfasts with wonderful fresh fruit that I enjoy very much.  :) 


Monika Dondorf

Hi there, I’m Monika (@santa_nika). I’ve been working as a Full Stack Web Developer at anynines for almost 4 years.

The reason I joined the anynines family was mainly that they accept me as I am and do the best efforts to fulfill my urge for a flexible work-life-balance. We indeed care about each other: you can express your opinion frankly and your concerns are taken seriously.

Working in a mainly male-dominated industry, in former companies, I had experienced harsh misogynistic comments and ignorance within the team.  anynines would not stand for none of that and that is so important. The more satisfied I am about professionally contributing my work without ever having to worry about my gender is the norm here, as it should be!

What I also like about being at anynines are all those small lovely gestures: like coming to the office and discovering those small chocolates on your desk to special occasions like on Advent season, Easter or Get Well wishes during longer absences. At anynines you always feel welcome and cared for.

Over the last years, I used to volunteer as a coach for the non-profit organisation RailsGirls. During their workshops we accompanied other girls of all levels (from beginners to computer science students) to create their first Ruby on Rails application. I really enjoyed the intimate and joyful atmosphere and to see how some of those girls took up their career as developers afterwards.


Samaneh Nasihatkon

This is Samaneh (@snasihatkon), I am a Digital Marketing expert and have been working at anynines as Digital Marketing Manager for the past year. During this time anynines has been much more than a workplace or office for me, it has become my second family.  During my short time at the company, I have particularly enjoyed our great summer and christmas parties. 

We have 2 offices in Germany, Berlin and Saarbrücken. I am working from Berlin. I remember the first time I traveled to Saarbrücken and how much I felt welcome there as well, just as much as I felt welcome in Berlin since day one.  And the opportunity to travel between the two offices has been exciting for me as I love to travel. Seeing the welcome screen was so exciting for me, which is a routine for any new member. If you are considering joining us, don’t hesitate, apply now

Here are the reasons I am completely satisfied with the anynines family:

  • Work-life balance 
  • Team-work
  • Family environment and understanding of all situations
  • Great chance of conference visits
  • Great chance of Self-development 
  • Travel for work 

Melanie Siemann

I’m Melanie and I’m an Accounting Assistant at anynines.

I joined the team 6 months ago.

I was warmly welcomed from day one and immediately felt part of the “anynines family”.

Beyond everyday work, there are also many interesting offers, such as sporting activities, bar camp or jam sessions.

It is never boring because you can learn something new every day.


Veronika Iurchenko

Hi, I’m Veronika (@nichka3), and I joined a9s only recently. I am a professionally qualified IT project manager and certified scrum master with five years of experience in IT and two years in finance.

In 2016 I was lucky to be a part of a TechWomen program where I had the chance to spend a month in Silicon Valley and had a mentorship program at Adobe. It was a great experience because I’ve recognized how women’s support for women in the working place can look like. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have support at my workplace at that time, but it was different. Many people do not recognize how important the support from the internal women’s community is, how it helps you to succeed in the working place more, and how empowered you feel. Even myself didn’t recognize these at that time either.  

Working with different people from all over the world, I received extensive intercultural knowledge and improved my communication skills in general. I’m still learning a lot and I’m broadening my mind over time. And what I understand is that we all need more tolerance, understanding, and empathy.

I see advantages in sharing information, so I am spreading the word about IT and programming among school students. I invested time in developing Kyrgyzstan’s community by initiating conferences (we held the first PyCon and JS conferences in Central Asia). 

Besides that, I pay more attention to the underrepresented groups of people and co-organized the first Django Girls event in our country in 2017. After the event, several people recognized that, in fact, they were not interested in programming (Which is pretty cool, as it saves so much time and unproductive efforts for them, and they found another expertise more suitable for them). Many other Django Girls event’s attendees continued their way, and some of them have already become developers. 

I also trained and mentored girls at the Technovation Challenge project in Kyrgyzstan.  

Sharing is caring. I may be too naive, but I want to see a brighter and more equal future for people around the world.


Bukola Johnson

Hi, My name is Bukola and I have joined anynines recently. I am a DevOps Engineer, a wife, and a lover of everything Tech. 

I started out my career in Tech as an IT helpdesk support technician and gradually moved up the ladder in Tech and becoming a DevOps engineer after some years of being a system administrator, I moved into being a cloud engineer and then transitioned into a full DevOps engineer. 

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of male colleagues in the industry because the Tech scene has always been dominated by men (although this is gradually changing now as we have more and more women now in the Tech scene) and this has actually been something that really keeps me going and motivated me to push further. I think, for me, one of the ways women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and aspiring to be in Tech can believe in themselves is to see the male counterpart in their industry as teammates and as team players. Women and girls should pursue to be the best they can be in any circle they find themselves in, be it in a career or in personal life. 

Starting out as an IT help desk support technician during my internship days, I would work tirelessly, doing physical work like carrying laptops, servers, and printers from one location to another. I would go under the tables to fix network cables and port issues, but guess what? I never saw any of these as a gender-related activity, I saw it as a task that needed to be done and I did it. 

Fast forward to when I started working on servers and backup solutions, I remember several occasions when we had to sleep at a client’s site in order to work on migration or deployment. I would join the team to work overnight, I never complained about night shifts and overnight field services. The reason is: I knew that the work needed to be done and I was prepared to give all my best. 

Sometimes my male colleagues or team leads would tell me not to join them because to them I was a lady. But I always insisted, because to me we are all equal on the job if you know what I mean?.

I think gender should not be a topic leading to discrimination at work. There should be gender equality in the workplace. All of these experiences and efforts have developed me into becoming who I am now in the Tech scene.

As a woman in Tech, balancing the domestic tasks with work-life may be challenging. I have been able to manage this by adequate planning and ensuring both the domestic and the work-life is well balanced by proper planning and getting help, where necessary. Being a woman should not be an excuse not to achieve your dreams and goals in whatever career you find yourself. Being a woman should actually be a thing that helps you push harder and break boundaries??. 

My favorite statements have always been:

SELF MOTIVATION IS THE BEST MOTIVATION 

and

YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE, YOU CAN ACHIEVE ALL YOUR DREAMS – ALL YOU NEED IS TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

My passion for seeing young girls in Tech and also for grooming aspiring DevOps engineers made me start out to write some medium posts which I named DevOps Arena and to also create awareness on Twitter @DevOpsArena. I felt the need to do more and give something back to society so I volunteered as a DevOps/Cloud field expert at SheCodeAfrica, SheCodeAfrica is a non-profit organization focused on celebrating and empowering young Girls and Women in Technology across Africa. I know, this could be challenging but I also believe the world will be a better place if we all give back something to society in our little ways to help the people coming behind us to achieve their dreams and goals in life. 

My dream is to see every girl in STEM achieve their dream, every woman in Tech become who they aspire to be, and to see every woman out there become a better person.


Kristela Kaja

Hey there, and welcome (back) to our blog! ?  

My name is Kristela, 23 years “young,” computer science master student and recently also a working student at anynines. At anynines, I am a back-end developer on the CNAD team. As you already understood from two keywords (23 & student), I am a neophyte in the tech industry. 

Over the course of my life, I have realized that gender discussion is a fragile topic in every type of industry, especially in those where the gap between genders is big. The tech industry is definitely one of them. As stated from statistics, everyday life, blogs, books, or other sources, the result is the same: men dominate the tech industry! I am grateful for everyone that contributes in the Technology area despite their gender, color, or religion. That being said, I want to focus on why fewer women tend to become part of the tech community. Is it because they are not interested, social bias, lack of role models, sexist employers, or…? 

Please allow me to share with you two recent personal examples which, you too, could encounter during your everyday:

  1. A few weeks ago, I attended my first on-campus exam, where I had the chance to get to know my classmates for the first time (Corona era). What I noticed was that from circa 35 students, only 5 were women, I included. I was surprised and slightly unhappy, but It never crossed my mind that I couldn’t achieve the same result as the other gender. I continue to be as motivated and confident as before that I can succeed in Computer Science.
  2. Most of my colleagues at the CNAD team are also males. Although, I was never treated differently because of my gender. Just the opposite, I always felt welcomed, valued, and equal to my co-workers. Here, at anyines, we support each other, and everyone is free to speak their mind. Indeed these characteristics allow me to work comfortably without any hesitation based on my gender! 

I want to point out from the mentioned situations that: Even though the ratio between genders is far from equal, there is no reason for women not to join the Technology area. 

I believe that the only reason that someone (regardless of gender) shouldn’t join the Tech world is that they are not enthusiastic about it.


Once again,

Happy International Women’s Day


Sources 

[1] International Women’s Day

[2] Women’s Rights

[3] Women’s Suffrage Movement — Facts and Information on Women’s Rights

[4] The Woman Suffrage Movement

[5] Women’s History Milestones: A Timeline

[6] Women’s rights movement

[7] Faces of the German women’s movement.

[8] Women in tech: What’s the real problem?

[9] Ada Lovelace: The First Computer Programmer

[10] 15 of the Most Powerful Women in Tech

[11] 5 of the most powerful women in business in 2019

[12] Top 10 Female CEOs & Influential Business Women of American Companies

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