Women’s History Month: Celebrating the Ladies of LeanDNA

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we’re taking a moment to honor the female voices of LeanDNA.

Their determination, compassion, and breadth of knowledge are pivotal to our growing organization. So it’s only fitting we shine a spotlight on their experiences, who inspires them, and why they believe it’s important to have female representation in a classically male-dominated industry. Here’s what a few of them said:

Why is it important to have women representation in tech companies?

“You can’t expect real innovation to happen when a company is full of people with the same background and ideas. Women help drive breakthroughs in technology because we come at the problem with a unique set of experiences and perspectives. Diversity in teams plays a huge role in developing a better understanding of users’ perspectives and problems, which ultimately leads to better, more innovative solutions.”

Jessica Woods
VP of Product
“It is important for our children to see, especially for young girls to have strong role models to look up to. Since only 25% of the US’ tech workforce are women, young girls may be discouraged or not even know this field exists.”

Anonymous
“It is important to have female representation in tech companies because it is definitely a male-dominated field. Being of college age, I hear many stories (and have many of my own) about women who were looked down on, treated as naive, or simply ignored because people did not believe that a woman could do the things they are trying to do. I want my future child to grow up in a world where their gender does not determine how hard the path to their goals are, and that goes both ways for many careers.”

Paige Winterberg
LeanDNA Intern

Who is the most influential woman you know? How does she inspire you?

There are some many famous trail blazing women I find inspiring but someone I personally know is one of my biggest heroes, Carla Pineyo Sublett. She’s a fierce trail blazer in technology that I’ve had the opportunity to get to know when she was CMO at National Instruments. She’s now CMO over the entire IBM business, and she is the president of the board of the Texas Conference for Women. I’ll never forgot when I saw her command the stage at the Conference, she had such grace and poise. As an immigrant from Uruguay, she is a champion for diversity and inclusion. But probably the most impressive is she’s does all of this while always putting family first. Four years ago, she and her husband wanted to show the kids the world and “pop their bubble” so they could see how others live, love, and provide for their families. She wrote a blog, Finding Ubuntu, about her experience. She inspires me by using her gifts, talents and huge heart to give back to our community spearheading philanthropic causes and bringing attention to those in our community that are the most vulnerable. I’m sure we can all look around and see those women in our communities who make us think, “Anything is possible.”

Jeanmarie Rust
People Op and Recruiting

What does it mean to you to be a woman in tech?

“Being a woman in tech is empowering. There’s a tremendous opportunity to show that intelligence comes in many different forms. At the same time, it’s an uphill battle. We sometimes have to work harder to prove our worth. Unfortunately I’ve seen (and experienced) bias and misconduct at other companies. You have to be careful about who you choose to work with. Thankfully, there are many companies that embrace diversity and create a safe environment.”

Allison Savage
Principal Product Designer
“I’m very proud to be part of the women in technology. It means supporting others and other businesses. I come from a manufacturing background, in Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement. Adding value to others is in my DNA. Regarding gender, I’m starting to see as many women in Tech as I used to see in Supply chain and Engineering. It’s promising!”

Astrid Hussonnois
Customer Success Manager
“Simply, I am happy to be in a field that I like. It is also humbling. By now we know that companies and economies benefit from woman empowerment and participation. Being in tech, this is an opportunity to support and encourage other women in tech and those who would like to be in tech. The industry needs our point of views, brain power and leadership.”

Lily Djuniarti
Customer Success Manager

What historical female figure do you look up to the most?

“Rachel Carson. Her work as a conservationist helped shaped environmental consciousness. I appreciate her work to help shape environmental change.”

Laura Powell
Marketing Campaigns Manager
“I admire Marie Curie. She lived and fought for her research. She was so determined that she never took roadblocks for an end; instead she considered them a way to step further. But she was kept away from the scientific academy because she was a woman. More than not seeing her as a scientist, she faced rage (because of her origins, because of not just being a housewife, because of her dynamism and findings). One ounce of the challenges she faced would have stopped a lot of us. So on top of being a revolutionary female figure, her discoveries in radioactivity drastically helped the medical corps take care of wounded soldiers and people fighting cancer.”

Astrid Hussonnois
Customer Success Manager

Tell me about your experience as a woman at LeanDNA.

“LeanDNA is a place where I can be myself without having to “fit in” to traditional expectations. I have the freedom to be creative and lead with confidence.”

Allison Savage
Principal Product Designer

At LeanDNA, we are acutely aware of the lack of diversity in tech companies, and the need for purposeful hiring practices and empowerment to bridge this gap. There is still work to be done—for us and for all tech companies in the country. But the future is bright, as we have some amazing women and leaders to see this work through as we grow.

If you or a woman you know is interested in joining our fast-growing team, send them our way.