What is it like to be a woman in leadership at an IT company?

It’s fun! But I’m fortunate to have a supportive boss and colleagues. It’s incredibly liberating to be myself without disrupting the status quo. My boss allows me to be the kind of leader I want to be. He doesn’t force me into any specific standards or expectations, and leave many decisions up to me. By the way, at ARTIN, we have two women in C-level positions. Two women versus four men in management. It’s not exactly fifty-fifty split, but who’s counting? :)

What makes you a good leader, a woman in leadership?

It may sound like a cliché, but here it is. Motherhood. What some employers perceive as a weakness, I see as an incredible strength. I’m much more effective because I want to get home to my family as soon as possible. But I’m also more empathetic than ever before. Overall, I feel much better psychologically when I return home, because I leave my work at work. Suddenly, work troubles seem smaller, when you watch your child growing up right before your eyes. I’ve set my priorities straight. And yes, my number one priority is myself and my mental well-being. The second priority is my family, and only then comes work. Even though I love what I do, it will never be higher than that.

How do you balance your managerial role with family life?

I handle it just like my husband does. One difference is that people don’t ask him about it all the time. Becoming a mother doesn’t mean I don’t have any other roles in life. At our home, we don’t perpetuate stereotypes. My husband is equally involved in raising our son—he takes care of our home, cleans, and cooks. And I assemble cabinets or fix clogged drains. It bothers me when people assume that childcare is primarily my responsibility as a woman. Yes, in some aspects, it is—for example, breastfeeding is something my husband can’t do. But I truly don’t see a reason to ask a woman, once she appears at work or in public without her child, ‘Where’s your kid? Is your husband babysitting?’ I’m allergic to that. Dads don’t babysit their own kids. Dads simply spend time with their children. Just like moms.

In your opinion, how is the experience of women in leadership different from that of men?

I think it’s burdened by stereotypes, which I allowed to influence how my values, actions, and self-presentation are perceived. I’m over thirty, and only now do I feel truly free. I realize the impact of the stereotypes I grew up with and that still surround us. Fortunately today, I can consciously minimize that influence, ideally reducing it to zero. But my biggest enemy remains my own mind.

Why is your mind your enemy?

Although I work in a great, open-minded company, my inner voice still pushes me to self-censor myself excessively, and I often feel anxious about it. And even though I rationally know it’s nonsense, stereotypes have done their part. I think a lot about how I’ll be perceived by others based on clothing, the intensity of my expression, and my choice of words. Am I too cold or too emotional? But that’s really my problem. Or rather, my problem is that I allowed my mind to judge me based on criteria that are completely irrelevant to my work abilities.

Do you think there should be more women in leadership positions?

Yes, because I don’t want articles to be written about women in leadership as if it were a rare occurrence. I want women to be an integral part of our professional lives across industries and job positions. I don’t want to be one of the few; I want to be one of many. Women in leadership shouldn’t be celebrated exceptions. I wish more women would step into leadership roles with courage and not be put into a box labeled just “the caring ones”. We all need to distinguish our own desires and aspirations from those ingrained in us by upbringing, stereotypes, and society. And I do realize how challenging that can be. It’s important to remind ourselves that we can be whatever we want. Whether it’s a nuclear physicist, a businesswoman, a CEO, a teacher, a nurse, or simply a full-time mom. Be who you want to be, regardless of what others or society think.

Would you vote for the introduction of gender quotas to increase the number of women in corporate leadership?

Probably not, because for me, the issue isn’t solely about having more women in leadership at any cost. It’s more about achieving a balanced leadership team within a company. Do you have both someone rational and someone empathetic? A pragmatist and a visionary? Someone focused on numbers and someone skilled with words? And it genuinely doesn’t matter whether that person is a woman or a man. That’s what the whole fuss about “equality” is about. When we stop looking at people through the lens of gender, race, or sexual orientation, we become more attentive to their real skills, qualities, and values. It’s crucial for a company’s leadership to be a well-coordinated team where individual members complement, support, and trust each other.

What does society need to break the stereotypes about women in leadership if quotas aren’t the solution according to you?

To organically increase the number of women in leadership, we need a mindset shift. But that takes time. Quotas might help open doors in some fields, but they’re not a comprehensive solution with all its consequences. Moreover, they can be counterproductive because the biggest skeptics will use them to reinforce stereotypical statements like “she only got there because of quotas.” None of us want that. We don’t want women to receive special treatment; we want equal opportunities.
To achieve this change in societal attitudes, we need more men like my husband, more companies like ARTIN, and more people who won’t let stereotypes seep under their skin. We all need to critically examine where some of our opinions, reactions, and habits come from and whether they belong in today’s world or are remnants of times when women couldn’t speak without a man’s permission. It’s up to each one of us to shape the society we want to live in. And each of us can either perpetuate or dismantle stereotypes. Let’s consciously choose the latter.

What is ARTIN doing to increase the number of women in leadership positions?

ARTIN fosters a company culture where there’s no room for stereotypes or any form of intolerance. I’ve never experienced such a strong emphasis on work-life balance in any other company. Yes, work is essential, but it’s not the most critical aspect of our lives.
So, whether you need to reduce your working hours, leave work early for childcare, work from Bali, take an unplanned vacation for mental well-being, bring your child to a meeting, or even cancel a meeting at the last minute because your nanny fell ill, ARTIN won’t judge you. We always find a way to accommodate what each Artinian needs at any given moment. We’re not robots; we’re humans.
I’m also proud that ARTIN speaks openly about topics other companies hesitate to address. This article is just one example. They could have censored it and told me to focus on more critical issues as ARTIN’s CMO. But no. ARTIN believes it’s essential to talk about women in leadership and why there aren’t enough of them. And that’s just really cool!

"What I love about ARTIN is that equal representation of women happens completely organically. This is an important training on OKRs (strategic and measurable goals). And yes, you see correctly, men and women are in equal numbers. Completely by chance. We selected Artinians who should be there because they can contribute to the strategic management of the company, and this is how it turned out. Absolutely awesome."