Women in Digital Corporate Spotlight Archives

Last week 10 years ago, one of our favourite Women in Digital Corporate Members, Managing Director of loans.com.au Marie Mortimer launched her company in Brisbane as a direct-to-retail business selling home loans for its parent company, Firstmac.

We sat down with Marie Mortimer to find out exactly how she took a great domain name and an idea to grow it into a company with $6 billion of home and car loans under management, and a diverse team of more than 250 staff members.

“We owned the domain name loans.com.au and it started with myself with the help of one other person plus an external contractor built my website,” Mortimer said.

“It was a pretty basic site but it had a full home loan application on it that was connected to the backend credit system. We had an instant media coverage because we were offering something different to the banks and our interest rates have always been very low.”

“I remember the first week we started when people starting applying online. We’d just officially launched our website with a killer rate and there was an article in the AFR about us. We were sitting in the office on a Friday night having a beer, and were watching home loan applications come in.”

“It was after hours, when bank branches were closed and people were applying for finance online!”

“It was and exciting and memorable moment for us. Funny story – our first settled customer was a big bank branch manager. So we knew we were on the right track!”

“So this year as we celebrate 10 years in business, loans.com.au has approximately $6 billion in loans under management. Firstmac has more than $13 billion. So, it makes us bigger than some smaller banks and building societies and we are extremely proud of that,” Mortimer said.

Not only has Marie Mortimer led the business to commercial success, but she has also grown a strong culture for her employees, with her Brisbane-based team exceeding 250 staff in 2021.

Fast diversity facts for loans.com.au:

Worldwide, 58% of roles in the Firstmac Group are held by females
The Executive team is 50% female
Staff range in age from 19 to 74
More than 65% have service of between 3 and 20 years

Home Loan Sales Team Leader Sam Pendrey is proud of the diversity and family driven culture of loans.com.au.

“It is unique in the industry as a place where we have a diverse range of staff and everyone gets equal opportunity and a chance to be heard, which I am extremely proud to be a part of,” Pendrey said.

“The long tenure of so many staff has helped to foster friendships, as well as an environment where people can comfortably bring their own ideas & opinions forward from all areas, which is a credit to Marie’s leadership and strong focus on inclusion.”

Marie Mortimer is Managing Director of loans.com.au, one of Australia’s largest online lenders. Marie is dedicated to improving financial literacy for all Australians, championing diversity in digital and is passionate about the FinTech industry in Australia. When she isn’t at work, she loves to spend time with her husband and two young children.

loans.com.au is an online lender for home and car loans. For 10 years, Aussies have trusted the locally based loans.com.au team to support them with low home loan and car loan rates, approved quickly through the online loans.com.au app.

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Designed for today’s in-demand health professional, Clinic to Cloud is an award-winning medical practice management platform revolutionising the telehealth industry with their next-generation technology. Passionate about health innovation, they also recognise and are dedicated to diversity in tech as a means to fuel innovation!

As a proud Women in Digital Corporate Member and 2020 sponsor for the Women in Digital Awards Innovator of the Year category, Clinic to Cloud are committed to growing their best and brightest talent and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase their incredible female leaders.

Interested in reading more about Clinic to Cloud’s involvement in the 2020 Women in Digital Awards? They wrote an article about it here!

But back to the Q&A… let’s get into it! Introducing our two featured Clinic to Cloud leaders…

Sarah Larsen – State Lead (QLD/NT)

Shoaleh Baktashi – Senior UX Designer

Welcome! So tell us, how would you personally describe Clinic to Cloud?

Sarah: Continually evolving. The platform is updated with a velocity that I’ve not witnessed in any other SAAS company. Our team is constantly growing as do our learnings and knowledge. Ideas for improvement and pushing the boundaries are not left in the realm of thinking for the small group of people in upper management. The team as a whole are encouraged to dedicate time to thinking about what we can do better, how can we make the patient experience better and the customer experience better?

Shoaleh: Clinic to Cloud (C2C) is a thriving environment where we constantly review our qualities as an organisation to ensure we are effective in the outcomes we produce. Our success derives from a collective mindset, which takes a lifetime to develop and it comes from individual life experiences.

We constantly think about how we can design a healthier future for our people internally as well as the people who use our software to solve their problems on a daily basis. Our purpose at Clinic to Cloud is about how we can become better human beings and how the human qualities we cultivate will improve healthcare and quality of life for the people who use Clinic to Cloud in their lives on a daily basis. It is our purpose and mindset that gives us as an organisation the competitive advantage we have which will also lead us into the future.

What is one thing not many people know about Clinic to Cloud?

Sarah: How diverse our customers are! We support the small, sole clinician practices and then the large multi-disciplinary practices as well. All on the same platform, all with their own experience. Each and every customer who chooses to join us is celebrated, regardless of how large or how small their clinic may be.

Shoaleh: Change is inevitable at all levels at Clinic to Cloud. There has not been a month that I didn’t feel part of a change. It’s very challenging to deliver on quality when happiness and experience are at the core of our mission whether for customers or employees.

Talk to us about your early days/onboarding with Clinic to Cloud. What is the one thing that still really sticks out for you?

Sarah: Our Founder and CEO, Rafic Habib, really cares about people. His attitude and behaviour with regard to the team and our customers has been adopted company-wide and is reflected daily in the way the teams work together, the way we work with our customers and the way that we plan our future roadmap – it’s all about improving the experience for the patient. It was, and still is, okay to put your hand up and say you don’t know the answer to something and this often leads to some fantastic opportunities to collaborate.

Shoaleh: Considering the business to be a start-up at the time, the employee on-boarding was not yet established and I didn’t come from a healthcare background. So I remember thinking to myself, how do I get my head around all this in such a fast paced environment? The impact and consequences of our products are high as it manages patient information.

I had this notion that surgeons or doctors, practitioners or practice managers are time poor (and they really are) but soon I learned that they are such generous individuals. I don’t recall ever being rejected for any interviews, or site-visits. These practitioners made themselves always available to the product team, and their passion was infectious. Even if they were unhappy, they still made the time for us to listen to their problems and it is because of them that Clinic to Cloud makes the changes needed to make a difference in their lives.

Obviously diversity in digital is important to Clinic to Cloud but what is your personal definition of diversity and why do you think it is important?

Sarah: Without diversity, life would be very boring. There are the obvious diversities – gender, culture etc. However, I find individual diversity the most exciting. What is it that makes people tick? We all have such diverse passions and pursuits and I love watching people light up when they speak about theirs. It’s a great opportunity to learn and share and you never know where those learnings will take you.

Shoaleh: Diversity to me is where people with all different skills, ages, idealism, opinions, backgrounds, and personalities can feel connected and at ease without any judgement. It is important for individuals who contribute to a bigger mission to feel they can be themselves, contribute respectfully and be included to the greater mission that as employees we have all signed up to achieve. I also think it’s important to have diversity because it is, to my opinion, the driver of innovation and human learning.

How would you describe your current thinking about diversity, and how has your thinking changed over time?

Sarah: I used to think that to be successful, you needed to fit in and mirror those around you- it was not a good thing to be different to the rest of the team. This thought pattern has changed significantly since I started my journey with Clinic to Cloud. Being a part of the team at Clinic to Cloud means that your individuality is not something to hide – it is recognised and celebrated. We are not expected to fit the same cookie-cutter mould and this enables us to be more authentic which builds a greater level of trust and loyalty.

Shoaleh: I would describe diversity as when we all can digest the five human senses in a way that would have a positive outcome. What we see, what we hear, what we say, what we touch, and what we smell are the DNA for how we perceive things and behave. If we can accept and manage all that in an environment, then we are truly diverse in how we are as humans. My thinking has changed over time as I used to think diversity was about being inclusive of different cultures, but now it’s about human interactions.

What does it mean to Clinic to Cloud to have a commitment to diversity?

Shoaleh: To be inclusive and create an environment where we can support people with different capabilities visible and invisible. Support our community, employees and customers and treat everyone equally. It also means cultivating a culture of transparency, wellbeing and great minds that can be the building blocks of diversity.

How do you think Clinic to Cloud is demonstrating that commitment?

Shoaleh: This is not a tick box exercise and it is something that needs to be created from the top to the bottom and it takes time. However, the changes we have done as a company in the last 12 months is creating the path for that commitment. Although we are taking barriers down, we have no hierarchical structure. No matter where you are positioned in the company or who you are and what you do, you can reach out to anyone, including the CEO for feedback and collaboration. The floor is open for all. We encourage transparency and collaboration to solve problems and that goes across the entire ecosystem. I feel like Clinic to Cloud is about inclusion and at the same time hiring the right people for the job.

What is Clinic to Cloud doing to help increase the number of women in the workplace?

Sarah: The Health Tech space is a small arena to be playing in. When searching for the next team member, Clinic to Cloud does not keep the search fields narrow to a small selection criteria. We have a number of staff with very non-traditional career pathways who work at Clinic to Cloud, myself included. Where a candidate has some great qualities but not necessarily a background in health or tech they are not overlooked. We have a fantastic, flexible working environment and families/children are celebrated, they are not something to be hidden for fear of being overlooked. This makes it much easier for women to take a role with Clinic to Cloud and feel secure in that position when life happens.

Something that really stands out about Clinic to Cloud is their approach to diversity. It isn’t just about building a diverse team but with patients being at the centre of everything you do, it is also about improving the experience and care for patients.

Is there an example or project that stands out to you that exemplifies this?

Sarah: This is true, and is also something that is not really known about Clinic to Cloud. It is wonderful to watch people sit back and think about that fact when we are speaking to them about our purpose and why we do what we do. Nobody chooses to be sick and if we can improve the patient experience by enabling a medical practice to focus more on their patient and not on their software, we are doing a good job.

Our Patient Portal is the perfect example of our commitment to improving the patient journey. One of my favourite patient stories to recount is that of Nicole Cooper, which you will find here.

Shoaleh: There are many projects that we are embarking on which will amplify and cover the D&I but one particular long-term project that I’m involved with is the Patient Portal. Patient Portal is a web portal designed specifically for patients’ needs. It will provide a broader range of access to all patients of all demographics. It makes patients medical information accessible to all communities.

To businesses or leaders that want to improve gender diversity within their team but don’t know where to start…. What advice do you have for them or what have you learned from Clinic To Cloud?

Shoaleh: Be genuine about inclusiveness of your employees and the balance of D&I. Have a good training program for senior leadership or the people who have the hiring power to make them understand what the requirements are, and why we need to do this specially when we are hiring new employees or dealing with customers. And start by supporting and enabling your people first.

From a small-startup to a thriving platform supporting over 7,200 medical professionals and over 3.6 million patients, Clinic to Cloud, is a leading example of a digital innovator disrupting the market, powered by strong, talented and clearly passionate women. Their insights into the value of creating a supportive and balanced workplace that encourages innovation and inclusivity really resonates with us and is why we champion the company as a Women in Digital Corporate Member.

Thank you so much to the women at Clinic to Cloud for chatting to us about these incredibly important topics. We support Clinic to Cloud’s clear commitment to diversity for innovation, diversity in tech and diversity in leadership, and we couldn’t be happier to have the wonderful Shoaleh Baktashi and Sarah Larsen share their insights and stories with us.

If you are interested in learning about Clinic to Cloud and their culture, click here. You can also learn more about Women in Digital’s Corporate Membership here!

GlobalX is undoubtedly a leader in the gender diversity space; their software team is 50% female and their entire workforce is 49.46% female. When it comes to gender diversity, they aren’t working towards it, they have achieved it! And now, they are setting their sights on greater diversity and inclusion – including racial and cultural diversity. We are so happy to have GlobalX onboard as a Corporate Member and we hope you enjoy this interview with their CMO, Lara Paholski as much as we did.

How would you describe GlobalX in just one sentence?

An innovative and collaborative organisation with a strong focus on team culture, diversity and having some fun along the way.

How long have you been at GlobalX?

Coming up to 2.5 years.

What is one thing not many people know about GlobalX?

Our staff organise and serve hot meals during work time to local members of the Brisbane community who are homeless or disadvantaged. We do this monthly for local charity Community Friends – a group that holds weekly grocery giveaways at West End.

We have partnered with Community Friends quietly for several years doing both the food giveaway and an annual Christmas Food and Toy Drive. We’ve never promoted our presence at the food giveaway publicly, as we prefer to spend our time genuinely getting to know the people we serve rather than using it as a photo opportunity.

How did you enter a career in marketing?

I was fortunate enough to get my first “real job” straight out of university at a multi-national advertising and marketing agency.

Grateful for the opportunity, I sank my teeth into learning and doing as much as I could. I got as many life lessons during my stint there as I did work lessons.

I loved the fast pace and diversity of marketing then…and I’ve never looked back.

What made GlobalX want to become a Women in Digital Corporate Member?

GlobalX is incredibly supportive of women in its workplace and creates opportunities and pathways for them.

So the opportunity to further support both our female employees and the broader ecosystem of women across the industry through Women in Digital was a terrific fit for our company values.

Obviously, diversity in digital is important to you but what is your definition of diversity and how or why do you think diversity is important?

Diversity to me means all types of employees coming together to express their unique point of view and working productively together; regardless of age, religion, gender and other factors. It means inclusivity for all.

Diversity is crucial in workplaces as we know it drives higher employee engagement, innovation, collaboration, creativity, reduced employee turnover and improved decision making.

Diversity helps build great culture and you just can’t put a price on that!

In what ways do you think diversity is important to someone in the role of Chief Marketing Officer?

In my role as Chief Marketing Officer at GlobalX, I’m responsible for overseeing all our marketing and branding activity, with the wonderful support of my talented and dedicated team.

I’ve genuinely found that our team’s overall creativity and innovation towards our work is enriched because of the many contributions from our diverse range of employees from across the organisation.

The multiple perspectives that we seek to find internally via working groups and cross-department project groups inspire our marketing team to try new things and ways of approaching specific problems.

And our own marketing team is also diverse in its own right and I’m proud to say we operate as a highly engaged and productive team, where everyone’s contribution is valued and heard.

How would you describe your current thinking about diversity, and how has your thinking changed over time?

I think diversity in workplaces used be an ideal that was typically thrown around as a “nice to have” or “strategic business imperative” – but it is now a mentality and a reality.

Companies who have embraced diversity have witnessed the highest rates of growth and success and research tells us that it’s a critical factor to overall company success.

If I think back to my first job out of university, there’s been a gradual, but real shift in the focus and importance placed upon it in workplaces.

I think employees truly now realise the benefits of diversity for not only their workforce, but their customers. It’s a cyclical effect of employees working hard to make the customer happy!

What does it mean to GlobalX to have a commitment to diversity?

For GlobalX diversity means inclusion and creating supportive pathways for a career in digital.

How is GlobalX demonstrating that commitment?

Nearly 50 per cent of GlobalX’s software development team is now made up of females and 49.46 per cent of its entire workforce are females. This is more than double the national average of less than one quarter (23 per cent) in the Australian Information and Communication Technology industry.

We also run initiatives aimed at arming female staff with the tools they need to feel empowered, such as an internal leadership program run throughout the year to help women prepare for leadership and executive roles within the company.

And whilst we can always improve, we’re actively championing women to make their mark in digital.

What do you think is the biggest struggle for businesses when it comes to diversity in digital?

On the whole, I think businesses are supportive of diversity in digital.

The biggest struggle they are actually facing is individuals believing in themselves. As an example, I think many women are often challenged to believe in themselves and that they deserve an equal seat at the table. And it’s probably the case for many individuals, not just women.

But workplaces these days are helping to continue diversifying their workplaces and are putting their money where their mouth is.

What do you think GlobalX can improve on when it comes to diversity and inclusion?

I truly believe that GlobalX is an advocate for diversity and inclusion, and this is evident even in our female employee numbers that are well above the national average. We would like to move towards increasing our number of internal programs and initiatives that not only focus on gender diversity, but also racial and cultural diversity. This could include awareness activities (e.g. Potluck lunch with a dish from an employee’s country of origin, office decorating, days employees can dress up in outfits from their country of origin) to help foster better understanding of the racial and cultural diversity that comprises Team GlobalX.

To businesses or leaders out there that know they want to improve gender diversity within their team but don’t know where to start…. What advice do you have for them?

Reach out to your network and connections! Speak to individuals who are working the space, employers who are walking the talk and other organisations such as Women In Digital who are supporting and putting measures in place to proactively support gender diversity.

So many of us have had positive experiences throughout our careers like myself who are happy to share our insights to help you pave a positive way forward in your own workplace and teams.

There’s more people and companies out there ready to help you than you might think – just reach out!

Thank you so much to Lara Paholski for not only sharing her time with us, but for being such a fierce supporter of Women in Digital and the team here. Lara truly goes above and beyond to support us and we couldn’t be more grateful. Also, a big thank you to GlobalX for coming on board as a corporate sponsor and for being a leader in gender diversity.

If you are interested in learning more about GlobalX and their people, click here. You can also find them on Facebook and LinkedIn.

You can learn more about our Corporate Membership here.

Our job at Women in Digital is pretty special; we get to meet intelligent women and partner with phenomenal digital-centric businesses and sometimes when we are extra lucky, these two intersect. Enter our latest Corporate Member loans.com.au headed up by the accomplished Marie Mortimer. loans.com.au is an award-winning online lender headquartered in the heart of Brisbane, Australia. We sat down with Marie to discuss all things loans.com.au, fintech and the importance of diversity in digital.

How would you describe loans.com.au in just one sentence?

Loans.com.au is one of Australia’s largest online lenders of home and car loans, and we exist to make it easier for people to own and invest in property.

How long have you been at loans.com.au?

I started loans.com.au 9 years ago in 2011, and have since grown it into a business with over $6 billion worth of home loans under management.

What is one thing not many people know about Loans.com.au?

Loans.com.au is a part of the Firstmac Group who are Australia’s largest non bank lender. By dealing with loans.com.au, customers get the advantage of low interest rates because they are dealing with the funder direct, there is no middle man. Plus, we’re a Premier Sponsor of the Brisbane Broncos.

How did you enter a career in the finance sector?

I started my career in finance when I finished my degree at QUT in 2002. I have a Bachelor of Business majoring in Banking and Finance with a Funds Management extended major. Quite a mouthful – but I find finance interesting!

What made loans.com.au want to become a Women in Digital Corporate Member?

As a female founder and leader with a lot of women who work for me, organisations like Women in Digital are really important. The finance, technology and digital industries are typically very male dominated, so finding our voice as a group is important. This group brings a lot of different women across many sectors together with their joint passion for digital. loans.com.au is proud to be a part of this network.

Obviously diversity in digital is important to you but what is your definition of diversity and how or why do you think diversity is important?

I believe that diversity isn’t just a ‘KPI target’ that we should be trying to hit. I think it’s something that organisations should live and breath because diversity brings different ideas and concepts into every organisation. By willing to accept different points of view, companies can only flourish and grow. It’s better for different industries and the customers who ultimately benefit from having awesome and diverse companies.

In what ways do you think diversity is important to someone in the role of Managing Director?

It’s important to surround yourself with a lot of different people with different points of view. If you lead with a one track mind, your company isn’t going to grow and develop. If you aren’t diverse you are just going to follow the status quo – that’s no way to run a company!

How would you describe your current thinking about diversity, and how has your thinking changed over time?

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve done a lot more research in this area. I’ve been lucky that I have never felt there was a ‘glass ceiling’ but the more I research this area the more I understand the importance of diversity and it isn’t just something at the top of an organisation. Most people know that I’m very passionate about developing the next generation of female leaders who might still be at school or early on in their careers. I’m all about helping young women find a pathway to the top!

What does it mean to loans.com.au to have a commitment to diversity?

loans.com.au is still ultimately a family business and while we have no set diversity targets, we feel that diversity is something that is a part of our culture. Being fair and conscious of finding team members that fit but also bring different types of experience is important to us. We pride ourselves on our tenure of staff and the way we constantly reinvent ourselves as a company.

How is loans.com.au demonstrating that commitment?

I am extremely proud of the flexible working environment we’ve created, particularly in my digital team. There are a few parents on the team (male and female), and as a mother I’m very conscious that some parents not only have their paid job, but also their unpaid job as a parent at home. If a child is sick, we are very understanding to let our staff go home to care for their family (whether it’s the mum or the dad) without judgement.

And as I mentioned before, I truly believe in the importance of surrounding yourselves with different people and different points of view. Both in my digital team and throughout loans.com.au, staff members come from everywhere from the UK to Indonesia to the Philippines, to China and to NZ and more.

What do you think is the biggest struggle for businesses when it comes to diversity in digital?

There aren’t enough women applying for the more technical roles. I find that this is biggest struggle, and it’s not because we don’t want to hire more women. I believe there are two reasons for this. Firstly, women aren’t being educated in the first place with the skills required for the role. Secondly I believe if they do have the right skills, they aren’t putting themselves forward because they don’t tick all the boxes! These are two big factors why technology and digital is still very male dominated.

What do you think loans.com.au can improve on when it comes to diversity and inclusion?

I think as we grow we definitely need to understand what formal measures we can put into place that not only looks at regular reporting on how diverse we are, but also set ourselves some more targets. While we have a lot of informal practices around achieving diversity because we know ‘what the right thing to do’ is, it would be great to spend more time and formalise them further.

To businesses or leaders out there that know they want to improve gender diversity within their team but don’t know where to start…. What advice do you have for them?

Read, read and read some more. There is so much research available online about gender diversity. There are so many fantastic books, websites, papers, talks etc available for free. Start there. Then maybe chat to other leaders in your team and your human resources team. Research first and make a plan! There is always a way to educate yourself further in this digital age!

Thank you so much to Marie Mortimer, loans.com.au and their parent company, Firstmac for getting behind the very important mission of diversity in digital.

If you are interested in learning more about Loans.com.au and their people, click here. You can learn more about our partnerships here.

At Women in Digital, we are very lucky to have incredible partners like Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS came onboard as one of our first Corporate Members and we could not be happier to have them on board. It is no secret that AWS is a major player in the digital space but what many people don’t know is the work they are doing to increase diversity in their workforce. We sat down with their Enterprise Sales Manager (QLD), Anne Marron to discuss all things AWS, diversity and the importance of diversity in digital.

How would you describe AWS in just one sentence?

As we strive to be the earth’s most customer-centric company, our people have the ability to make a genuine impact in their roles, for customers and in the community. Really.

How long have you been at AWS?

3 incredibly fast-paced years.

What is one thing not many people know about AWS?

Both globally and closer to home here in Australia, we have women in tech leading some of our biggest and most important businesses at AWS. AWS is the most diverse workplace I have personally ever worked in!

How did you enter a career in tech sales/account management?

I’ve built my career on deliberate, planned choices. Very early on, I started working closely with a tech recruiter because I knew my first major tech role was going to be the start of a long and meaningful career. I was placed in a role at Cisco and have never looked back.

Along the way, I have taken core learnings and continued to expand my skills with each new role I have been awarded.

My philosophy is that you don’t need permission to be incredible, you simply need to make the choice to back yourself.

I also think it’s important not to just think about your next role, but the one after that and work backwards on the skills/requirements you’ll need to be successful in that role. Think big!

What made you want to become a Women in Digital Corporate Member?

Diversity of thought is critical to the way we solve problems in the real world for our customers.

It is so important to continue to build talent pools to help us meet the needs of our customers all around the world.

Obviously diversity in digital is important to you but what is your definition of diversity and how or why do you think diversity is important?

Amazon has hundreds of millions of customers who benefit from diversity of thought. We believe that diversity and inclusion are good for our business, but our commitment is based on something more fundamental than that – it’s simply right.

We are a company of builders who bring varying backgrounds, ideas, and points of view to decisions and inventing on behalf of our customers. Our diverse perspectives come from many sources including gender, age, race, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, culture, education, as well as professional and life experience.

In what ways do you think diversity is important to someone in a leadership role?

In my experience, diversity brings perspective and empathy. Both are important qualities in leadership.

How would you describe your current thinking about diversity, and how has your thinking changed over time?

My perspective on diversity hasn’t changed much over time. Diversity in the workplace is not only necessary, it’s simply right. And diversity is everyone’s responsibility.

What does it mean to AWS to have a commitment to diversity?

Amazon’s mission is to be the earth’s most customer-centric company, and this mission is central to our work in inclusion and diversity. Our customers are diverse, and we know we serve them better by having and building diverse teams. Our diverse perspectives help us push each other to think bigger, and differently, about the products and services that we build for our customers and the day-to-day nature of our workplace.

How is AWS demonstrating that commitment?

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or age.

AWS is committed to recruiting talent from all backgrounds. This includes but is not limited to alternative pipelines for those in leadership positions, early career and non-traditional career paths, and those who have taken extended career breaks.

Here are some examples of the global programs we have to support diversity and inclusion in our workplace:

AWS re/Start – preparing unemployed and underemployed individuals for cloud careers through classroom-based training.
We Power Tech – a community of allies and leaders who are powering the future

What is AWS doing to help increase the number of women in the workplace?

We feel strongly that people of all backgrounds are represented at Amazon. We also believe in the importance of investing in and retaining the women already within our organization. Once at Amazon, we have benefits like parental leave, mentorship, flexible work arrangements, returners program, and sponsorship programs in some countries, which help women not only stay at Amazon but also develop their careers. Our various women-focused affinity groups have global chapters to help strengthen the community among our internal talent. Our women workforce are actively involved in external speaking engagements, as well as presenting at local and global AWS events, to talk about their own experiences.

To businesses or leaders out there that know they want to improve gender diversity within their team but don’t know where to start…. What advice do you have for them?

A really simple first step can be checking for gender bias in job descriptions. There’s lots of tooling available to help with this prior to advertising the position.

Also, make sure you have a diverse representation of staff interviewing your candidates.

Finally, being deliberate in activities like talent acquisition and retention or development programs is super important to achieving outcomes.

Thank you so much to Amazon Web Services (AWS) for being such fierce advocates for diversity – with Amazon.com Inc. employing over 750,000 people worldwide, they have the power to create far-reaching, impactful change.

If you are interested in learning more about AWS and their culture, click here. You can learn more about our partnerships here.