Organizations in the technology sector have many gender gaps to fill when it comes to gender equality. Women make up only 26% of IT employees and still experience ageism, “my idea syndrome,” and struggle with their misconceptions.
There are many initiatives, like Geeky Girls Carrots or Women in Tech Summit, to change the landscape. However, each organization should take a stand on this. Ginni Rometty, Susan Wojcicki, and Gwynne Shotwell, to name a few famous women in the tech sector.
But the tech industry is not only about software development but also about sales and marketing, project management, and customer support.
That’s why, in this special article, we have interviewed six female colleagues from different departments across our company to share their stories and career development tips. Are you thinking about becoming a business or project architect at a SaaS company? Would you like to work in the technology industry but do not have a degree in computer science? Or maybe you are thinking about changing your career towards marketing and business development in IT?
Learn more about advancing to leadership positions, changing careers to become a software engineer, and more. We want to give a solid dose of inspiration, knowledge sharing, and encouragement to any woman thinking about making her way in the tech industry.
Believe in yourself wholeheartedly
Pleng Loetsakulcharoen, Business Architect
What do you do at Bluestone PIM?
My position at Bluestone PIM as a business architect entails leading clients through business transformation journeys and designing customized solutions for their composable commerce strategies.
Before this role, I worked as a software developer within Bluestone PIM for many years. Leveraging my experience in software engineering, I strive to infuse technical expertise into our work to ensure seamless integration of our solutions with clients' existing business frameworks.
What do you like about your job?
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is the chance to engage with clients and partners from various backgrounds, exchanging ideas and acquiring new perspectives. Moreover, working alongside brilliant colleagues who inspire me and make each day a joy is incredibly fulfilling.
Besides working with customers, I also allocate time to dive into coding. It’s a chance for me to explore new tech stuff and keep my skills sharp, which I enjoy.
What are your favorite sources to expand your knowledge?
Undoubtedly, colleagues rank among my top sources for broadening my knowledge, and offering firsthand insights and experiences. Through casual conversions, collaborative projects, and shared experiences, I often gain valuable insights into different aspects of technology.
Another effective way I enhance my knowledge is through attending tech meetups and workshops, as they offer hands-on learning experiences and the chance to network with experts in the field.
Do you have any tips for women who want to start a career as business architects?
For women aspiring to kickstart a career as business architects, my advice would be to believe in yourself wholeheartedly. Combine this confidence with a commitment to continuous learning, staying curious, and fearlessly taking on new challenges.
Networking is equally important; connecting with others can open doors to valuable opportunities and offer insightful advice.
By focusing on these principles, you will not only excel in your career but also pave the way for other inspiring women in the field.
I thought, “Why don’t I even try? I have nothing to lose.”
Żaneta Czapiewska, Software Developer
What do you do at Bluestone PIM?
I work on the front-end side of Bluestone PIM.
What do you like about your job?
I like that I have a constant opportunity to develop myself. My job is to solve different problems. They are more or less complicated, but finding a solution always makes me very satisfied.
It’s also nice to work with people and build something useful together.
What are your favorite sources to expand your knowledge?
There are many sources on the internet: a huge amount of articles, blogs, documentation, educational platforms, etc. Many people share their knowledge on YouTube. For beginners, I recommend trying the CodeCademy or Udemy platforms.
For me, other programmers are certainly an invaluable source of knowledge. They are usually very helpful and willing to share their knowledge.
Do you have any tips for women who want to start a career as software developers?
Just try 🙂
I used to be a teacher. Even before I became a teacher, I was interested in programming, but I didn’t believe that it could be my profession. And then, after working in a school for 8 years, I thought, “Why don’t I even try? I have nothing to lose.” And so I tried, and I managed, and today I’m very glad I made that decision.
I learned the basics of programming in my studies, but when I decided to change my profession, I learned on my own, using the resources of the Internet. I learned a lot, including on the Udemy and CodeCademy platforms. It was also very developing to create my small projects, for example, an application that was a collection of my recipes.
Support others around you and help when you can
Cathrine Wille Herløvær, Project Architect
What do you do at Bluestone PIM?
I handle all technical issues that our customers might need assistance with. I am their technical go-to person. I analyze data, do research, and write technical specifications. And in cooperation with the Project Manager, we set up a plan for the customer to prepare their data. Some clients need a lot of help, others less.
We have a powerful PIM, which allows customers to do much of the work themselves, using our APIs. I also assist with support when needed. We work in teams and benefit from each other’s knowledge.
What do you like about your job?
I like lots of things, like:
- working with our colleagues across teams and countries.
- the variety of tasks and the challenges.
- working with our customers.
- that our software is modern and that it is a MACH Alliance-certified PIM solution.
- that we have offices in Thailand, Sweden, and Poland.
- that we can travel to the other offices and meet with our colleagues in other locations.
What are your favorite sources to expand your knowledge?
A lot of the research is done on Google. Other than that, I enjoy the AWS Academy, and I also study courses through Google’s Analytics Academy.
Do you have any tips for women who want to start a career as project architects?
My position is something you grow into and gain more experience from, not by doing a special course or training. Go to a university or college and get your degree. Work hard and don’t give up! Support others around you and help when you can. We are all in this together.
If you want to know more about the project architect role, you can contact Cathrine on Linkedin.
Find your niche that will empower you
Anna Zloczewska, Marketing Project Coordinator
What do you do at Bluestone PIM?
I’m part of the digital marketing team. As Marketing Project Coordinator, my projects are concentrated on creating and improving an excellent customer experience in terms of automation workflows, web pages, email marketing, segmentation, personalization, and marketing data analytics.
I also eagerly take part in employer branding activities. So when you’re first in touch with Bluestone PIM, I’m right there to make things smooth and easy for you!
What do you like about your job?
Contrary to popular belief, in marketing automation, “set it and leave it” is never an option, and email marketing is not a one-way tube; it’s a regular conversation with your contacts.
Therefore, you should regularly test and analyze the data you’re given. I enjoy this part because it helps me draw my conclusions, and look for creative and efficient ways to respond to customers’ needs, and it gives me the feeling of having a measurable impact on the brand’s success.
Plus, I can make use of my analytical and technical skills! When it comes to email marketing, I like this impression of talking with our visitors and getting to know not only them but also their needs and preferences better.
What are your favorite sources to expand your knowledge?
I’m really into data-driven marketing, so most of my favorite content is mostly about it, like the Ariyh newsletter, which presents marketing research based on scientific data.
However, recently I also read This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See and The Practice, both by Seth Godin (everyone in marketing knows his name!), which broadened my business perspective.
And for those who are more into content marketing, I also highly recommend Ann Handley’s blog.
Do you have any tips for women who want to start a career as marketing automation specialists?
Digital marketing is a very broad field, from social media to content marketing, SEO/SEM, ads, automation, and data analysis. It’s quite a lot, isn’t it?
Therefore, you should first find your favorite topic and try out for yourself what suits you best. Remember that you can’t be an expert in every field – and that’s okay. Find a niche that empowers you. Try out different courses to see how each field responds to your skills. Many good courses for beginners are free, e.g., Google Digital Skills.
Also, follow LinkedIn marketing experts. Many prominent specialists share their expertise on social media—well, it’s a part of marketing 😉 Some of them send regular newsletters, so you can always be up-to-date with marketing news.
Go for it, give it a try, and don’t listen to your inner and outer saboteurs
Dagmara Wieczorek, Software Developer
What do you do at Bluestone PIM?
Some time ago, I might have said that I’m a frontend developer, but that’s not 100% true right now, as we are also doing backend services. My team is focused on our core functionalities.
What do you like about your job?
The most important thing for me that I really love about this job is the people. When you are around people who are kind, supportive, and eager to share their knowledge, it’s a perfect environment to grow, and that’s why I have been here at Bluestone since 2019.
It’s also important that we truly care for and believe in our product. With each month, we see it getting better because of the changes we have made. It’s very satisfying to know that you are doing something that matters and helps customers manage their data every day.
What are your favorite sources to expand your knowledge?
I think the best source to expand knowledge, despite documentation, is collaboration and discussion with other developers. I don’t think there is a better way to learn than to work with people who are supportive, open-minded, and care about the best quality code and product.
If you are at the beginning of your journey with the front end, I highly recommend Traversy Media on YouTube and his full courses on Udemy. He is a great teacher.
I also really love watching Coding Train on YouTube; he shows how much fun programming can be, for example, by creating snake or flappy bird games.
Do you have any tips for women who want to start a career as software developers?
Before I became a software developer, I studied materials science and engineering, but after a few years, I realized I had no passion for them. When I was a teenager, I was doing some HTML+CSS blog templates just for fun. I updated my knowledge and tried programming in JS, and I really enjoyed it.
Many women have similarly changed their paths, even on my team. If you have predispositions and passion for it, it does not matter if you are a man, woman, or non-binary, so ignore people who try to bring you down and claim otherwise.
Try to find people who will support you, help you be better, and help you learn. Remember, this is a process, and no one knows everything, and knowledge comes with time and experience. Not knowing something is not a reason to feel ashamed.
I really don’t want to sound cheesy, but if you want it, go for it, give it a try, and don’t listen to your inner and outer saboteurs. If we could do it, I think you can too.
Be curious, brave, and dedicated – and don’t forget to be a team player
Evy Anita Buvarp, Senior Product Specialist
What do you do at Bluestone PIM?
I am part of the Customer & Partner Experience team, where we work diligently to ensure that customers and partners are satisfied with Bluestone PIM. As part of this work, we need to ensure that requests for new functionality and changes are handled well.
My main responsibility is to make sure that these requests are evaluated, described, and followed up. The main task is to ensure that the actual needs are conveyed into user stories and acceptance criteria and further incorporated into specifications.
The most interesting part is familiarizing myself with the customer's work processes to be able to understand how a requested feature or change will make everyday life better for their users.
What do you like about your job?
I am excited about contributing to the development of our product portfolio by giving input as the voice of our customers and partners.
I like being part of a software development team, working in the segment between the business side/stakeholders and the development team.
The most fun part is helping stakeholders dig out their true needs and turning them into user stories and acceptance criteria to be used as a basis for development tasks.
What are your favorite sources to expand your knowledge?
The most valuable source of knowledge expansion is knowledge sharing between colleagues and the experience gained from participating in customer projects. Being hands-on and involved in most parts of the development process, I learn something new every day.
From time to time, I attend webinars on topics like agile software development and quality assurance.
Do you have any tips for women who want to start a career as product owners?
I would recommend getting an IT education that covers the necessary topics to know what is going on in the software development process. Studying different methodologies is also valuable.
By gaining experience in different roles within a software development organization, you will have a good starting point for stepping into the role of a product specialist.
Be curious, brave, and dedicated, and don’t forget to be a team player!
If you want to know more about the product owner role, you can write to Evy on Linkedin.
Check what it is like to work at Bluestone PIM
The development of innovative technologies is fostered by a friendly atmosphere of mutual respect and openness. At Bluestone PIM, people from all around the world work and have fun together.
We strive to create the best work environment for every team member since our people are the direct source of our success, and we support them and give everyone an opportunity to advance their careers beyond their initial role.
Dedication to the team, work-life balance, and the best effort of each team member are at the core of what matters to us. Watch the video below to meet some of our employees and learn what they think about working at Bluestone PIM and what skills they developed.
If you want to know more about our office life, learn more about the culture code at Bluestone and follow our social media.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated with the latest information.
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