International Women’s Day: VMware Employees on How Women in Tech Can Rise to the Top

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 3, 2023 / As part of the annual International Women's Day celebrations, VMware is honouring the invaluable role women play within the technology industry. This year, we spoke to several female employees across our EMEA business to shine a spotlight on the strides the tech sector has made in recent years, as well as the steps we still need to take in order to edge closer towards achieving gender equality across the board.

To create more equal opportunities, Tamar Brooks, Vice President, United Kingdom & Ireland, VMware, believes that we need to address the misconception that you need strong technical knowledge in order to pursue a career in technology. "This isn't the case," she emphasised. "We need to change this perception, particularly among the younger generation."

For Uta Haller, Director, EMEA Multi-Cloud Partner Go To Market, VMware, truly listening and considering other viewpoints is when the benefits of inclusion really start to emerge. "We have to stop thinking in categories such as ‘women', ‘Black', ‘young', ‘old', etc. as it's actually not inclusive," Uta shared. "We should instead focus more on what it takes to give everyone a fair chance, no matter where they come from or what they believe in."

Sarah Gharaibeh, Solution Engineer, EMEA Subregional Gen. Business SE, VMware, noted that accepting our differences and respecting each other's backgrounds is how we can become stronger together. "Diversity and inclusion both add a new flavour to success, so we shouldn't be afraid to bring our unique perspectives into everything we do," she said.

Read on to hear more from Tamar, Uta and Sarah regarding their unique career journeys, the challenges women in tech face today, as well as what changes they would like to see being implemented across the tech sector.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in technology?

Tamar: I fell into the career rather than deliberately joining, and I'm very glad to have found it. I come from a legal background, having originally started my career as a lawyer. However, I decided it wasn't for me. I went travelling for a year and when I came back, I got a job selling software.

Uta: I actually didn't plan it. It was a recommendation from my uncle at the very early days of IT, so I applied and got a job in marketing. It's a very faced-paced industry packed with new ideas that drive major impact - I guess that's why I never left.

Sarah: Looking back, I believe that there were 3 choices in my life that put me on the path to a career in technology. The first happened when I decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in computer engineering, despite not being a fan of being behind the computer or without initially being intrigued by what's inside a computer at a younger age. I made the decision after a big push from my family and friends, who convinced me that this field has a bright future - I felt that it would be interesting to discover and understand what a computer-driven world would look like.