Since 1911, every 8th March, International Women's Day is commemorated with the aim of fighting for women's participation and gender equality, both for their personal and professional development.
The participation of women in the ICT industry has grown in recent years, and although it is still a minority, female employment reached 32% in 2015. The gap between men and women has narrowed, but there is still a long way to go.
“Desde la Cámara promovemos e inspiramos a que más mujeres se sumen a la industria. Eventos como Girls in ICT de ITU -que celebramos el próximo mes con Techy por el Día- pretenden reducir la brecha de género con diferentes actividades a nivel global. Con estas acciones mostramos la industria, así como los perfiles y carreras de mujeres exitosas que diariamente contribuyen al sector”, afirma la Psic. Victoria Diano, Ejecutiva de Capital Humano de Cuti.
Diano also emphasizes that: "aligning the operations that various institutions promote is a positive reinforcement to motivate other young women to follow female leadership, which this sector has and there is a lot of it". Cuti will continue to work so that more people join this industry, where the complement of men and women is needed to make things happen in a better way.
In recognition of the work that women do on a daily basis, Cuti interviewed some of the industry's leading women to learn more about their work and personal situation.
Paula Gallotti Vázquez, 32
Co-founder and Director of DVelop
How and when did you start working in the industry?
DVelop started as a final year thesis in Systems Engineering at ORT. The official start of the company was in February 2008.
How do you see the role of women in the ICT industry?
The participation of women in the ICT industry is essential, mainly to achieve a diversity that enriches the way all teams work. It is an opportunity for immediate job placement that many women are missing out on because they are unaware of the different roles they can play in this industry, beyond strictly programming.
How is the gap between men and women in this industry reflected on a day-to-day basis?
The difference is especially noticeable in the number of women versus men that exist in almost all work environments, meetings and events related to this industry. Without a doubt, it is not a difference in capacity but in the number of people represented by each gender. Given this reality, there are fewer women in the IT industry to serve as role models for younger women to enroll in technology-based careers. This may be part of the problem as to why the number of women in this sector is not increasing.
Projections for this year?
DVelop aims to continue professionalizing some areas that still have great potential for growth. In addition, we are working to increase our business outside Uruguay, such as in Peru, where we opened a new office last year, and to strengthen our business relationships with our main distributors in Japan and Brazil, among others. We are also strengthening commercial relationships with our main distributors in Japan and Brazil, among others. What do you like most about working in technology? What I value most are the possibilities of growth within the industry, along with the diversity of situations and business opportunities that are generated continuously. Today technology is the basis of most new ventures and the means to directly reach anyone, anywhere.
Virginia García Morales, 52
Electronic Billing and Business Solutions at Arnaldo C. Castro
VP of Startups and Cuti Funding
How and when did you start working in the industry?
I started when I was 19 years old, teaching computer science in a school while I was studying. When I graduated I was a programmer and in 1990 I joined the US Embassy, where I was Systems Manager for 21 years. Since 2012, I dedicated myself to entrepreneurship in IT, always studying.
How do you see the role of women in the ICT industry?
I don't think that women have a different role than men in the ICT industry, but I think we should collaborate to make our skills more valued and from there encourage more women to work in this industry providing diversity.
How is the gap between men and women in this industry reflected on a day-to-day basis?
I don't see a difference in my day to day life because I'm a woman and I take care not to make them either.
Projections for this year?
It is a year to grow at work, strengthening my work to achieve the goals we set ourselves. From the Startups and Financing Committee, to support startups from the place that the Cuti occupies as a Chamber of ICT Industry.
What do you like most about working in technology?
What I like the most is to look for the solution to problems and I love it when I find it using technology.
Karina Santo Vazquez, 55
CEO at GeneXus Consulting, K2B and GXvision.
How and when did you start working in the industry?
25 years ago.
How do you see the role of women in the ICT industry?
I believe that women contribute according to their ability and attitude, just as men do. The roles in the IT industry are many and varied. There is room for all tastes and profiles of people: hardware, design, architecture, security, management, business, among others. In this sense, women can play all these sports with the same potential as men, it just depends on their preferences and what they like.
How is the gap between men and women in this industry reflected on a day-to-day basis?
In our case in particular, the difference is not so marked. The mix is still very favourable, so it doesn't affect us much on a day-to-day basis. However, it is clear that in the new generations of IT professionals, there is a majority of men. This is a reality that must be accepted first, and then, I think you can work to try to counteract because I think there are issues of 'stereotypes' that could be changed. More than anything, so that women choose with a deeper knowledge and not from these stereotypes.
Projections for this year?
They are many and varied. Each of the companies has its challenges, its planning and its projection for this 2017. In addition, more and more our IT companies have to be strong, have capabilities in a number of aspects to be able to drive the digital transformation we are facing. This includes issues of platforms, software, communication, business, IOT, Machine Learning, Information Security, Usability, among others. Our projection is undoubtedly to be strong in all these aspects. It is not possible today to build software without knowing in depth all these dimensions.
From a market point of view, the internationalization issue is a 'must' in which the IT industry in our country is immersed and in which we will continue to deepen. Last but not least, we have the challenge of integrating the new generations in our teams, valuing their unique contributions, their vision and integrating them to the rest of the team in order to combine the differences in the best way. The generational leaps are becoming more and more marked and this is something else to understand and consider very carefully.
Ana Inés Echavarren, 43
Infocorp CEO Banking
How and when did you start working in the industry?
When I was in my third year of computer engineering at Udelar, a professor, who was also a managing partner of a local computer company, invited me to join the team as an intern, with a very flexible schedule. Ideasoft gave me the opportunity to program and do business intelligence consulting. Seeking to reach management levels, I did an MBA at IEEM and joined Infocorp in 1999, when the Development department was just starting to be created. With the 2001-2002 crisis, I quickly became manager of that area and I had to be part of the vertiginous growth that the company had in the following 5 years (we went from 40 people to 150 in 2 years). I managed the Software Factory for several years, then I dedicated myself to build the Product area, then I was in charge of the commercial area and since 2016 I am CEO of Banking, which is the largest company in the Infocorp group.
Infocorp was born in 1994, as a training company in Microsoft technologies. The first clients were managers of Banco Santander Uruguay, who, upon seeing what Infocorp's teachers knew, asked us to move from "theory to practice" and so Infocorp's Development department was born, which was quickly oriented to the financial industry. One of the first developments we did was a web banking for Banco Santander UY, a project that we later did in several other banks, until we saw that there was a great opportunity to make a product, and specialize only in digital channels for banking. Today at Infocorp we have a digital channel platform called ICBanking, implemented in more than 30 banks in Latin America, and we are dedicated to "Helping people love their bank".
How do you see the role of women in the ICT industry?
I believe that women have strengths in planning, organization, and being able to face and solve problems that involve many variables at the same time. We have an important strength in IT project management and at Infocorp we have a high percentage of women in this role. Also, female leadership is generally strong but very human at the same time, and in general we can understand and be sensitive to our team and their challenges both inside and outside the office, which makes us good leaders for today's world in which the balance between the professional and the personal is increasingly prioritized.
How is the gap between men and women in this industry reflected on a day-to-day basis?
The truth is that I personally don't see it as a disadvantage. There are fewer of us women who bring a different vision and a different way of working, and mixed teams are essential to achieve the best project. I see that we complement each other, rather than being different.
What do you like most about working in technology?
I'm passionate about learning new things all the time and trying new concepts that seem like science fiction at first and quickly become tangible realities. Every year there are significant changes that push us to change, the business, the companies, the studios, and that brings an associated adrenaline that I love.
Marianne Oliveira Mattos, 40
ICA's Planning and Finance Manager
How and when did you start working in the industry?
I started working in the industry at the beginning of 2011. I am a civil engineer and until then I was working in management positions in another industry. In 2011 I did a master's degree in management of technology companies and started working at ICA.
How do you see the role of women in the ICT industry?
Women today are playing an important role, which has been evolving and changing positively. There are many influential women in this industry and I think it is having the visibility today to encourage more women to approach the TICS. In Uruguay, although there is a long way to go and necessary changes, today there are many women who are at the head of large companies and also women entrepreneurs with very innovative solutions. All this I think is paving the way to reduce the gap that exists today between men and women in this industry.
Personally, I see that gender is indifferent when it comes to assuming a position of responsibility or management position and this is noticeable in Uruguayan companies. The issue is that we need more women to study technological careers and then continue training, either with postgraduate or master's degrees and develop their professional career.
There are also several organizations, both public and private, that with the aim of minimizing this gap are encouraging with different programs that more women join to study these careers and can visualize a professional future in this industry.
How is the gap between men and women in this industry reflected on a day-to-day basis?
Although men predominate in this industry, personally I don't notice that difference in the daily treatment. I have worked in environments where I am the only woman as well as in places where we are the majority, and the treatment has always been the same. I think this is because the place that women are occupying in this industry has been very good, occupying positions of relevance and there are more and more entrepreneurial women who lead revolutionary companies in this industry.
Projections for this year?
The projections at work level are to continue working on the plan that we have marked in the CUTI, where specifically related to the issue of women in ICTs, we are participating in the Interagency Roundtable on Women, Science and Technology project of UNESCO and ICA in the plan projected for this year.
What do you like most about working in technology?
We always work with different projects, with constant challenges. It is an area where creativity and innovation are always present. It is also motivating to work in an industry that is in full growth.
Magdalena Rodríguez, 35
Co-Founder and Director of PRO International and Co-Founder and President of GPSGAY
How and when did you start working in the industry?
We started with our first company, PRO Internacional, in 2007 within the framework of Ingenio's business incubator. Then, at the end of 2013 we started to develop our second venture: GPSGAY, which was born as a Spin-Off of PRO International.
How do you see the role of women in the ICT industry?
There are very few women in the ICT environment. I think it is important for the industry to encourage the participation of more women, as it has been proven that the more diverse the teams are, the better the results tend to be.
How is the gap between men and women in this industry reflected on a day-to-day basis?
It is difficult to get women to work in IT and it is also difficult for us to hire men because it is still a macho environment; many men don't want to have 2 female bosses.
Projections for this year?
Launch of GPSGAY in the USA, closed contracts with American corporations and attract more investors in Silicon Valley to invest more heavily in online marketing and continue to grow the network. In addition, focus on issues such as health, sexuality, self-esteem and labor inclusion of the LGBT community. We are currently working with the United Nations, Dove and IBM to address these important issues.
What do you like most about working in technology?
Todo lo que uno puede crear desde cero. En tecnología uno puede ir pivoteando ideas y viendo cómo funcionan sin tener que invertir mucho dinero. La parte de cómo mover comunidades de «behavior analysis» me parece apasionante, y eso se logra teniendo una buena base de datos sobre la cual uno puede analizar estos comportamientos.
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