Allyship in Action ft. Robeena Shepherd
As part of our ‘Allyship In Action’ series, we caught up with Robeena Shepherd, Senior Engineering Manager at Digimarc.
The purpose of our 'MotherBoard’ content series is to highlight incredible working mums within tech & data, as well as individuals and businesses that are supportive and progressive within their approach to creating more inclusive tech & data teams for women.
Amber: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your current role?
Robeena: Hello! I am Robeena Shepherd, and I’ve been managing remote engineering teams for about eight years now. Currently, I’m a senior engineering manager at Digimarc, where I am responsible for our UK based teams.
Amber: What does being an ally for mums in tech mean to you?
Robeena: I could ramble on about how important it is to have the widest group of diverse people who use or are affected by your product as possible, and how there are large numbers of amazing people out there that will make your business more successful, driving a culture that will improve the performance of your organisation, if only you just included them. And that the bigger the pool of talent you recruit from, the better people you get…
And I do believe all that is true, but it’s more the justification I use to others, my personal motivation is far simpler.
I have worked with, and do work with, amazing engineers and leaders who have juggled a job in this industry with raising children. The thought they might have to sacrifice their careers just because the business they work in is unwilling to make what are easy and positive changes to the working environment for everyone, is one that sits very uncomfortably with me.
Amber: What are the most important traits it takes to be a good ally?
Robeena: Speaking as a manager… being proactive in giving people the support they need, and listening to what they tell you their needs are.
It’s easy to say that, of course, but how do you achieve that?
Having the trust of the people you manage is super important, without that trust they are not going to feel comfortable sharing their needs with you. So, build that trust.
Also watch out for them. Sometimes, someone just needs permission to disappear early, or have a rest day, and that is a thing you should have the power to do.
And, as important as everything else, ensure they still have the same opportunities for growth and promotion as others.
“Companies that embrace diversity make better products. Better products make companies more successful, and happier humans. Why would anyone not want that? Why is that not our default position?”
Amber: Why do you think it’s important to make the tech industry more inclusive of mothers and working parents?
Robeena: So much of our lives exist around tech, and yet such a high proportion of it has clearly been created by teams that lacked diversity. It’s so bad, we class women as diverse hires despite being half the population! If anyone wonders why so much of tech is not inclusive by design, they should start there.
Companies that embrace diversity make better products. Better products make companies more successful, and happier humans. Why would anyone not want that? Why is that not our default position?
Amber: What do you think is the main hurdle stopping employers from being more inclusive?
Robeena: Commitment to it. Doing this isn’t easy, especially when you have pressures from the business to go fast, hit deadlines, do big things.
Inclusivity often needs deep cultural changes and those are hard, requiring more forward thinking than we often see amongst visible leaders in tech.
And it takes time. You don’t wake up on a Monday and decide your company culture is now this. You need buy in from leaders, and to give yourselves the time to change no matter what external pressures are upon you, and that’s hard.
“Doing this isn’t easy… and it takes time. You don’t wake up on a Monday and decide your company culture is now this. You need buy in from leaders, and to give yourselves the time to change no matter what external pressures are upon you, and that’s hard.”
Amber: What do you think the priority should be for creating tangible change for working mums in tech?
Robeena: More companies need to be offering remote, flexible working hours. We, as an industry, are the most equipped to take advantage of this. If you can’t offer at least that, you are never going to be part of this change and you will be left behind.
And once you are doing that, you need a hiring process that offers enough flexibility to give someone with young kids a genuine chance at showing their best selves. This benefits companies too, they’ll stop missing out on great candidates just because they caught them on a difficult day.
Amber: Who do you think is responsible for making the change?
Robeena: Governments consistently demonstrate how ill equipped they are to embrace and manage change, so however much it would be nice to have them lead the way, good luck with that!
Which leaves business leaders to recognise the waste of so much talent, hiring managers to better understand how they reach out to that talent, and the rest of us to push for a culture that is supportive and way more inclusive of the great people it is currently pushing away.
Amber: Any final words of advice for other people looking to better support mothers in the Tech Industry?
Robeena: Actively listen to their needs, and advocate for them. Do it continuously. Never stop.
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