Diia.City United invites responsible tech leaders to join the #SheTech initiative to support gender equality and empower women in tech! We’ve already made our commitments. Let’s all take action, and in a year, let’s see the difference we’ve made!

On September 29, at IT Arena, Diia.City United and the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund united responsible leaders at the “SheTech: Empowering Women and Driving Ukraine’s Victory” business breakfast.

The war has pushed women to take on leadership roles in rebuilding the economy and shaping Ukraine’s technological future. Our goal is not just to discuss overcoming gender inequality in tech companies but to take action, driving changes that will bring businesses a host of opportunities to improve their innovative potential and operational efficiency by increasing the contribution and influence of female employees, suppliers, and customers.

One such action is to personally or as a company make a commitment to support gender equality and empower women in technology. Nataliya Mykolska, Executive Director of Diia.City United, has already chosen hers: mentoring three female tech leaders among the association’s member companies. 

“As a leader in the tech sector, I have much to share and even more to give back to other women. But true change requires collective responsibility. I encourage all of us to take responsibility for expanding equality within our companies – not only as a matter of principle but as a matter of survival in an industry of a country being in a full-scale war,” explains Nataliya Mykolska.

Choose your commitment from the list below and share it on social media using the hashtag #SheTech. Let’s create a better environment for women in the innovation sector together!

As an individual

  1. Show support at work. When you notice that your colleague’s ideas are being ignored in a meeting, you echo her opinion and emphasize her authorship, ensuring that her contribution is recognized.
  2. Become a mentor to women. Offer to help a female colleague in situations that need it (after asking if it is appropriate and valuable) by sharing your experience, advice, and network.
  3. Challenge stereotypes. When you hear someone say: “Women don’t understand technology” or something derogatory about women drivers. You politely object, citing examples of successful women engineers or car accident statistics.
  4. Be an active listener. Your friend shares her experience of sexism or harassment at work. You listen attentively without interrupting and ask how you can support her and support her in a way that feels appropriate to her.
  5. Raising awareness. Share relevant articles, books, author profiles, statistics, films and videos about inclusivity, gender equality on your social media. Or initiate the creation of a women’s union in the team, a training course on overcoming gender bias, or an inclusive film club. 
  6. Be a role model in the family and society. You and your partner share household responsibilities equally and show your children that there is no “male” or “female” job.
  7. Advocate for equal pay. When you learn about the pay gap between men and women in your company, you raise the issue at a meeting with HR.
  8. Support women in crisis situations. You help a neighbor or colleague who is suffering from domestic violence to find the contacts of a crisis center and offer to accompany her there.
  9. Be active in community initiatives. You volunteer at a local women’s center, helping to organize events and provide counseling, or join an NGO that promotes gender equality.

As a C-level executive at your company

  1. Leadership at the highest level. Commit to supporting gender equality and women’s empowerment at all levels of leadership, demonstrating personal example and leadership responsibility. Sign and implement the Women Empowerment Principles.
  2. Ensure equal opportunities, inclusion and non-discrimination. Guarantee equal opportunities for women and men at all stages of employment, including recruitment, promotion, training and development.
  3. Ensure the well-being and safety of female employees. Implement a policy of workplace safety, prevention of violence and harassment, and ensuring conditions for the psychological and physical health of women.
  4. Support equal pay for equal work. Regularly review salary levels to eliminate gender pay gaps and ensure equal remuneration for equal work. Conduct a gender pay gap assessment. 
  5. Develop women’s leadership through training and mentoring. Implement professional development and leadership development programs for women, including through mentoring programs, management training and coaching.
  6. Establish policies to support work-family balance. Implement flexible work arrangements, including flexible schedules, remote work, and paid parental leave policies for both parents.
  7. Support women entrepreneurs and suppliers in supply chains. Promote women’s equal access to economic resources and opportunities by ensuring their participation in supply chains, including through procurement from women entrepreneurs.
  8. Supporting gender equality through marketing and social initiatives. Promote gender equality in the company’s external communication and marketing by ensuring that advertisements do not contain gender stereotypes and supporting social initiatives aimed at women’s rights.
  9. Implementing gender equality progress monitoring. Develop systems to track and analyze gender equality achievements, publicly report on progress, and set transparent goals.
  10. Investing in the community to support gender equality. Contribute to the economic and social development of women in the community by investing in education, health, and support for local women’s empowerment initiatives.