Being a woman in tech on International Women’s Day

Purple and white balloons, home-made scones, pav and hot cross buns set the scene for our morning tea fundraiser to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD).

Before we ravished the amazing spread of delicious treats, we paused for a moment to reflect and be thankful for all the women in our lives and the important role they have played in shaping the people we are today.

In the tech industry, where you will typically find more men than women, it was wonderful to see our team in Sydney and Melbourne come together and willingly #PressforProgress – this year’s focus for IWD. We chose ‘selfie cards’ that resonated with us. We even had volunteers get down on the floor to do press ups, which made for some excellent group shots that I’m sure will make an appearance at our end of year party.

We raised funds for a wonderful non-profit organisation called Robogals, who aim to increase female participation in engineering, science and technology. Robogals run fun and educational initiatives in both primary and secondary schools in Australia and around the world. We’d love to see more of this support for women in our industry. Thanks to the generosity of our people and founders, we raised $1,250 to donate to Robogals.

As I looked around the hub of IWD activity in our office, a tremendous sense of pride came over me to be part of this team. Having joined Versent very recently, it was clear that this is a company who understands and respects the value that women bring to the workplace. It’s refreshing to be part of an organisation that not only promotes gender parity but has the potential to revolutionise the way we do things.

Thank you Versent family – let’s #PressForProgress in 2018.

Margaret Tona is Versent’s Office Manager. She has a true entrepreneurial spirit and loves working with like-minded, passionate individuals. A teacher and motivator at heart, Margaret’s passion lies in helping other individuals achieve their best. In her spare time, you’ll find Margaret reading, writing, meditating or hunting for Melbourne’s best single origin espresso.