Mighty women and vanishing myths

Usually, I am not a big fan of women only dedicated events, activities and various initiatives, because I strongly believe in equality and professionalism first against any other gender related biases in today’s society. However, at the beginning of March, I had a chance to give a speech at “Moteris inovatorė – sėkmingo verslo link” event, organized by Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology and I truly enjoyed this experience. The audience and all the speakers were simply amazing. The feeling of mutual understanding, unity, strength, motivation, and enthusiasm completely filled the room and at the same time made me think about a few things.

Unfortunately, no matter how well-educated, motivated and professional we are, sometimes we face gender related myths and stereotypes. We, women, considered as “ice-queens” or “being too masculine”, if we are too quick or too tough reaching the final decision in business, instead we expected to act as “a lady” or as “a cheerleader” with the compassion, smile, empathy and entertaining small talks first; our family status is always questioned as if it seems that being single/married or having/not having kids somehow changes our professional qualities. There are many more stereotypes that power women have to overcome even today, but the truth is that we just want to get the business done in the first place in the most professional and efficient way, and yes, we are full of different qualities, roles in life and emotions, just like all the men are and it has nothing to do with being “a woman”.

Companies where “gender” has never been an issue, create much higher added value. In a modern company, only professional qualities, high work ethics, ability to learn new things and always move forward quickly with the passion and aspirations to change the world. These principles will not only increase the quality of work but also exploit the potential of both genders to increase business efficiency.

For those who interested in events and initiatives that are motivating and talking about women’s equality and entrepreneurship, I share the key highlights I presented at an event organized by MITA:

1. Women Go Tech – a must attend women mentoring program, if you are truly passionate about IT industry.
2. LT Big Brother – a great mentoring program, which unites Lithuanian professionals from all over the world.
3. Asociacija „Lyderė“ – a fantastic association for professional women, who seek to share their knowledge and empower others.
4. Go Forward – the first Lithuanian international conference is all about successful women’s career and leadership.
5. Web Summit – tech conference in Lisbon committed to changing the gender ratio at their events, and empowering women across the globe through fostering networking opportunities, mentorship programs, as well as our online women in tech community.
6. Google Women TechMakers – a program that provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology.
7. Digital Women Award – an annual award recognizing outstanding women in digital sectors around the world.
8. 100 Lithuanian Women– a project, which unites women professionals that Lithuania is proud of due to their talent, creativity, achievements and civic activities.
9. The Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell – a step up for entrepreneurs. Online course for female entrepreneurs.

For those who think that men came from Mars and women are from Venus, I would suggest to think twice and remember that we all come from the planet Earth, where gender inequality in the labor market is still a sensitive issue. In order to become a modern state, we have to strive for gender equality in the labor market, based on logic and objective assessment of employee skills and competencies.

EnjoyIT #BalticAmadeus