Five continents. Several roles. One company– Stephanie Davis has an illustrious career trajectory.
As Google’s Managing Director for Southeast Asia, she is currently responsible for business strategy and operations. As she moves from operational design to financial services and insurance sector, to publisher partnerships; Davis amassed a wealth of professional and management knowledge.
It is a widely known fact that the percentage of women shrinks as we go up the corporate ladder. From an entry-level executive to leadership, Davis has come a long way since she joined Google in 2006.
So we sat down with her to understand what enabled a non-techie’s career in a tech company and if being a woman in a corporate world was a boon or a blessing.
What has your career journey been like? Are any key challenges and learnings from their experience climbing the corporate ladder?
I would describe my experience as varied. There has been some luck along the way. I started out as an analyst, joined the news industry and then the tech industry– all with Google. I almost can’t believe it myself that I have been at Google for 13 years now. When I reflect on it, I feel like I have five different careers, since I have moved across roles and also continents. Along the way, I learnt that its great to be open to opportunities, to take creative risks and importantly chase butterflies. Do things that make you learn, stretch, and grow.
Did you face any challenges as a woman in the corporate world?
I have been fortunate that I was supported by incredible people in my career. But that’s not to say I didn’t face challenges. I was part of many leadership teams that were male-dominated. I had encounters where I did the analysis and presentation but the questions went to my male colleagues.
I remember, when we worked with a Hollywood actress on a project to deploy ML to analyse films, she said that there is no evil plot (against women) but there was bias– unconscious bias.
When there is a lack of diversity in the meeting room, these biases creep in. But thanks to one of the most successful programmes at Google to address these kinds of unconscious biases; we are able to become better leaders. It’s actually the most attended programme on a voluntary basis.
What would be your top tips for women starting their careers in technology/business today?
Write your story.
This came to light when a friend and colleague was interviewing for a director role. She chose to write a letter to the president of the company to tell him about what her team had achieved under her leadership. And I think that is such a powerful way of invoking self-confidence.
We can write letters to ourselves, or even to the women on our team or even our children about our goals. This open letter to ourselves can also work as a checking guide.
Stay put.
We need to move; we have to move to make our careers successful. But what I think happens sometimes, is that we are so focussed on what should we do next, we fail to take the time to learn and absorb everything we can learn in the current role.
And more often fail to develop a track record. So keep your eyes open but stay grounded.
Be wary of success.
It’s about the forward-looking view. As McKinsey says, most leadership programmes fail because of a lack of context. And this is the context we should be chasing. Be familiar with it and be willing to change if needed. It’s necessary to keep reflecting every now and then and orient ourselves closer to our goals if we may have strayed.
Also Read: Meet the VC: Stephanie Strunk of Amadeus Ventures on why women should support women
Is the tech industry nearly there yet when it comes to female leadership and representation, or is there still a glass ceiling?
We are not there in terms of equality. But I don’t think there is a glass ceiling either since there is progress. But that is not enough. Everyone needs to come together to address this- both men and women. Systematic change can be sustainable change.
Data can power this change, as we did with the Google Transparency report– it reports the percentage of women right from hiring to leadership to help us stay on track of our mission to make the organisation more equitable. It’s important for this change to take place at the leadership level and they need to be held accountable to achieve this.
I also think a lot of this equality has to be triggered when we are children. Young boys and girls need to be educated to embrace this thought for a big shift in our thinking.
What kind of practices can organisations in the tech startup world adopt to enhance inclusivity?
It is true that not all organisations can devote resources to enhance inclusivity. For example, I Am Remarkable– is a small programme we run at Google and it is centred around empowerment for women, and to break the imposter syndrome that many of us unconsciously sometimes harbour.
But tt doesn’t always have to be a fully built and well-funded programme, sometimes it is just these small things like getting women to talk to each other, share a community spirit, whilst also bringing men into these conversations.
Mentorships, or train the trainer, kinds of programmes help women recognise their voice and create a safe space for them. Sometimes, women are not as vocal about their needs as their male colleagues.
What can we do as a community to ensure more equal opportunity in the future?
Harnessing technology and the power of the internet can empower women. While the internet has become more affordable, it is not yet equitable. When it comes to SEA; access, privacy and safety, agency constraints hinder their use of this resource.
For example, men being on their mobile device a lot during the day are seen differently as women on a mobile device. Then there is safety; women don’t share profile pictures.
Moreover, women in SEA don’t have the time as they have additional domestic responsibility. So as a community, we need to change this. Tech can be used to empower communities and not just companies.
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Image Credit: Google
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