Starting young

As someone who started early at age 17 in the tech industry, it is not lost on me that women have a role to play in the heavily male-dominated field.

Based on research, women’s employment may increase GDP by 4 per cent and place Indonesia as the 4th country with the highest GDP count. Yet, only 51.89 per cent of productive women are fully employed.

Data also shows that Indonesia’s startup has a huge potential market in digital ecosystem acceleration, with over 2,300 startups and Indonesia dominating 41 per cent of the ASEAN market.

With these findings in mind, it’s clear that women more than belong but are the key players in Indonesia’s working space and digital landscape.

During my marketing and business development career at Yuna & Co. (the first personal styling platform fashion tech startup) and digital marketing boutique over the last six years, I’ve learned that courage and perseverance are vital to personal and professional growth.

As a woman working alongside founders and teammates, it’s important to be bold in voicing my ideas and opinions with data-based facts. Over time, I’ve come to enjoy a leadership style that balances between vision and coaching to move toward mutual goals.

Naturally, I am deeply drawn to initiatives that involve women’s empowerment. When given a chance to helm a CSR program for a notable transportation service company in Indonesia, Kartini Bluebird, I aimed to empower the wives of the taxi employees with home-based vocational training.

Also Read: A woman among women: 27 female-led startups in SEA that is going places

The goal was to equip these women with sufficient skills and help pave the pathway to financial independence by launching their small businesses.

The future is female

To continue advocating for female empowerment, I actively participate in the women mentoring community, WomenWorks. It’s a great space where fellow females can connect and interact, acting as mentors in their respective fields.

I highly encourage more young women, especially in Indonesia, to continue to seek the same communities, where they can be exposed to exemplary women in their unique expertise and given a chance to collaborate to further positive movements everywhere.

In conclusion, women’s empowerment is strongly linked to taking action and creating a supportive environment or community.

It could be in the form of a small mentoring community, CSR program, or a solid initiative for young women such as STEM education to encourage budding talented females to participate and break the male-centric stereotypes in the tech industry.

Empowering startups and women in tech

I consider myself very lucky to find my calling at a relatively young age. My experience and perspective in the tech industry and a strong desire to champion women have solidified my career path.

Also Read: How ZaZaZu aims to empower women by starting a conversation about sexual wellness

I’m truly looking forward to helping local startups and women in the tech startup industry by empowering them with the much-needed tools, exposure, access and network to unlock their fullest potential.

As the only woman in the business development team entrusted with the role of senior account executive at e27, I’m excited to inspire and give more women in tech the opportunity to voice their voices through the e27 Contributor Program.

Now, new women in the digital ecosystem, struggling founders, and even professionals in the industry can collaborate and get support with the available resources, including having campaigns tailored to their specific needs.

In addition to the program, there’s also the newly launched Pro+ e27 membership, designed with end-to-end support for all startup founders with three key aspects, i.e. branding for awareness, fundraising, and lead generation.

Last but not least, I welcome all prospective startups into the e27 power network and help founders scale up. Let’s have a coffee chat and get all the digital access already waiting for you! Send me a LinkedIn DM to connect!

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: nyul

The post From women, to women: Celebrating empowerment in tech appeared first on e27.