"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception." - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
2021 marks the 110th year since International Women’s Day was first recognized by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. It has since become recognized worldwide as an opportunity to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, as groups come together to rally for gender parity.
This year, BlackBerry sat down with a panel of exceptional women leaders from within its own business–with a combined 46 years’ of experience at BlackBerry alone–to discuss how the landscape of their careers has shifted since they began working; from collaborating with female management in a predominately male environment to the importance of mentors and sponsors.
These fantastic women from across the BlackBerry business include Yasmine Aggarwal, Director, Enterprise Software Testing, Jennifer Bramhill, Vice President, Employee Relations & HR Business Partner, Pooja Kohli, Vice President, Product Management and Karen Murdock, Senior Director, Legal Counsel.
Keeping with the theme #ChooseToChallenge, the panel highlights BlackBerry’s continuous commitment to close the gap on gender parity and foster a culture of inclusivity and diversity. BlackBerry is already making significant strategic investments into the women in its company, providing training and mentorship programs like its ‘Leadership Edge Program’ and ‘Taking the Stage’, a program designed by The Humphrey Group that provides women with the tools needed to successfully position themselves in, and for, senior leadership roles.
According to Nature Magazine, in 2020, the pay gap between women and men in Computer Science and Engineering was $18,000. But the future of cybersecurity is female; (ICS)2 reports that higher percentages of female cybersecurity professionals are reaching positions such as chief technology officer (7% of women vs. 2% of men), vice president of IT (9% vs. 5%), IT director (18% vs. 14%) and C-level/ executive (28% vs.19%).
To support this, BlackBerry has announced the success of its partnership with Girl Guides of Canada with more than 5,600 GGC members across the country earning their Digital Defenders crests, reinforcing BlackBerry’s pledge toward a future that empowers young women to carve out a successful career in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) and continue to reach leadership positions through its Digital Defenders program.
Listen to the BlackBerry panel discussion below to learn more.