Celebrating International Women’s Day: Past, Present, and Future

This year's International Women's Day theme, 'Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,' is particularly meaningful to us here at Brevo. Every day, we're inspired by the women around us who are making invaluable contributions to our organization, the marketing field, and the tech industry as a whole. Their impact is undeniable. We see firsthand how they’re driving many of the key innovations that shape our daily lives while also helping to solve some of the most complex challenges of our time.

Progress Made, But Challenges Remain

On one hand we’re energized by the progress we've seen in tech over the years, as women participation has grown from 9% in 2000 to 26.7% by 2023. It’s a major step towards creating a more gender-diverse and inclusive future. Yet, organizations like Girls Who Code remind us that in some areas, like computing, the number of women is actually decreasing. 

We clearly recognize that underrepresentation of women in tech affects us all, regardless of gender. Its impact ripples throughout society and across the globe. Regardless of whether they are in elementary school or college; entry-level positions or leadership roles, gender inequality hinders innovation and stifles diversity of thought in a sector that literally drives our global economy and shapes all of our futures. 

Breaking Down Barriers, Together

So, what can we do to help create a brighter future for women in tech? There’s no one single answer and there are many ways to offer support. They range from challenging gender stereotypes and addressing unconscious bias, to supporting the increase of female role models and mentors. It’s also important for us to better understand and address the systemic issues that contribute to the low retention rate of women in tech careers, (50% will leave tech by the age of 35) particularly as they navigate career advancement and work-life balance. So yes, the challenges are complex, but not insurmountable. 

We believe these efforts to break down barriers and support women in tech should span their entire career. This includes helping more women achieve leadership positions as well as sparking an interest and nurturing the dreams of girls and young women who are passionate about tech. 

Celebrating Women Through Awareness and Action

Throughout the month we’re focusing on the latter through a series of fundraisers and special initiatives designed to bring awareness to why it’s so important to invest in women, and to support an important organization who is making this crucial investment - Girls Who Code.

Girls Who Code provides coding camps for girls and non-binary children in India, Europe, and North America. They're on a mission to build the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers and we couldn’t be more excited to support them! 

We’re encouraging our employees to participate in a series of events including a team quizz about global women’s rights and deep discussions about the difficulties & challenges women experience at the workplace.

We’re also holding private screenings across all of our global offices of “New Woman,” by Léa Todorov" & Geko films, which explores the life of Maria Montessori and her work at an institute for children with disabilities in Italy - laying the foundation for what would become the Montessori Method.

For each and every Brevo employee that participates in any of these activities, we’re making a donation to Girls Who Code to help further support the important work they’re doing. 

By acknowledging the challenges women face and taking concrete steps to support their growth and success, we can continue making progress for women, the technology industry and society as a whole. Through our collective efforts at Brevo, Girls Who Code, and beyond, we aim to bring more awareness about the challenges women in tech face and create more opportunities for every girl and woman who dreams of thriving in a STEM career. 

We hope you’ll join us.