Empowering womxn in tech: Guest Q&A with Principal Solutions Architect Natalia Venditto
To celebrate Womxn’s History Month at Pager, our Culture Committee invited Natalia Venditto, a solutions architect, to participate in a company-wide Q&A.
Natalia is a software engineer and public speaker based in Barcelona, and currently serves as the Principal Solutions Architect at Netcentric. She began her career as a graphic designer and later made the move into software development. She has over 15 years of experience in technology, and regularly speaks on frontend development and angular architecture. Natalia is also a big supporter of womxn in tech, and works with organizations like the Women’s Techmakers Initiative to help womxn in tech advance their skills and their careers.
She spoke with us about her experience as a woman working in technology combatting imposter syndrome and building confidence, and how organizations and teams can support womxn and minorities to advance diversity and equity within a company.
Tell us a little bit about your career trajectory. What attracted you to engineering specifically?
I am from Uruguay originally, and began my career in graphic design. At the beginning of the 2000s, I moved to Spain. I was working at an agency around the time when we began to realize that there was this digital migration occurring, and everything was moving online. We had a magazine where we published ads for our clients. I told my boss, “You know what? I think we should put this magazine online and put ads in that medium.”
He said, “I agree, but you need a developer for that.”
So I said, “I can be that developer.” And that’s how I transitioned into tech.
The other thing that attracted me to engineering was when I animated my first design. When I created a flash animation and saw how I could take a static object and program it to move around or do different things, my mind was blown. There was no turning back.
How have the companies or teams you’ve worked with supported you throughout your career?
I was lucky because I had a series of opportunities presented to me at the start of my career as a developer. That’s not to say it was easy, because it demanded a lot of hard work, studying, and catching up because I didn’t have that background as a developer.
It's all about believing in yourself, and knowing how to sell yourself. It’s about how you present yourself and say, "I can do this. Give me the opportunity to demonstrate to you I can do this."
Of course there are going to be people that will not support you, and that's everywhere. It's important to have persistence and a clear focus and to know exactly where you want to go. That's obviously easier said than done. But, for example, when you want to transition into a different career, if you have a clear goal of where you want to be next, what you want to do, and the value you want to bring to an organization or team. It makes it much easier for people to believe in you and to support you.
What’s been the biggest challenge in your career so far? And how have you worked to overcome that?
The biggest challenge has been to overcome my own fears. Sometimes, I was the one sabotaging myself, and I had the feeling of ‘imposter syndrome’. It is very real, particularly if you come from a different background or have had a different career trajectory. You meet people that have the traditional education for your role and you start to wonder if they’re better than you, or if you’ll be able to get to that level.
It has a lot to do with the effort you put into overcoming those difficulties or filling those gaps. But if you doubt yourself, it makes it that much harder. And yes, that's inevitable. Sometimes you question yourself, and you have to try to dissipate those thoughts. Those negative feelings will be there, but you need to try to walk away from them and focus on where you want to arrive next.
Do you have any examples of ways that you combat imposter syndrome?
I have a great network of friends that helped me see myself with different eyes. For example, I recently sent a paper to a major conference, and they accepted it. Immediately I thought, “Why did I do that? Now I have to speak in front of 2000 developers. There's no way I can do this." You have to voice these thoughts or concerns to someone who believes in you and tell them, "I'm afraid."
And they will tell you, "You have done this many times. You do this at work every day. You're going to talk about a topic you know very well." And then, you start rationalizing it. All those fears start seeming a little less real because you know that what they're telling you is true.
Also, you should sit and look at your list of accomplishments. When I do that, it helps me remember that I could not have made it to where I am today if I wasn’t capable of the work. It helps you push those fears away.
“Try to find people to collaborate with who truly believe in the richness of diversity– people that really understand that the more diverse a team, the farther you’re going to get.”
How can womxn and non-men better advocate for themselves as they move forward in their careers?
I always try to find people to collaborate with who truly believe in the richness of diversity– people that really understand that the more diverse a team, the farther you’re going to get. The first thing you need to do when you get to a new place and you have a goal is to identify who are the people that are like-minded and have the same values. And then you try to work together.
Everything is easier if you work as a team. You can advocate for yourself with passion and hard work, but there's also the need to find the people that will also advocate for you and believe in you. Those people who will offer opportunities that are just a little bit higher up that ladder, and they can lend you a hand and help you get to where you want to get.
On that note, how can teams or companies be better advocates for their womxn?
I am part of several initiatives at my company focused on this goal, but there are a number of ways you can work toward this. One way, for example, is if you are a man in tech and you have been given a certain opportunity a number of times, perhaps you want to give this space to a woman. If everybody adopts this way of thinking, and if organizations promote this way of thinking – to look around and be generous enough to give that space and that voice to others – then we can take steps toward being more inclusive.
This is one of the things that comes with a team mentality, because when you're working as a team, what’s most important is that the goal is accomplished. So teams have an opportunity to give womxn and minorities the voice, the space, and the spotlight to represent the team as it relates to that goal.
Do you have any advice for teams that are looking to attract more womxn?
I advise leaders to have a long talk with existing employees, particularly womxn and underrepresented groups, to identify the needs of the individual. For me, I am a mother, so flexibility is very important to me – but it may not be for some other womxn or for another minority. So, if there is a certain aspect of work life that comes up a lot, like flexibility, it's very likely that there is a group of people that really need this to be better at work. You must find ways to accommodate that.
And of course, there should be initiatives to ensure zero tolerance in regards to discrimination and certain types of behavior that push people away. Again, we're all different and we all have different needs. If we respect those differences, and create space for those differences, then everybody will be happier and the teams will work much better together.
Are there any specific conferences, programs or studies that have helped you grow in your career?
I'm part of the Women Techmakers Initiative. As Women Techmakers and organizers, we provide a safe space for individuals that identify as womxn to have the opportunity to do public speaking in a more comfortable setting.
When I joined this field, there were times where there could be 300 people in a room and I was the only woman. If you’re more extroverted and have a certain type of character, speaking in these spaces may not be difficult for you. But not every woman may feel comfortable. Providing safe spaces for everyone to feel at ease and be able to share knowledge is very important. Then, when you have the experience, you can move onto the next challenge.
How can we support womxn in developing leadership skills when there isn’t a specific infrastructure in place to do that?
One practice we do is to try to match somebody that has a bit more experience and wants to become a leader with somebody more junior. If you don’t have a structure in place for this mentorship or leadership, have them design those processes together. That's an exercise of leadership as well.
Have that person identify how they will help a more junior person get exposure, and have them work together to design a development plan with that goal in mind. Those little exercises become something that spreads; more people adopt the practice and then leaders move up into the position of providing guidance for others. You can start with a small goal and expand it, and leadership starts organically growing at a larger scale.
A leader is an inspiration to others. It's not somebody that tells you what to do or controls you. A leader is somebody that acts and inspires. Maybe they have a lot of experience or maybe they are very proactive or energetic, and this exercise helps you bring out those qualities.
“In many cases, being ‘junior’ doesn’t mean a lack of skills, it means a lack of experience. When you identify talent in somebody, give them opportunities and the chance to collect experience – they slowly become leaders too.”
How can white men, who are often the majority in an office, better support womxn?
As humans, we naturally generate an affinity for people with whom we have commonalities. If you have a lot of white male bosses, they're probably going to, without even realizing, favor other white men. So if you see opportunities coming to you, and you know there are people in your team that never get them, pass it onto them and enable them. This is the first step into generating equality in a team.
In many cases, being ‘junior’ doesn't necessarily mean a lack of skills, it means a lack of experience. When you're a more senior person and you identify talent in somebody with high potential, give them opportunities and the chance to collect experience – and then they slowly become those leaders too. If they never get the opportunity to demonstrate that full potential they have, it's going to be a very slow process into growing into a more senior role.
There have been studies demonstrating that during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees – and women in particular – have been negatively impacted. Many feel like they're ‘always on’ now that the boundaries between work and home have been blurred. How do we support employees experiencing burnout? Is there something specifically we can do for womxn?
Knowing the people you work with is critical. Before, we could be in the office and grab a coffee together – but that’s not an option today. We don't have that luxury, but we still have a lot of channels to connect.
It's very important to shoot a message from time to time, and just ask "How are you doing? What was your day like? What challenges are you facing? Can I do something for you?" If you have the right culture, people will open up and tell you what they're going through – and then you can try to think of ways to alleviate it.
I think flexibility has been one of the most important items during these difficult times. If you have somebody that just needs to deliver work – it may not matter if they deliver it at six or at seven, so long as they get the work done. If someone needs to take a break because their children are homeschooling, or someone is at home sick, try to not micromanage schedules.
“Believe in yourself. Leverage resources, learn skills, and go to an interview. If you fail, try another course or learn another skill and put yourself back out there. See it as an opportunity to identify your weaknesses and focus on where to improve.”
Do you have any advice for womxn that want to change their career to development who already have some years of experience in another field?
I think this is the right time for everyone that wants to transition into a career in tech, not only because there is a lot of demand for technologists, but because there is so much information available to learn from, especially community generated content. You can go to YouTube, you can go to Twitch, and there are resources created by real developers who are doing this work every day. There are so many experts out there sharing everything they know and offering so many courses on a variety of topics, and there are many that are free.
Believe in yourself. Leverage the resources, learn the skills, and go to an interview. If you fail, try another course or learn another skill and put yourself back out there. See it as an opportunity to identify your weaknesses and focus on where to improve and where to fill the gaps.
How do you eventually become comfortable being a female engineer without a CS degree in a group of men with CS degrees?
That's difficult to answer because I am naturally very confident in myself. It may be a result of how I was raised, or my character, but it's not as easy for everyone. I just knew what I knew. I had confidence in my capabilities and my knowledge, regardless of my educational background. I have a lot of experience, and I just think of that when I'm trying to solve a problem.
I did have gaps at certain points, but I studied a lot to fill them, and at some point I stopped thinking about that. I didn't think anymore about whether I had the “right” degree. I go to an architectural meeting and I'm just another architect there. I’m grateful to have a work culture that doesn't focus on a person’s background. On the contrary, they really appreciate a diversity of backgrounds.
Don't focus on what you lack, focus on what you do have. If what you have is experience, then focus on your unique experience. Maybe your colleagues have computer science degrees, but they don't have the amount of experience you do. That’s how you build a diverse team – everyone brings their own value, and in the end, and you're not competing with anyone. Building technology is not about competition to see who has the best idea or who is the best developer. It’s about a group of people working together to complete a project, and that’s what matters.
Have you faced difficulties while being a leading woman in technology?
Of course. Just because I believe in myself doesn’t mean other people do. There are confrontations sometimes. What I tried to do is not to take it too personally. It’s difficult and I learned how to do this slowly over time.
It can also be helpful to deflect. If you're the expert in a room, and you’re speaking, and someone disrespects you, you don't start an argument in that room. You ask them to let you finish what you're saying. Sometimes you have to be a little forceful in that.
And then, you take it back to the subject matter at hand. This is because when you react to an attack in front of a large group of people and you are the minority, you make yourself vulnerable. So you block, you deflect, you get the conversation back on track. This is my approach, and that doesn’t mean it’s the right way or the only way, but for me it has been quite effective.
Learn more about how Pager celebrated Womxn’s History Month in our recent blog post.
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