Global Tech Leader: Why Collaborating And Supporting Women in Tech Is Urgent

Kristin Naragon, VP of global marketing and strategy at Akeneo, at a recent conference.

The customer may or may not be always right, but Kristin Naragon tries to always do right by the customer. She also tries always to do right to create gender fairness, equity and inclusion for women in tech.

As VP of global marketing and strategy at Akeneo, a product experience platform for more than 600 companies such as Sephora, Forever 21, Carhartt and more, Naragon works on global strategies for better customer experiences. And after recently receiving $135 million in series D funding for Akeneo, Naragon is on a mission to make that happen.

“As VP of global marketing and strategy at @Akeneopim, @KWieberNaragon tries always to do right to create #gender fairness, #equity and inclusion for #womenintech.”

But global marketing and martech were not always on her radar.

Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Naragon says she looked to Penn State to prepare for career options, as her father and brother were alums. Starting out as pre-med, she says she decided marketing and psychology were her strengths, and she graduated from Penn State in 2001.

After working in fundraising for nonprofits for a few years, Naragon began working for Harvard Business School in 2005 in external relations.

“I wanted to understand what this type of fundraising was,” she says. And working with alumni, she was “influenced by the stories the alumni told about the impact Harvard Business School had on their lives.”

So she enrolled in HBS and earned her Harvard MBA in 2009, before starting at Neolane in 2010 as strategic alliances manager, where she worked until 2013, before it was sold to Adobe for $600 million in 2014. She stayed with Adobe until 2020, when she was head of GTM (Go to Market) strategy.

“It was eye-opening,” Naragon says. At the time, enterprise sales in martech was gendered in favor of men. “I know strong female leaders doing well, but there are pockets such as sales, engineering and product management that are way underrepresented. That makes it a challenge.”

“Women account for about 32% of the tech industry’s workers — three percentage points less than in 1984, says a joint study by Girls Who Code and Accenture,” according to CNBC.

And those in tech report they are not treated fairly.

According to TechCrunch, a new survey by Web Summit of women in tech globally, “found that over the last 12 months, almost 67% feel they are paid unfairly compared to their male counterparts. In 2019, 46.4% of respondents thought themselves to be paid fairly, while in 2022 this figure fell to 33.1%.And half (49.5%) had experienced sexism in the workplace.”

“According to @TechCrunch, a new survey by @WebSummit of #womenintech globally, “found that over the last 12 months, almost 67% feel they are paid unfairly compared to their male counterparts.” #genderbias”

Tech Crunch reports, “It also found over 62% felt pressure to choose between career and family at least some of the time, and 70% feel they need to work harder to prove themselves to others because of their gender. Although 92% felt confident in their own ability to do their job, 70% said they have been made to feel they need, because of their gender, to work harder to prove themselves in their roles, a stark increase from the same survey in 2019 when that figure was 44%.”

As a woman in tech, Naragon says, “the microaggressions and blatant aggressions were happening. Women entering tech now have a lot more peers than when I was starting out. Still, they have a long way to go.”

“As a #womanintech, @KWieberNaragon says, “the #microaggressions and blatant aggressions were happening. Women entering tech now have a lot more peers than when I was starting out. Still, they have a long way to go.””

A new study of 2,000 workers by Traliant, shows fear of retaliation may be holding employees back from voicing their concerns. “The survey uncovered employees who were witness to unethical behavior in the past year, as well as targets of retaliation. Alarmingly, most employees reported feeling uncomfortable filing a complaint out of concerns it won’t be confidential.”

The study reports, “Employees who trust their organization said they’re more likely to work overtime (56.5%), stick it out in uncertain times (50.6%) and advocate for their company (54.2%). On the flip side, when employees don’t trust their organization, they’re less committed (43.8%), less willing to take on extra responsibilities (44.7%) and don’t feel connected to the company (56.3%)”

According to the Traliant study, “If companies are to rid their workplaces from unethical behaviors and practices, HR and business leaders must prioritize building a ‘speak up’ culture. As we approach 2023, it’s a great time to leave old, outdated practices and policies and build a workplace that both leaders and employees want to work in.” 

“According to a new study of 2,000 workers by @Traliant, “If companies are to rid their workplaces from unethical behaviors and practices, #HR and business leaders must prioritize building a ‘speak up’ culture.” #workplaceculture”

Maria D'Avanzo, Chief Evangelist Officer at Traliant, adds, “Since before the #MeToo movement, pay inequality and workplace harassment have been long standing issues facing most women, regardless of industry. While these challenges are not exclusive to women in tech, historically, male-dominated industries such as tech tend to evolve more slowly than others. Women in tech are more often in the minority and, as a result, are less likely to come forward for fear that their concerns won’t be addressed, or worse that they will be retaliated against.”

Additionally, D’Avanzo says, ”That’s why it’s imperative that the women who have achieved success in these industries have the courage to demand that their companies create cultures in which employee are encouraged to report their concerns, and those concerns are then investigated and result in appropriate disciplinary action.”      

Naragon would agree. She adds, “One of my takeaways is that since there are so few women in C-suite roles in tech, you cannot rely on them to pull us up. My message is we need to seek out peers, women below and above us to collaborate with specifically. Little tactics are a tidal wave of energy.”

““One of my takeaways is that since there are so few #women in #Csuite roles in #tech, you cannot rely on them to pull us up. My message is we need to seek out peers to collaborate with specifically. Little tactics are a tidal wave of energy.” — @KwieberNaragon”

What Naragon means is supporting other women in meetings and speaking up to amplify each others’ voices, collaborating and creating together is powerful.

“You have to find and nurture these relationships so it’s not just you chipping away at it on your own.”

In a recent interview with the BBC, “Apple chief executive Tim Cook says there are still ‘not enough women at the table’ at the world's tech firms - including his own. Cook said technology ‘will not achieve nearly what it could achieve’ without a more diverse workforce and that there were ‘no good excuses’ for the lack of women in the sector.” 

A key part of equity is understanding your value, she says, with support of mentors and community and communicating that directly.

“A key part of #equity is understanding your value, @KWieberNaragon says, with support of mentors and community and communicating that directly. ”

“You need nurturing career circles, a group of women who are an independent board of advisors,” Naragon says, who has meetings in person and on zoom monthly with six colleagues.

The challenges of COVID exacerbated gender gaps in the workplace and highlighted the need for employees to tend to childcare, elder care and home care, which often fell on women as primary caregivers. Naragon says the positive is that, “We are moving towards workplaces that are more compassionate.”

With two dozen team members on her global team in the U.S., U.K, Germany, France,and Australia, Naragon says as a leader she looks to building communication, and “to give people ownership and visibility” for their work and ideas.

“The challenges of #COVID exacerbated gender gaps in the #workplace and highlighted the need for employees to tend to childcare, elder care and home care, which often fell on women as primary caregivers. ”

With two children and a husband who is a stay at home dad, Naragon says she is aware of the benefits she has and how her career and life have changed since she started out after college.

“I used to make lists of college of milestones—have a kid, have this title, have this salary,” she says. “More recently my lists have been more about what do I need now, what is rewarding. I continually evaluate what is important to me on the personal side.”

She adds, “I feel really grateful and I am getting comfortable with the tradeoffs knowing that what I want and need now is not what I wanted before or what I need in the future.”