This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the female leadership that has contributed to Flashtalking’s success across the globe. We stopped to ask a few of our female colleagues about their lives, their careers, and what has inspired them to reach where they are today.
LUCY HAHN
Head of Client Operations, EMEA
Is there a female figure in your life who has particularly inspired you? If so, why? What about her inspired you?
My sister-in-law, Naomi Hahn inspired me to work in the advertising industry. When I graduated from university and felt a bit lost with career options, she suggested media and introduced me to my first job at Maxus. When I look at her career then and now, she has achieved great things and showed me that women in advertising were able to rise to the top and forge ahead in an exciting and challenging industry.
Have there been any distinct challenges you've faced as a woman in your career—or life in general—that have been key in defining who you are today? How did you overcome those challenges?
I found myself in a situation where it became apparent that I was being paid significantly less than two male colleagues doing the same job with the same experience (perhaps even less experience than I had). I dealt with the situation the way I like to handle most situations in life: head on and honestly. Explaining how I had come about the information, what I wanted done and that I wanted to encourage more transparency and equality across the business, which I feel was achieved.
GIORGIA COSTA
CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR, ITALY
What is one thing about yourself or your achievements that you're most proud of?
I’m the proud mom of two amazing children (and I bet any mom in the world would say the same… it’s part of the game!) but after that I’ve always been able to remain just Giorgia.
I think it’s been vital to prove to myself and others that it’s possible as a women to just be yourself with your own unique interests and challenges—outside of all the roles you fill for family, friends and colleagues. I hated running but I challenged myself and started. Slowly I realized that I was improving, and so I entered—and completed—a half marathon!
What advice would you give to young women who aspire to leadership roles in the tech industry?
Don’t let anyone say that tech, the web or programming are male-only worlds. I’ve always been attracted to coding since high school. At university I remember long hours (mainly at night) playing with HTML to see web pages come into life. If you follow your passion, you’ll rarely fail. Maybe it will be difficult at the very beginning, but there’s nothing like the fire inside you to lead you to success.
AMANDA GLEN
VP of Strategy
Is there a female figure in your life who has particularly inspired you? If so, why? What about her inspired you?
I have a core group of rockstar women in my life who inspire me on a regular basis: friends, mothers, current and past colleagues. They each bring a unique perspective and inspire me in their own way. Female friendship, built on meaningful conversation, pushes me to constantly evolve. We are all unfinished—constant reminders from these women inspire me to push for my best self.
What advice would you give to young women who aspire to leadership roles in the tech industry?
Be intellectually curious, take up space, and most of all, be yourself. Many organizations have holes; find a hole where your skill set and interests can align and fill it. Doing so will help you add value to the organization and in turn make you a better leader.
What is one thing about yourself or your achievements that you're most proud of?
Owning my positive energy. Positivity creates a ripple effect, and when you affect others, even if for a moment or a meeting, it makes an impact. It's contagious. At the end of the day, we're all in this together.
Hear more inspiration from our female leaders in Part II and Part III of this series!
