Women in Tech: three paths to success

In light of upcoming International Women’s Day, this coming month we are celebrating the women in our Delivery Hero community. 

Equality starts with representation. We believe that having more women in tech & product roles immensely benefits the corporate environment and beyond. From adding diverse perspectives, to generating more revenue, and creating a more inclusive working environment, Delivery Hero supports diversity in tech and that includes empowering women at work.

We spoke to three of our amazing Heroes about their careers and experiences as women in tech. They shared with us what their day-to-day looks like, how they got started, the challenges and opportunities they faced, and their best advice for women aspiring to get into the technology industry. 

Rose Marsh | Senior Manager Product, talabat

I’m Rose and I’m a Senior Manager in Product at talabat, which is one of Delivery Hero’s brands. I work with the Product and Engineering teams who are focused on our “shopping experience”. This includes the consumer journey from opening the app to ordering and payment.

My day is usually split into three parts. Firstly, coaching the product managers I work with, thinking about strategic opportunities for the future and working out how we can solve problems in the short term. Second is stakeholder management to ensure that we get all the necessary feedback from relevant teams to improve our product. Finally, I focus on operational wellness, which includes all sorts of things from filling recruitment gaps to managing the career development of the rockstars in my team.

Why did you decide to get into tech/product?

I initially started out in publishing. However, at that time the industry was going through an immense digital transformation (thanks to Amazon’s Kindle!) and working out how to provide content in digital form. I jumped at the opportunity to work in digital rather than print media and now here I am!

How are you empowered to do your best at work?

One of the best aspects of talabat and Delivery Hero is how outcome and data-driven it is. This means that so long as you have strong data and insights you can influence change and make decisions. You don’t need to be a Managing Director to make decisions – anyone from a Product Manager to an Engineer or Product Analyst has a say in what we are creating. This is very empowering and inspiring for me and my team. At Delivery Hero there is also a strong desire to lift up other women, to ensure that everyone has a voice in the room.

As you climb the ladder, make sure you extend it for others.

Rose Marsh

What’s your best advice for other women in tech?

My best advice is to see your perspective and experience as an advantage. It’s your USP. Research shows that diversity of opinion makes for better outcomes. Your differences are something valuable that you can bring to the table which is really important. Another thing is that it’s important to seek out communities of women. If they don’t exist, make them. As my colleague would say, “as you climb the ladder, make sure you extend it for others.” I think this is really important as a woman in tech that we boost each other up. 

Kateryna Khotkevych | Software Engineer

My name’s Kateryna and I’ve been working as a software and data engineer at Delivery Hero for three years. Being part of the data product team, my job is to deliver our machine learning solutions to the end user. This includes everything related to data preparation, model deployments, infrastructural parts, data quality, and lots more!

Why did you decide to get into tech?

My entire family is actually in the science and tech industry, so it was quite natural for me. When I was a kid, I used to love computers and spent a lot of time playing on them, so I guess I kind of knew intuitively how to use them.  When I was deciding what to study, it was an easy choice for me.

If you like what you’re doing and put passion and knowledge into it, then you will succeed

Kateryna Khotkevych

How are you empowered to do your best at work?

I feel empowered at work because I’m given the opportunity to do my best work at all times. At Delivery Hero, nothing is different just because I’m a woman, I can just do my work and get on with it. This is really important and empowering to me. I know that some women might have a different experience as a woman in tech, but from personal experience, if you like what you’re doing and put passion and knowledge into it, then you will succeed.

What’s your best advice for other women in tech?

My advice is that if you are interested in maths or science, then follow through with it and go into tech. Just try it out, and pursue what you like! We are always looking for more women to join our amazing team at Delivery Hero, so if you’re interested then definitely consider applying for an open role!

Meike Johanna Maryska | Senior Director Product for Marketing

My name is Meike, I’ve been at Delivery Hero for five years. I started out in Marketing as part of the CRM team. I was responsible for the global rollout of our customer engagement platform and eventually stepped up as the team lead. Then last year I switched over to the Product side of Marketing Tech. As a Senior Director Product for Marketing, my responsibility is to ensure that the products we are building for the Central Marketing Team create value and drive impact for the business overall. 

Why did you decide to get into tech?

It wasn’t a career step that I exactly planned, but when the CRM Tech Lead position became available I was excited to step outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself in this new role with a steep learning curve. I didn’t have an engineering or product background, but I knew the domain very well which was crucial during my onboarding. 

How are you empowered to do your best at work?

In my role, I am being provided with a great deal of autonomy to contribute at scale to make marketing more efficient – this feels extremely empowering. I am very proud to be part of Marketing Tech as our team builds products that help shape the future of Marketing at Delivery Hero. At Delivery Hero, it’s a super fast-paced environment and there is always high pressure to deliver impact for the business and demonstrate the value of your team. Achieving results in such an environment is highly rewarding. 

Be confident, eager to learn and embrace new challenges.

Meike Johanna Maryska

What’s your best advice for other women in tech?

Embrace new challenges: As I mentioned, I didn’t initially have a background in tech or product but I was motivated to solve problems for this company. I often perceive that women feel like they need to comply with every aspect of a new role before they apply. So my recommendation is to instead focus on what motivates you, be confident in your own abilities, and eager to learn on the job. If you have the drive and passion to learn something new my best advice is: Go for it!