Leveraging Technology for Women Empowerment
By Alejandra Guzman

Click aqui para español- >Utilizando la tecnología para empoderar a la mujer

During the last year, it has become evident that technology plays a vital role in the workforce. Many of us had to leverage virtual platforms to connect with our teams, clients, and stakeholders to keep our businesses going. As places in the world begin to reopen, technology will continue to be a critical part of our professional experience.

Another evidence of the effects of the pandemic is that it particularly hit hard the female talent pool. Women have the most jobs in the service industry, and this industry which requires face-to-face interaction was heavily affected by lockdowns. Other women were fortunate enough to stay employed during the pandemic, but a lack of childcare services and schools’ shutdowns compounded challenges for workers who are also parents. Daycare centers had to cut their staff, making childcare options less available and, in many instances, more expensive.

Although things are looking better now, lack of childcare availability has been a long-time issue for women in the workforce, prompting them to leave to become mainly caretakers. The current situation has provided an opportunity to question how we can shift the workplace dynamics to be more inclusive and offer the work-life balance that many parents, particularly women, need to stay productive members of our economies.
Although not every business or industry can maximize the use of technology and computers to offer the flexibility of remote work opportunities, the organizations that do ultimately benefit from saving on infrastructure costs, talent retention, and increased productivity.

I’ve recently discovered SheWorks!, a 360-degree platform that provides on-demand access to talent and data analytics. SheWorks! helps companies drive diversity by connecting them with an international pool of certified women while giving tools to hire, monitor, and manage distributed teams. The platform also supports talent directly by offering online resources to continue to enhance and learn new skills. They have partnered with Facebook, Google, SAP, Microsoft, and CISCO to provide access to free courses that allow women to grow and remain competitive.

According to Natalya Spicker, President of SheWorks!, women thrive when given access to remote work. “Prior to the global pandemic, 51 percent of women left the workforce due to lack of flexibility. Millions more lost their jobs following the crisis. As we look to the future, women will be at the core of economic recovery and SheWorks! is on a mission to empower them. We hack the gender unemployment gap by giving women access to remote work opportunities and connecting them with companies scaling their business while being committed to diversity and inclusion. Our 360-degree platform enables companies to grow with on-demand access to an international pool of certified, remote-ready, full-time professional women and tools and data analytics to hire, monitor, and manage distributed teams. It’s a win-win proposition that we firmly believe in.”

Their growing talent pool includes various disciplines, like content developers, writers, data analysts, programmers, and translators. They now have a network of close to 20 thousand women located across 75 countries. The founder of the company, Silvina Moschini, is an Argentinian who believes that technology is changing the future of work and that women should not have to choose between their personal and professional life. Under the philosophy of Sheworks!, the only thing women need to get a job is access to the internet and laptops.

To see how you can offer your talents and become part of Sheworks!, or to learn more about this platform, visit wheresheworks.com