Our Women in Tech Employee Resource Group (ERG) is a space where members support one another, validate the challenges unique to women working in tech, and brainstorm solutions. The group cultivates an inclusive and safe environment that supports and encourages women to advance their skills and leadership in the tech industry through connection, mentorship, collaboration, and discussion.
Women in Tech leader and Senior Software Engineer, Cat Plevak, shares about the ERG and her experience working at Uplight.
What are your roles and what do you do at Uplight?
I’m a Software Engineer with a focus on Front-end/UI engineering and am currently moving into more of a management role. I also lead the Women In Tech ERG and am an active member of the Conscious Leadership Guild as well as the Front-end Engineering Guild.
Tell me about the Women in Tech Employee Resource Group, its members, and the group’s goals.
The Women In Tech (WIT) group started because of a simple desire to interact and bond with more women at work. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that tech is still an incredibly male-dominated field, and this really impacts the experience that women have at work. This is especially true in software engineering. So, the initial idea was to create a dedicated space for women engineers to connect, share ideas on technical topics, support and mentor each other, and ideate how we can help our engineering department move towards gender parity.
Shortly after the ERG was launched, it was made clear that there are women all over the company (not just in engineering) who were interested in being a part of our community, so we expanded the target audience to include anyone who identifies as a woman at Uplight!
The group is multi-faceted, allowing women to choose their level of involvement and participation. We host bi-weekly casual coffee chats for connecting with each other. We also have a monthly meeting where we discuss more concrete initiatives. Currently, the ERG is working with our parent ERG (Organized Marginalized Genders of Uplight) to host small group sessions on psychological safety. We also host company-wide events for things like Women’s Equality Day.
Along with hosting larger events, WIT is also working on putting together a peer mentoring program for women who are interested in learning more about software engineering or are actively working on transitioning into the field.
What do you think Uplight should aspire to be or do to better support Women in Tech?
Uplight needs to continue to focus on creating gender parity across departments and asking for/listening to feedback on how we can improve as a company.
What would you say to other women who work in tech who are looking at working at Uplight?
Uplight is a great place to work if you want to create an impact. As a company, we are growing and changing quickly, and there are so many opportunities to be heard and do amazing things.
Interested in working for a mission-driven, values-oriented leader in clean technology? Join us! Visit https://uplight.com/careers/.
