>> Announcer: Live from Orlando, Florida,
it's theCUBE,
covering Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing,
brought to you by SiliconANGLE Media.
(light, electronic music)
>> Welcome back to theCUBE's coverage of the Grace Hopper
Conference here in Orlando, Florida.
I'm your host, Rebecca Knight.
We're joined by Joanna Parke.
She is the Group Managing Director,
North America, at ThoughtWorks based in Chicago.
Thanks so much for joining us, Joanna.
>> Thank you, it's a pleasure to be here.
>> Your company is being honored for the second year in a row
as a top company for women technologists by
the Anita Borg Institute.
Tell our viewers what that means.
>> Yeah, we're incredibly proud and super humble
to be recognized again for the second year in a row.
Our journey towards diversity and inclusivity really began
about eight or nine years ago.
It started with the top leadership of the company saying
that this is a crisis in our industry, and we need
to take a stand and we need to do something about it.
So, it's been a long journey.
It's not something that we started a couple of years ago,
so there's been a lot of work by many people over the years
to get us to where we are today,
and we still feel that we have a long way to go.
There's still a lot to do.
>> So, being recognized as a top company
for women technologists,
it obviously means there are many women who work there.
But, what else can a woman technologist looking for a job
expect at ThoughtWorks?
>> So, we think about, not just the aspects of diversity,
which is what is the make up of your work for us look like,
but also put equal if not more importance on inclusivity.
So, you can go out and you can make all sorts of efforts
to hire women or minorities into your company,
but if you don't have a culture and an environment
in which they feel welcome and they feel like
they can succeed and they can bring themselves to work,
then that success won't be very lasting.
So, we've focused not only on the recruiting process
but also our culture, our benefits,
the environment in which we work.
We are a software development company
and we come from a history of agile software practices,
which means that we work together
in a very people-oriented and collaborative way.
So, in some ways we had a little bit of a head start
in that, by working in that way,
our culture was already built to be more team-focused
and collaborative and inclusive,
so that was a good advantage for us when we got started.
>> So, how else do you implement these best practices
of the collaboration and the inclusivity?
Because, I mean, it is one thing to say that we want
everyone to have a voice at the table,
but it's harder to pull off.
>> It is, absolutely.
So, a couple things that we've done over our history,
one is just starting with open conversation.
We talk a lot about unconscious bias,
we do education and training through the workforce,
we try to encourage those uncomfortable conversations
that really create breakthroughs in understanding.
We look for people that are open and curious
in the interview process, and we feel like
if you are open to having your views
about the world challenged, that's a really good sign.
So, that's kind of one step.
Then, I think, when bad behavior arrives,
which it always does,
it's how you react and how you deal with it.
So, making it clear to everyone that
behavior that excludes or belittles others on the team
is not tolerated.
That's not the kind of culture that we want to build.
It's on ongoing process. >> So, how do you call out
the bad behavior, because that's hard to do,
particularly if you're a junior employee.
>> Yes, so we try and create a safe environment
where people feel like,
if I have an issue with someone on my team,
particularly if it's someone more senior than me,
we have a complete open-door and flat organization.
So, anyone can pick up the phone and call me or our CEO
or whoever they feel comfortable talking to.
I think, what happens is, when that happens
and people see action being taken, whether it's feedback
being given or a more serious action,
then it reinforces the fact that it's okay to speak up
and that you are going to be heard and listened to.
>> One of the underlying themes of this conference is
that women technologists have a real responsibility
to have a voice in this industry,
and to shape how the future of software progresses.
Can you talk a little bit more about that,
about what you've seen and observed and also
the perspective of ThoughtWorks on this issue?
>> Absolutely, we all have seen the power
that technology has in transforming our society,
and that is only going to grow over time.
It's not going away.
So, it really impacts every aspect of our life,
whether it's healthcare or how we interact with our family
or how we go to work every day.
Having a diverse set of perspectives that reflects
the makeup of our society is so important.
I was really impressed by Dr. Faith Ilee's keynote
on Wednesday morning-- >> She's at Stanford.
>> Yeah, Stanford and at Google right now as well.
She spoke about the importance of having diverse voices
in the field of artificial intelligence.
She said, no other technology reflects
its designers more than AI,
and it is so critical that we have that diverse set
of voices that are involved in shaping that technology.
>> Is it almost too much though?
As a woman technologist,
not only do you have to be a trailblazer and put up
with a lot of bias and sexism in the industry,
and then you have this added responsibility.
What's your advice to women in the field?
Particularly the young women here
who are at their first Grace Hopper.
>> Absolutely, our CEO--
Sorry, our CTO, Rebecca Parsons,
often says that the reason that she
put up with it for so many years is because she's a geek,
and because she's passionate about technology.
So, when you're in those trying times,
being able to connect with your passion
and know that you're making a difference is so important.
Because, if it's just something that you view as a job,
or a way to make a living,
you don't have that level of passion to get you
through some of the hardships.
So, I think, for me, that sense of responsibility
is kind of a motivating and driving force.
The good news is it will get easier over time.
As we make progress in our industry,
you don't feel so alone.
You start to have other women and other marginalized groups
around you that you can connect with and share experiences.
>> What are some of the most exciting projects
you're working on at ThoughtWorks?
>> We really try to cover a broad landscape of technology.
We think of ourselves as early adopters that can spot
the trends in the industry and help bring them
into the enterprise.
So, we're doing some really exciting things in
the machine-learning space,
around predictive maintenance,
understanding when machine parts are going to fail
and being able to repair them ahead of time.
Things like understanding customer insights through data.
I think those areas are emerging and super exciting.
>> Excellent.
What are you looking for?
Are you here recruiting? >> Absolutely.
>> And, with a top company sticker on your booth,
I'm sure that you are highly sought after.
What are you looking for in a candidate?
>> We for a long time have articulated our strategy
in three words: attitude, aptitude, and integrity.
Because we feel like if we can find a person that has
a passion for learning, the ability to learn,
and the right attitude about that,
we can work with that, right?
The world of technology is changing so fast,
so even if you know the tech of today,
if you don't have that passion and ability to learn,
you're not going to be able to keep up.
So, we really look for people in terms
of those character traits and those people are the kind
of people that are successful and thrive at ThoughtWorks.
>> If you look at the data,
it looks as though there is a looming talent shortage.
Are you worried about that at ThoughtWorks?
What's your-- >> Absolutely.
There is a huge talent gap.
It's growing by the day.
We see it at our clients as well as ourselves.
For me, it really comes down to the responsibility
of society as well as companies to invest
in upscaling our workforce.
We have seen some clients take that investment and realize
that the skills they needed in their workforce
a few years ago look very different from what
they're going to need into the future.
So, we believe strongly in investing in and training
and upscaling our employees.
We help work with our clients to do so as well.
But, I think we can't rely on the existing educational
system to create all of the talent that we're going to need.
It's really going to take investment, I believe,
from society and from companies.
>> And on the job training. >> Absolutely.
There's no replacement for that, right?
You can do the kind of academic and educational studies
but there's no replacement for once you get into
the real world and you're with people
and the day to day challenges arise.
>> Excellent.
Well, Joanna, thanks so much for coming on.
It was a real pleasure talking to you.
>> Thank you, it was my pleasure.
>> We will have more from
the Orange County Convention Center,
the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
just after this.
(light, electronic music)