08 March 2019

Greta Adamo – Marketing Coordinator, Meghana Nalluri – Tech Support,
Gaby Facci – Tech Support Team Lead, Sharndelle Fernandez – Compliance Manager

Sweta Tare – Security Specialist                  Mandeep Kaur ­­– System Administrator

International Women’s Day 2019

In today’s blog post, we look at the ways Afilias AU is supporting women in the technology industry in celebration of International Women’s Day 2019.

As anyone exposed to the online and news communities will know, today, March 8 is International Women’s Day, a day where women’s achievements are annually celebrated right across the world.

Here in the Melbourne office, we held a morning tea with speeches, thank you's and some tasty doughnuts, to recognise the ways the women in the team have actively contributed to supporting the .au namespace.

Everyone in the office joined in, and there were many laughs and acknowledgements of jobs well done.

Women in Tech

There are a range of organisations today whose primary mission is to advocate for women in technology, including global not-for-profit, Girls in Tech. As clearly stated on their website, Girls in Tech work to put an end to gender inequality in high-tech industries and startups.

The three key pillars of Girls in Tech are ‘Empowerment’, ‘Women’, and ‘Education’, which are brought together to uphold their goal of supporting women who are passionate about technology by providing access to a community of similarly minded people.

Like so many organisations around the world, Afilias is proud to maintain these values, and our team in Australia is a great example.

Although a relatively small team, there are a number of women in a variety of roles in the Melbourne office, from Tech Support to System Administration, to Security to Compliance to Marketing.

‘Women in Tech’ communities around the globe collectively strive for education, connectivity and empowerment. These are standards that are supported by us all at Afilias AU, including Technical Support Team Lead, Gaby Facci.

“I find that women who come into this industry are often shy and reluctant to promote their own success because they worry that they sound like they are bragging. This leads them to thinking that it will be hard to progress in the STEM field - but as they see the women around them doing exactly that, it boosts their confidence and facilitates empowerment.”

Gaby is spot on in saying this and as a fellow colleague, I can back her up.

Coming from a non-tech background has been challenging, and even slightly overwhelming at times. It has been a massive learning curve and I have gained many insights into the technology industry and the .au domain name space. I can happily say that as expected, I have been provided the opportunity to expand my knowledge and encouraged to speak my mind.

And no one should expect anything less, especially in the workplace.

While workplace gender equality has improved in recent years, it still has a long way to go. We need to continue to ensure that women, along with everyone else feel that they are valued members of the team.

The team at Afilias AU hope that you have found today’s blog post to be a powerful message in support of International Women’s Day 2019, and we look forward to watching how this space develops into the year ahead, and far beyond.

If you have any questions or feedback, email blog@afilias.com.au and you can expect a response from me, Greta Adamo.