Bryq prides ourselves on our commitment to the career development of females in the tech industry. 

This Women's History Month, we are pleased to announce our latest interview series, where we sit down with some of Bryq's fantastic female leadership to talk to them about what it's like to be a woman in the workforce. First up is Emily Ely, Bryq's Customer Success Lead!

Emily has been working at Bryq for nearly two years, ensuring the success of every Bryq customer using our talent intelligence product. Thanks to her leadership, she has successfully managed a team of customer success representatives and has led many important customer-related projects. Take a look at what she had to say below!

What are some obstacles you’ve faced in your career that you wish to see eradicated for the next generation of female leaders?

Emily Ely: The decision of if and when to start a family, and what to sacrifice to do so. I knew that I didn’t want to be a stay-at-home mom, and so many things around me confirmed the thought that I had to stay at home if I had a child. I worked a full day Wednesday before my child was born on Friday; and I was back at work 6 weeks later. It was impossible to balance my work and pumping so that I could continue to breastfeed. I had a wonderful kid, but those early years are hard memories for me- mostly due to the pressure of parenting like I didn’t work, and working like I didn’t have a kid.

What does a female-friendly workplace look like to you?

Emily Ely: It looks like an employee-focused workplace. Employee-focused workplaces create policies and processes to ensure that employees get what they need to be the most productive. The best processes are created by people familiar with the details of barriers and benefits associated with the need.

Women make up 50% of the population and that’s mostly represented by the number of women in the workplace. But in 2022 only 15% of the CEOs in the Fortune 500 are women- and that’s a huge increase from previous years! By lacking representation on the executive level; decisions regarding employee support and “friendly” policies are only representative of a portion of the population. It’s likely that the CEOs of firms believe they are being inclusive and thoughtful, but until they have lived experience that looks like their employees’ experiences, they’ll always be lacking.

What are some small or big ways you believe companies can better uplift and empower their female workforce? 

Emily Ely: Just get out of the damn way! I’ve had poor policies anchor me down, I’ve had societal norms handcuff me and I’ve had gender stereotypes drown me. If leaders can eliminate the barriers and set a level playing field- then we wouldn’t need to be uplifted or empowered.

What female inspires you to be the leader you are today?

Emily Ely: Abby Wambach - On July 13, 2016 Abby, Peyton Manning and Kobe Bryant all won ESPN Icon Awards. After leaving the stage she realized: “We just got the same damn award. The same sweat, the same sacrifice. Yet the three of us were walking into three very different retirements.”

It’s not about me working harder, or encouraging little girls to be diligent and be strong; it’s about changing the system to recognize our contribution equally.

It's clear that Emily has already left a huge mark at Bryq. We appreciate all of the hard work she has and are excited to see what she does next!

Stay tuned for the rest of our Women's History Month interview series in the forthcoming weeks.