HP Stephanie Dismore, Women in Tech Q&A

Attributed to Maria Yap, VP of Digital Imaging, Adobe

?1. Maria, I’m curious to know – you graduated with a degree in Design and Communications, what inspired you to take the leap into the tech industry?

Growing up, creativity was my fuel. I never felt I was good at drawing or painting, but I did like art and the concept of creating which led me to photography and, later on, graphic design. I started my professional journey in the design world, just as the desktop publishing revolution began. When my alma mater American University decided to invest in emerging technologies, they brought me in to advise on cutting-edge software programs and I eventually became an assistant professor. Around that time, I also launched my own design company.

As a creatively curious individual, I wanted to know how the products I used in my roles as business owner and educator were built — it was through tenacity and being on the ground, taking in everything my colleagues had to teach, that pushed me to take the leap into tech. The main catalyst that led me to join Adobe in 1998 was following my passion for creating a culture of curiosity and innovation. I think my professional journey is a great example that “risky” career moves can pay off and the “unproved” woman can indeed be one of your most valuable players.

?2. Did you find it challenging - in the beginning of your career - working alongside colleagues with advanced technical degrees, and if so, how did you navigate that space?

As I moved up in my career at Adobe, I was constantly challenged as one of the few women in the room being surrounded by men with advanced technical degrees. Rather than compare myself to others, I focused on my strengths: I understood the target customer well, could easily translate creative professional workflows to engineers and also understand and manage team dynamics efficiently.

Although I didn’t come to Adobe with the level of technical knowledge and the experience many of my colleagues had, I worked to develop a reputation of consistently delivering high-quality products and executing complex projects. Now, more than two decades later, I’ve had the distinct privilege to lead a high-performing team through some major launches, and I’m proud of the role I played in creating a team with rich and diverse experiences who can come together to be curious, creative and innovative.

?3. We’ve both spent over two decades with our employers, me at HP and you at Adobe. How have you seen the employee experience change for women and other underrepresented groups over that time?

At Adobe, we’ve always committed to doing the right thing by focusing on people, purpose and community. It’s in our DNA to constantly ask ourselves what more can we do to improve the employee experience for everyone, including underrepresented communities. In the last two decades, I’ve had the distinct privilege to see these values put into action. Most recently, I’ve noticed a shift in how we think about and measure success. It’s becoming more and more important to recognize not just what you do, but how you do it – are you working thoughtfully and collaboratively to bring others along?

In the industry, I’ve seen greater representation of women and underrepresented communities at all levels of leadership. I believe that’s partly because leaders are finally acknowledging the business value of diversity and inclusion, but there’s still much work to be done.

?4. In general, what do you see as the biggest challenge women who want to take on leadership roles face and how can we better address that as an industry?

I feel that often women are encouraged to either not share their ideas unless they are fully formed or told to not ask questions at the risk of sounding inadequate. Having often been the only woman, and - in addition - the only woman of color, in many rooms during my career, I know how challenging it can be to stand up in a space that traditionally excluded people like me.?

Leaders have a responsibility to empower women to speak up, speak out, ask questions, and bring their whole selves to work. Whether it’s how to navigate your career, build influence or speak up in a meeting, I think we would be remiss to not share our wisdom with other women. As a woman and a leader in tech, I often stress how important it is to ask ourselves, “Why wouldn’t we, as women, have a seat at a table that has historically always been filled primarily with men?”

5. This is one question I always ask: What’s a piece of advice you’d give your younger self?

To this day, the best piece of advice I ever received came from my father, who would always ask me, “What is the worst that could happen?” I would take that one step further and encourage my younger self to pause whenever I felt scared or unsure and ask myself, “What is the best that could happen?” Taking risks is always scary, but we can cultivate courage and strength by simply considering the positive possibilities.