Women’s History Month at Akamai

March is Women's History Month, a time to celebrate and honor the many incredible women who have significantly impacted our society. From activists and pioneers to artists and entrepreneurs, women have played a crucial role in shaping history and inspiring future generations.

It's an opportunity to learn about the untold stories of women who have made significant contributions to fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), politics, and the arts.

By celebrating Women's History Month, we can shine a light on the achievements of women who have often been overlooked and under appreciated. We can draw inspiration from their courage and determination and work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive society for all.

What is Akamai’s “Women’s Forum” ERG?

Employee Resource Groups, also known in other companies as Business Resource Groups, Diversity Networks, Affinity Groups, or Team Member Networks, are experience or identity based groups that exist within organizations to support their members.?

Employee Resource Groups are positively contributing to employee engagement by creating inclusive communities that bring people together. ERGs also develop their members, providing opportunities for dialogue in a safe psychological space. With the positive business impact achieved by collaborating with business leaders, and encouraging employees to express their opinions, ERGs contribute to driving change and solving organizational challenges.

Akamai has 9 resource groups and one of them is the Women's Forum.?

The Women's Forum is a space to create awareness, share professional challenges, advice and best practices, provide education and help women advance their careers within Akamai.

How we celebrated Women’s History Month??

Akamai's theme this year was #EmbraceEquity . The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably; however, they are inherently different concepts. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.

Around the world, people are having meaningful conversations about why equal opportunities aren't enough and why equality isn't always fair. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. If we truly believe in, value, and embrace equity, women are more likely to have access to what's needed to succeed.

Each one of us can actively support and embrace equity within our sphere of influence. We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek inclusion. Collective activism is what drives change. Forging gender equity isn't limited to women solely fighting the good fight. Allies are incredibly important for women's social, economic, cultural, and political advancement.?

So, on IWD, we engaged in those impactful conversations. Raised awareness to help forge positive change for women.

What Actions did our Akamites take this month?

Showed solidarity by joining in with our IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity Spark campaign and striking the Embrace Equity pose.

Alexandra Virley ,?Christel Maasdorp ,?Boon Cheng Chong ,?Khalil Smith ?and Jashan Bhullar thank you for your amazing pictures and for participating in the campaign!?

Joined Women's Forum and Ohana for a special 'Third Thursdays' collaboration focused on 'Empowerment Through Narrative' with guest speaker Dr. Teresa Villa-Ignacio.

We talked about exploring effective modes of resistance to the disproportionate representation of women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in mainstream narratives. We examined how foregrounding women's and BIPOC perspectives increased individual and organizational success and discussed how cross-cultural and intersectional solidarity promotes equity. All our attendees had an opportunity to share their stories about larger historical movements. The talk concluded with suggestions for creating an intentional, informed, and reflective narrative practice that emphasizes why and how we tell our stories and tips for sustaining a daily writing practice.

What is “Ohana”? Click here and find out.?

Joined our panel sessions to? hear what some of Akamai’s female leaders think about this year’s theme, their experiences, and how they have tried to promote equity within their teams

Women's History Month at the APJ Region!

Kim Salem-Jackson , Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Akamai, visited our office in Japan. Kim shared her career journey and participated in a live Q&A with 374 attendees from APJ!

It was an amazing session for all Akamite attendees that was recorded so everyone could hear our extraordinary Woman Leader speaking about her experience and some fun personal facts.?

Would you like to know more? We gathered some of Kim's unique answers for you to inspire!?

Can we have advice from you to the ladies who want a career step forward?

K: Only limitation is yourself. Tip 1, If your career feels stuck, ask for feedback. Ask your manager, "In your eyes, what do I need to do to grow my career." Tips 2, Setting an explicit goal.

What do you mean by "be uncomfortable"？

K: Be uncomfortable until you are comfortable. The only way to grow is to put yourself in situations that stretch and challenge you to do new things and explore new opportunities. Anything that scares you is probably a good way to grow your career.

Do you look up to anyone?

K: I look up to people around me and learn from everyone.

What is the most constructive feedback, and how does that shape your career?

K: I am a positive person. The best advice I can give you is to be authentic and not try to be what someone else tells you to be.

Women's History Month in India!?

Akamai India celebrated International Women's Day with a panel discussion on #EmbraceEquity with global leaders:

Kate Prouty , SVP Chief Information Officer,

Scott Lerner - VP, Global Services,

and Sandy Ng -Director Talent Acquisition.?

The objective of this panel discussion was to get everyone thinking and talking about gender equity, its importance, and why International Women's Day shouldn't be a "one-day" celebration but a long-term commitment.

Akamai India Women's Forum launched two key initiatives this year:

• Women and Future of Work
• Women's Connect

We had great participation from all employees who pledged to #EmbraceEquity by striking the Embrace Equity pose.

Women's History month in EMEA!

We all have a fire to make a change for women's empowerment, personal and professional development, reducing gaps, and a lot of volunteer spirit for change in the community and society in which we operate. In this spirit, we held a unique and festive Israeli Akamai Women's Forum meeting.

The meeting included inspiring lectures on career development issues that Dalit Yogev-Hirsh shared with us. Later we heard about the home-work balance as Ann Shrayber experienced it and the relocation journey of Hagit Warshavsky and enjoyed the Aliya stories of Rosa Shor, MSc and Amber Mack .

We want to thank our speakers and all the women who took part in the meeting. Special thanks to Einat Hazbani and Shani Katri Yetter for an exciting and inspiring successful meeting!

Employee Unique Stories!?

We wanted to make sure that our Akamite's voices were heard. That's why we posted their amazing stories on our social media channels.?

If you haven't read their stories yet, here is a chance to catch up:?

Angie, Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement (ID&E) Specialist?

Meet Angie Marín , an Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement (ID&E) Specialist at Akamai from Costa Rica.?

She has been working at Akamai for two years. In her free time, she loves reading, traveling, and spending time with her family and dogs.

What do you enjoy most about working at Akamai???

A: Our culture and values, we are One Akamai, so we are always collaborating with people from different backgrounds and with a diversity of skills and ideas. We are constantly learning new things to provide a better service to our customers and to create a great place to work for all Akamai’s employees.

What do you love the most about being a woman?

A: I love the opportunity we have today to decide our own future and to support other women in their own unique fights.

What makes you a strong woman? What fulfills you?

A: Because I have fought against an illness, which many times has seemed bigger than my own strength, but I have woken up every morning grateful for the opportunity to enjoy another day, and that is what fulfills my life.?

How can women stand in solidarity with each other??

A: Stop judging each other; let’s create safe spaces and networks to help each other to raise our voices.

What advice would you give to all women??

A: Be authentic; we are not perfect, and we will fail, but there is always a new day to move forward.

Julie, Wellness Program Manager

Meet Julie Paris , Wellness Program Manager at Akamai from Woburn, MA.

She has been an Akamite for nine years! Julie is a part of the team that creates and implements resources and activities that make it easy (and fun) to stay healthy. In her free time, she loves crafting with her Cricut.?

To celebrate Women's History Month with you, we asked Julie what advice she would give to all women.?

Tell other women and girls about the work that you do. You are doing amazing things, and you can help make them aware of the amazing things they can do with their future!

Julia, an Intern at Corporate Communications

Meet Julia, Corporate Communications intern at Akamai Poland; she has been at Akamai since July 2022. She is from Parczew, a small city in the east of Poland. At Akamai, she works as an intern in the EMEA Comms Team, and I support PR, AR, and internal communications in the region.

In her free time, she enjoys dancing. And she has just started taking West Coast Swing classes. Julia is also learning how to sew clothes! That's amazing!?

At her work, she loves the diversity of her tasks. Thanks to that, there are no boring days, and I can face new challenges every day, Julia says.?

What do you love the most about being a woman?

J: As a woman, I enjoy the support from other women willing to share their experiences and advice.

What makes you a strong woman? What fulfills you?

J: Giving myself permission to explore other things to find what I enjoy in life.?

How can women stand in solidarity with each other?

J: As a woman just starting my career, I think it’s extremely important to give young professionals support in the workplace by giving them opportunities to learn, explore their strengths, face new challenges, and celebrate their first successes with other women.?

What advice would you give to all women?

J: You are already good enough! Go and do the things that you always wanted to do!?

Kasia, Human Resources Business Partner?

Meet Katarzyna Wronka , Human Resources Business Partner at Akamai from Poland. She joined Akamai in 2012, first as a contractor and then, in 2013, as a full-time employee.?

At Akamai, she is an HR Business Partner supporting the Edge division population in Poland. She works with managers on topics related to the development and performance of their teams. In addition, she is a part of some Poland Site Projects, e.g., ChangeX and the branding team.?

In her free time, she loves reading and recently also listening to audiobooks. Her pet peeve is gathering seemingly useless information about the world (like that in Indiana, US, monkeys are not allowed to smoke cigarettes!).

What do you enjoy most about Akamai?

K: I love working at Akamai because of several factors – but let’s name three things – its atmosphere – is flexible, allowing you to engage in topics close to your interest and values; people – are smart and really friendly. And the work itself – I am never bored, and every day brings something new.

What do you love the most about being a woman??

K: Oh, that’s a tricky one! I love wearing dresses, and I have more than 100 dresses in my wardrobe. What I also like about being a woman is that I can be both vulnerable and independent. I love not being afraid to show emotions. It’s about being strong yet kind at the same time.

What makes you a strong woman? What fulfills you??

K: I believe it is a way I was brought up (a big THANKS to my Mom, Dad, and sisters!). My family has made me believe that I can be whoever I want, and no matter what, they love me. The conviction that they have my back is priceless.?

How can women stand in solidarity with each other??

K: I believe that people in general, not only women, shall stand in solidarity with one another! However, sharing experiences, mentoring, and being together in the spirit of sisterhood is something that could lift women up.

What advice would you give to all women??

K: It is difficult to pick one! I would go with – as long as you try, you can never fail.

“Thank you, to all women” video!?

And last but not least! We did a video to thank all women across the world!?Thank you to our amazing Akamites Adrianna Szymura , Akhilesh R D , Aleksandra Gajdek , Ben Mallinson, Gabriela Kurek , Lynn Thompson , Jakub Rz?dca , Julia P?ochocka , Lauren Rollins , Natalia Bogdanowicz-Osso , Ola Dziadecka , Reshmaa MP , Tara Rodts , Valli Rammohan , Marta Fydrych-G?sowska , and Steven Scott for sending your wishes and creating this video with us. #OneAkamai

Make sure to watch it and tag the women that you would like to thank! It's never too late to do that.?

To all the amazing women out there: never forget that you are strong, courageous, and capable of achieving your dreams. Despite the challenges and obstacles you may face, keep pushing forward with determination and resilience. Remember that your unique voice and perspective are valuable and that you have the power to make a difference in the world. Believe in yourself and your abilities, and know that you are capable of greatness. Keep shining bright and inspiring others to do the same.?

You are appreciated, you are valued, and you are loved.

Akamites, Akamai Technologies Team?