Celebrating nCino's Employee Resource Groups: Women nTech

About Women nTech

Women nTech was founded by Cassidy Lamb and Cass Stroehmer in 2021 with the mission of bringing together members of the nCino community to welcome, empower and celebrate the contributions of women. Women nTech aims to elevate the inclusion of women in all facets of the nCino community and is open to all nCino employees. The leadership team of Women nTech includes representation from all of nCino’s office regions: North America, APAC, and EMEA. Currently, the group is led by Kate Mejaski, Nicole Haverly, Sara Izad, and Candace Guido.

“The Women nTech group helps create awareness around the biases, discrepancies and lack of presence that exists for women in the workplace, especially in STEM fields,” says Cass Stroehmer, Manager of Global Customer Success Enablement. “My hope is that my daughters will live in a more equitable society."

Women nTech provides professional and personal development opportunities to members and the nCino community to further the inclusion of women and their experiences into nCino’s award-winning culture. In addition to considering the needs of current employees, the group also collaborates with our recruiters to help bring new talent to the company.

EMEA’s Women nTech chapter partners with several mentorship programs, including Girls in Tech, Digirise and Supermums, all of which pair mentors with mentees or students and aim to support females in their professional roles. The Digital Future Initiative is a partnership between nCino, United Way UK and Circle Collective, a London-based charity, where nCino volunteers lead a series of career insight sessions with the goal of demonstrating to young women the attainability of technology careers.

The APAC team is partnering with local universities and professional industry associations to raise awareness about software engineering roles and opportunities in companies like nCino.

“Whether someone is starting out in their career or looking for a change, there are so many roles available in software,” says Susannah Pondekas, Manager of CSM and Support, APAC. “A lot of people working in the banking sector might be surprised by how transferable their skills are and how easy it can be to switch to a company like nCino and reboot their careers.”

Most recently, Women nTech celebrated Women’s History Month by hosting a social media campaign calling on employees, regardless of gender, to celebrate the professional contributions of women who work at nCino. On International Women’s Day, LinkedIn feeds across the company were full of employees praising and celebrating their female colleagues.

“International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to recognise the achievements of women who are changing the status quo,” says Leila Kagiri, HR Business Partner, EMEA. “May we continue to achieve beyond the limits set for us by ourselves and others.”

The group also hosts fireside chats, where nCino women unpack some of the challenges facing women in the tech and finance industries. Cassidy Lamb, Engineering Enablement Program Manager, explains, “It’s important for Women nTech to facilitate transparent conversations about the issues facing women in the workplace and for those conversations to be intersectional in nature.” The fireside chat held on International Women’s Day’s featured nCino board member Pam Kilday, who shared her journey as a female leader in the financial services industry, and nCino employees Audrey Speicher and Keeley Deller. They provided a range of perspectives on how organizations can better promote gender diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace.

"Our Women nTech group is creating an inclusive community where women can share their experiences, pursue their passions, and unlock their full potential," says Scrum Master and Women n Tech Vice President Kate Mejaski. "I'm so proud of how this group has come together not only to support one another, but also to give back to our community through outreach and philanthropic initiatives. The positive energy and camaraderie within Women nTech is palpable, and it inspires me every single day."

To learn more, check out these resources:

• International Women’s Day 2022 focused on #BreakingTheBias. Here, you can learn more about their mission and get involved.

• Million Women Mentors STEM Connector is a network dedicated to encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

• Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is a global network that inspires bold leadership, research and solutions that advance women in STEM, spark innovation, promote organizational success and drive systemic change.

• National Girls Collective Project (NGCP) is a network of networks that brings together organizations committed to informing and encouraging pursue careers in STEM fields with hopes of advancing the agenda in gender equity.

• Women in Tech is an international non-profit organization on a mission to close the gender gap and to help women embrace technology. They promote girls’ and women’s empowerment around the world, with a focus on Sustainable Development Goal 5b: harnessing technologies.

• Women in Technology (WIT) aims to advance women in technology through a variety of leadership development, technology education, networking and mentoring opportunities for women at all levels of their careers.