Jolie Durand

Jolie Durand

Job title: Software Designer (Visual and UX)

Years working in the tech industry: 1

On positive change for women within the tech industry:

We’re at least working on it. I work at IBM, and just today they announced they’d be giving 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, which is big! I know other companies do the same and some offer more time off, but there’s something so special when a company that’s over 100 years old does something like that. They’re lightening a burden by doing stuff like that for women. They’re telling us that it’s completely appropriate to have a career and start a family, we aren’t a burden to our teams or the company because of this. I think that type of change directly contributes to retaining talent within the company.

On inspiration from other women:

It’s been a community of women that’s helped me along the way. They come from different lifestyles, careers and backgrounds, but they’ve all been disciplined, passionate and hard-working (among many other traits). I’m so thankful to have had so many strong women throughout my life, because through their accumulated teachings, I’ve compounded so much drive and determination.

On management getting it right:

Currently I’ve got an incredible manager who explicitly goes out of his way to make sure I’m on the right track in my career, that my workload is manageable, and that when my team and I are working tirelessly to deliver files, he makes it known that he appreciateds and sees our hard work. I feel pretty lucky, actually.

On how women can create lasting change in the realm of gender equality in tech:

I believe staying present and active in your industry, corralling other like-minded women together as support, and not giving up or settling will have a lasting impact. It’s so much easier said than done, I know. But we can all continue to support women of purpose going into leadership roles — you’ve got to have strong backing distributed throughout a company to make lasting and long-standing changes.