When it comes to diversity in tech, The Logic Factory is leading by example.

International Women’s Day March 8th 2021

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a time to raise awareness of the ongoing progress of women in the world, to celebrate their achievements and call out continued inequalities. Celebrated yearly on March 8th, the day is marked by celebrations, marches and fundraisers worldwide and is recognized as one of the most important days to celebrate the women’s movement.

This year, The Logic Factory (TLF) announced its new Board, including the assignment of Marjolijn te Velthuis as the new CEO. Marjolijn has been with TLF for just over 3 years, originally being brought on to fill the Chief Operations Officer role. Her decade-long tenure with DELMIA as well as immense knowledge of the software implementation process is what piqued the (then) Board’s interest in her recruitment. Her continuous improvements to TLF’s organization, her positive management style and strive to continually push her teams forward while garnering great amounts of respect from all employees of the company, made her the obvious choice to fill the CEO opening.

Marjolijn’s appointment propels TLF into the future as a progressive pillar in the world of tech and software. It is not an unknown fact that women are severely underrepresented in the tech industry across the globe. Many of the sharpest divisions, surprisingly, are in countries seen as more progressive for gender rights. In the United States, where TLF holds one of its 4 main offices, only 24% of tech jobs are held by women and only 11% of tech executives are women. In Europe, the numbers reflect the same. In the Netherlands, for example, only about 17% of the tech workforce are women.

A true reflection of the conscious movement within the company to encourage, promote and nurture diversification within the TLF workforce can be seen in the statistical spread of positions held by women. Of TLF’s current employees, 38% are women; a number that closely aligns with the 39% overall global percentage of women in the total workforce worldwide. Of the company’s senior management roles, women hold 33% of these positions, more than the global average of 29%. When comparing TLF diversity percentages to those specific to the tech industry, above, the contrast is staggering. Additionally, when looking just at our development and tech center in Ahmedabad, India, 44% of our employees are woman and 40% of our management level positions are women held roles.

While the global and industry specific numbers are sobering, TLF has for years been fighting against these stereotypes. Yearly, the company’s HR teams perform internal audits to determine if any area within their practices needs righting. Across the company, standardized salary grades, promotional assessments, health, and perk benefits are all regularly analyzed to determine if the company is still doing all it can to ensure a fair and equitable work environment. Semi-annual employee satisfaction surveys are sent out and analyzed prior to all company meetings to immediately address any potential roadblocks for employees. Over time, the steady growth in the diversified workforce of TLF, has proven these practices worthy.

For International Women’s Day 2021, we’ve chosen to support the #ChooseToChallenge theme. We spoke with 5 of our female colleagues about their challenges and experiences surrounding their careers; from college through what led them to their work at TLF.

Meet the Women

Allyson LaRose

Allyson is an Industry Process Consultant located in our North American office and has been with TLF for 3 years. She has a degree in Economics and Political Sciences from George Washington University in DC.

Ami Desai

Ami began working for TLF India over 5 years ago, beginning her tenure as the first Quality Engineer and is currently a Team Manager, overseeing a team of Technical Application Experts as well as another team of Front-Line Support personnel. She has a master’s degree in Information and Communication Technology.

Malou De Koning

Malou has been with TLF Netherlands for over 4 years, beginning her tenure as PMO, moving into the Project Manager position and most recently switching roles to Client Executive. She studied Business Administration at HAN University of Applied Sciences.

Ruchi Parikh

Ruchi has been with TLF for over 5 years, joining right out of college. She is originally from India and worked in our Ahmedabad office until 2020 when she immigrated to the USA. (2 weeks before the Pandemic shut the country down!) She now resides in Florida with her husband and works as a Quintiq Specialist for our North American office. She has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.

Jess Ulan

Jess has been with TLF North America for almost 4 years and was one of the first hired when TLF expanded into North America. She has a Chemical Engineering degree from Washington University and is a Senior Industry Process Consultant.

Interview:

As women in tech, you represent a very UNDERREPRESENTED sect of the industry. Our media is full of articles and stories pointing out the disparities surrounding how women are treated, paid, promoted in the world of Technology as opposed to men. Has this been your experience during the growth of your careers? What specific challenges have you faced, or seen as you’ve built your respective careers?

Jess: The most obvious thing that stands out for me is not specific to my career more so my education. I was a chemical engineer major, and it is a heavily male dominated field. It wasn’t unusual to be outnumbered by male students throughout my studies. I would not say I’ve had this same experience once I started working, though. We actually have more women in our office in the US than men! Honestly, I’d say the largest challenge I’ve faced in my career was the perception that I was more capable of the social aspects of working with customers rather than the tech side of things. When you’re the only woman in a room full of men, it can be challenging to get the point across that you are a professional in your field and not just there to move the meeting along. I actually have a funny story about that for later.

Allyson: I’d agree with Jess. I was also in a male dominated major and that is probably the most disparity when it comes to gender diversification I’ve seen in my professional life.

Ami: Coming from two other companies in India to TLF, there was definitely a difference in company culture. Here, you don’t see or feel those disparities like you may do elsewhere, maybe it’s because our Board and upper management is also diverse. When I started, I was new to the city and had moved away from my entire support system to work here. Back then, I was the first Quality Engineer for the company, but I never once felt unsupported. It can be unsafe for women to work later… having to travel home in the dark. This can lead to women being overlooked for certain positions or promotions, but at TLF I immediately had a support system. Since we are a global company, our working hours are sometimes shifted later in the day, to support the time zone differences. If I ever had to or wanted to work past dark, my male colleagues made sure I made it home safely. This allowed me to really grow my position, not having that extra external factor to worry about. It seems small, but it really means a lot to have such support and recognition of my safety.

Let’s talk TLF specific. Is there a particular instance that stands out in your time with TLF where you felt particularly supported, especially as a woman?

Ruchi: I joined TLF India right out of college as the one of the first female Quintiq Specialists in our office. So not only was I new to the working world, but I was coming into a male dominated position within the company. I was extremely nervous, but all of my colleagues were so helpful and friendly. A lot of companies say ‘we’re like family’ but at TLF, it is true. In India, many of our colleagues see each other outside of work, their families are friends and it’s a whole support system, like Ami mentioned above. Then, when I got married, my husband was a US dual citizen and I realized we would be moving to the US. TLF fully embraced my move and supported my transition from the Indian office to our US office. I ended up landing in Florida about 2 weeks before the pandemic shut everything down but working for TLF made that whole shock to my system a bit easier. It was nice having familiar faces and voices to talk to daily while I adjusted to my new surroundings.

Jess: So my funny story I mentioned earlier: We were onsite with a big customer in the US. It was me, Eric (our CEO at the time) and our project manager (male) and we were there in a room with about 20 other men of varying management levels. I had to present our plans for their project. I was so nervous, not only was I the ONLY female in the room, I’m pretty sure I was also the youngest in the room. The presentation went amazing, and I was so pleasantly surprised by the attentiveness, and respect given by every person there. Looking back at it, it’s a shame that my initial reaction was to be nervous, but I think it shows the changes that our happening in our society; that a young, woman can lead a discussion and presentation in a room full of men without having her ability called into question.

Malou: So for me, I also came to TLF almost right out of college and have grown in my career here immensely. I’ve really felt that the entire time here, I was supported to take my role and grow it as much as I wanted to. I’m not sure I would have had that same opportunity many other places.

Also my partner and I had a baby just under a year ago. It never crossed my mind to be nervous about announcing that we were expecting at work, and I think that’s an important thing to note. I’ve never felt the need to hide who I was at work. They really support us fully, not only through our work but for who we are and our beliefs. When COVID hit, we found ourselves with a newborn at home and little way of help because of day cares being closed. I was able to work out a rotating schedule to ensure my daughter always had care and still keep my career moving forward. That kind of flexibility and trust in their employees is so valuable. TLF takes work life balance seriously.

Speaking of parenting, we all know that this is a big area where men and women are treated differently in the workforce. We’ve all heard stories about women being turned down for positions when they are found to be pregnant or made to go back to work just days after having a baby or risk losing their jobs. It seems as though this is another obstacle women have to consider when planning out their careers. How do you feel TLF stacks up against other companies, both in tech as well as in general?

Allyson: I don’t have kids, but I have seen how TLF has worked with my female colleagues who were hit hard by the Pandemic shutdowns. You hear about the scary statistics: that this pandemic has put women’s progress back YEARS due to the responsibility of childrearing falling solely on their shoulders, from handling virtual schooling, to general 24/7 care that is now thrusted onto them on top of their careers.

I will say, it really seems as though TLF has stepped up to help their employees who are parents. Not only the moms, but also the dads. (I think that’s pretty important. They’ve given the dads as much leeway to be flexible to help their wives distribute the at home, child rearing, work. I think that shows they think of the bigger societal picture, not just their individual company needs.) It really has been pretty heartening to see the company I work for truly support their employees during this time.

Ami: Pre- COVID-19 times, one of my team members was pregnant and needed accommodations in order to work. I remember she had assumed that because of this, she would have to leave her position. We had not had this type of issue arise with our office prior, so we didn’t really have any formal policy in place, but I knew I didn’t want her to leave solely because of these issues. When I approached upper management with my plan for accommodations, they were fully supported and even built upon. It was a wonderful feeling being able to offer her the ability to continue on with her career, safely, as she also pursued becoming a mother. This was also an area I felt having a woman in management was so important, because she felt comfortable enough to have these types of conversations with me. Not only was she supported during this time, but I too was supported in my leadership role to make decisions that could become policy.

What were your initial impressions upon hearing Marjolijn being appointed CEO?

Jess: Initial first impression was excitement. Honestly, she’s the best person for the role. She’s such an intelligent, strong and capable leader… it was kind of a no brainer when they announced it! I didn’t even think about… ‘oh wow, a woman leader’ it was more so the obvious choice. Her being a woman is just a bonus, especially in terms of overall progressiveness.

Allyson: Exactly! My first thought wasn’t “omg a woman! Cool!” It was, ‘she’s absolutely the most capable and best choice for this role.’

Ami: It is so important to have strong leadership. Marjolijn is the definition of strong leadership and working for a company with such a strong leader who is also a woman, sets such a great example for how people should perceive our company culture.

Malou: One of my favorite things about TLF is that as we’ve grown bigger, with more employees, the ‘open door’ culture has remained. Since day one through now, we’ve always had such close working relationships with all of our upper management. Marjolijn moving into the CEO role hasn’t changed a thing about her availability to the employees, and that continues to be invaluable. She’s a wealth of knowledge and I’m really excited to see where she takes things and how the company continues to grow.

Any other things you’d like to add for International Women’s Day?

Allyson: It’s silly right? The fact that we need to have an International Women’s Day… it’s so obvious that, yes, we should be and are all equal.

I think it should feel strange to have these holidays! That’s a good sign that we’re moving in the right direction, but there is still work that needs to be done. There are still unconscious biases that need to be continually addressed and called out. It’s real. Women are even guilty of this. Equality isn’t going to happen on it’s own, and it’s never going to be something that can just stopped being worked on.

For more information on how you can help bring awareness to the women’s movement, for some great women’s run organizations you can support, or for general info on the International Women’s Day challenge, please visit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

About The Logic Factory

As a Platinum Dassault Systèmes DELMIA implementation partner, The Logic Factory offers complete project management, business and implementation consultancy as well as development expertise in implementing DELMIA Supply Chain Planning and Optimization Software (SCP&O) applications. TLF offers its customers utilizing a DELMIA SCP&O application a flexible, fully integrated range of software maintenance, support, control, and hosting services. Service levels are fully customizable and can include anything from corrective maintenance and incident management to regular preventive check-ups and proactive system management.

The Logic Factory specializes in developing solutions for customers in various industries such as logistics, manufacturing, maritime and aviation. Headquartered in The Netherlands, The Logic Factory also has offices in the USA, the UK and India. For more information visit thelogicfactory.com.