5 Lessons from our Women in Tech Summit

Women represent half of the world’s population, but as of 2023, they represent less than one-third of the tech workforce across the globe. At Salesforce, we aspire to change this. We’re working to build a workplace that reflects the societies around us. As a company, we’re aiming for 40% of employees globally to be women-identifying and non-binary by the end of 2026.

Salesforce’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Organization under Juan Perez, of which I’m proud to be on the leadership team, believes in this mission deeply. That’s why, on July 27, 2023, we hosted our first-ever CIO Org Women in Tech Summit dedicated to elevating Salesforce’s women and non-binary team members — it’s one step to invest in our team while working toward creating a more equal world.

Our agenda was built around the goals and topics our women and non-binary employees prioritize, from focusing on today’s top needs in the tech landscape to embracing your unique strengths and brand. While this was an internal event at Salesforce, we don’t want to keep the inspiration, education, and empowerment to ourselves. Here’s a look at our top insights:

Lesson #1: Empathy is the Tech Superpower of the Future

Empathy is what makes humans unique and guides the technology we create to be impactful. Building incredible digital experiences starts with empathy for our users — understanding their needs, backgrounds, and perspectives. “Technology is becoming simpler to use, and we are focused on creating a positive user experience with our end-to-end experience knowledge. That is really powerful,” shared Autodesk SVP & CIO, Prakash Kota.

Lesson #2: Connection Is the Foundation of High-Performing Teams

“I am convinced that the number one determining factor of success ... going forward will be connection,” urged DeDe Halfhill, former military commander and expert on leading with humanity in the workplace. While rates of loneliness are beginning to subside from pandemic highs, many continue to feel isolated and disconnected. Not only is it important for us to remedy this for mental health, but connection is also needed for business benefits of employee engagement, collaboration and teamwork, trust and communication, employee retention, wellbeing, and innovation. As leaders, we need to harness our humanness, be vulnerable, and embrace emotional language to fast-track trust and connect deeply with our teams.

Lesson #3: Your Uniqueness Is Your Strength

“What you have to figure out is: what are the skills that you have that are going to help you succeed?”

asked Salesforce President and CFO Amy Weaver. Maybe it’s following your curiosity and love of solving problems, like Oracle CIO Jae Sook Evans. Or recognizing that your kindness is a strength and unapologetically leading with it, like Amy. Remember that there’s no prescribed path or way of doing things. Not only will being authentic free up mental bandwidth, but it’s how you unleash your superpowers and impact.

Lesson #4: Surround Yourself with Experts

All of our presenters are tremendously talented and successful — and yet the topics of self-doubt and nervousness kept bubbling up. How freeing to know that none of us need to know everything in order to be successful! When you own what your strengths are, it’s easier to recognize where you’ll benefit from leaning on others. “I’m good at seeing the big picture, seeing obstacles in the way, and figuring out how to clear the path for the experts who do the work really well,” added Jamf CIO Linh Lam.

Lesson #5: Your Personal Brand Is Built in Moments of Truth

Does your vision for yourself align with the perceptions others have of your personal brand? Because, as Prakash shared, “Whether you like it or not, you have a personal brand.” Living purposefully in your brand builds relationships and unlocks new opportunities. To achieve this, show up for “moments of truth” — which Salesforce Customer Engagement Manager Callie Goertz defines as “your opportunities to influence how others perceive you. They can be any interaction with a stakeholder — from a text message to a presentation.”

Get Inspired With Us

If you’re feeling motivated to join us for moments like these, I invite you to learn more about Salesforce’s CIO Organization.

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