Women in tech: ServiceNow’s Cathy Mauzaize

There’s a lot that I have learnt from my 20 years in the tech industry – from navigating complex organisations to the need to put customers first, and the critical importance of strong, motivated teams. But perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learnt in recent years is that digital transformation is not simply a tech discussion; it’s a business output discussion that will be judged solely on the value technology can provide.

Digitalisation is driving growth in companies in terms of changing their businesses, changing how they work with their employees and how they address their customers and drive operations. My goal primarily is to put customers at the centre of everything and bring strategic value to them.

The Middle East has been my hyper growth region and I believe it will be the fastest growth engine for ServiceNow because of our market equation.

As a female senior leader, to give back and to create a space for emerging females to take the stage is vital for me. We cannot deny that we are in a male dominated world. But being a female gives me a different prism in terms of being unique and creating a different kind of connection. When I was younger, it was difficult, and I did face challenges and that’s why it’s important for me to create the space and to push other females and support them. We need to create an environment that’s truly diverse, which is supported by men to promote females in this technology industry.

Attracting women in tech is one of the biggest challenges. We need to create a diverse space – a flexible and hybrid working environment. Flexible working is so important, when a female needs to embrace a family and a career, while also pushing themselves to provide that kind of environment to everybody.

Leaders, be it male or female, need to push women from a young age into STEM. The tech industry needs female workers. The image of tech is not sitting behind a computer coding but to be in front of customers and partners. There is plenty of space in technology for females to come and embrace this career.

As a woman, my goal is to make sure we get this message across louder than ever before. Personally, I spend a lot of my time speaking about diversity in forums, women forums, webinars and ministries. As a company, ServiceNow is supporting and creating the environment of openness, making sure we value and uphold diversity. We are looking into expanding the talent pool and creating a pleasant environment of remote and hybrid work models. We also make sure to respect everybody from every background and job profile.