By Betsy Burton
Aragon Research Women in Technology at Transform 2023
Last night, I had the fantastic opportunity to host an engaging panel focused on women in technology at Aragon Research’s Transform 2023 event. Joining me were industry leaders: Niki Hall from Five9, Lucie Buisson representing Contentsquare, Joy Corso of Vonage, and Virginia Davis-Lee from Avaya.
Together, we delved into various topics, including a retrospective on 2023, the challenges confronting women in tech today, and the profound impact of AI and digital labor on our organizations, teams, and businesses.
Reflection on 2023
To kick off the panel, I asked each participant to introduce themselves and share their biggest surprise of 2023. Interestingly, several panelists highlighted their surprise at the rapid uptake of generative AI, citing platforms like OpenAI ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, and Google’s Bard.
What struck them most was how swiftly generative AI became prevalent in both personal and professional spheres, bringing along significant concerns regarding governance, use cases, and security.
Another surprising revelation was the persisting debate between remote work and returning to the office. Some companies enforced mandatory “back to the office” policies, yet they were taken aback by the minimal interpersonal interactions despite everyone being physically present. Some felt that their organization was setting the policy for a five-day office workweek, in the hopes of achieving at least three days in the office. Clearly, the remote versus office work balance remains unresolved.
Women In Technology 2023
Transitioning to the role of women in technology this year, previous discussions on work-life balance, mentoring, diversity encouragement, and building distributed teams were revisited. I inquired about the present-day challenges faced by women in tech.
Several panelists shared how their companies had invested significantly in cultivating diverse leadership and workforces, showcasing strides with a notable presence of women and diverse talents in their senior executive teams.
Despite this progress, they acknowledged there’s still ground to cover. The consensus was a collective drive to mentor and nurture the next generation of leaders. They emphasized the necessity for organizations to foster groups dedicated to exploring opportunities and requirements for women and other underrepresented groups in tech.
During this discussion, we explored both the opportunities and challenges linked to gender gaps in the workforce. Pairing younger employees with seasoned ones emerged as a way to share knowledge mutually. It was emphasized that this mentorship wasn’t a one-way street—older and newer employees learned from each other.
The Impact of AI and Digital Labor
Our dialogue extended to the impact of AI and digital labor. Panelists expressed their struggle in harnessing AI’s potential, especially generative AI, while grappling with governance and management hurdles. Yet, most felt it was still early days in integrating generative AI into their workforce.
We delved into the emergence of digital labor and its gradual integration into businesses. Discussion points revolved around how human employees could collaborate with and harness the potential of digital labor, while also highlighting the importance of managing it effectively. This led us to emphasize the significance of digital ethics and change management in this evolving landscape.
A significant consensus emerged: the responsibility to manage AI and digital labor was not going to rest with companies or governments but primarily with individual business and tech leaders.
Bottom Line
Wrapping up the panel, I asked each panelist for their forward-looking advice.
Several of the panelist emphasized the importance of supporting one another – as women in technology leaders and also as humans and this changing workforce.
They underscored that regardless of technological advancements, our fundamental challenges revolve around people and businesses. They encouraged continued support for each other and our businesses as individuals.
The panel discussion left me invigorated and inspired. Not only was Transform 2023 a lovely celebratory event, but it was a privilege to engage with such a bright, dynamic group of leaders. Their unwavering commitment to supporting each other and guiding the next generation through the complexities ahead was truly commendable.
Get Ready for 2024 with Aragon’s 2023 Q1 Research Agenda!
Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 at 10 AM PT | 1 PM ET
Aragon Research’s 2024 Q1 Agenda
Aragon Research provides the strategic insights and advice you need to help your business navigate disruption and outperform your goals. Our research is designed to help you understand the technologies that will impact your business–using a number of trusted research methodologies that have been proven to help organizations like yours get to business outcomes faster.
On Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, join Aragon Research CEO and Lead Analyst, Jim Lundy for a complimentary webinar as they walk you through Aragon’s Q1 2024 research agenda.
This webinar will cover:
- Aragon’s coverage areas, analysts, and services
- Research offered by Aragon, including Visual Research
- The research agenda for Q1 2024
- Sneak peek at what’s coming in Q2 2024