On this week’s episode of Women Talk Tech, we are joined by Julia Satov. Julia is an internationally published author in the International Journal of Diversity in Education, and has publications in the Huffington Post and Chief Learning Officer. She is a National Award-Winner for Outstanding Achievement in Organizational Development with a professional career that spans both private and public sectors, working in the legal, academic, finance and now the tech sector. She has a Masters in Education, a Law Clerk Diploma, a Certificate in Professional Ethics and a Certificate in Data-Driven Decision Making.
When Julia was in high school, she thought she might pursue a career in acting. While Julia may have opted for a different path in her career, she believes that the values and skills she developed through her early aspirations, such as working with the public, impacting people, and presentation skills, continue to inform her current professional values within the tech sector.
Throughout her life, and from the very beginning, Julia has been passionate about social justice. As a young student, however, Julia rarely heard language such as “equity”, “inclusion”, and “social justice” in the classroom. For Julia, it was a law course and an ethics course which set her on the unplanned path, leading her towards her career today.
“That really was the impetus for me to start to work in all these different fields, but always in the business of inclusion.”
Julia speaks of the capacity and the willingness of organizations to “Cross the Line” into taking tangible action to create environments based on the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. For Julia, we are past the “do good quotient” of asking business leaders and organizations if they value the work of diversity and inclusion. They do; as people, as leaders, as companies, and brands.
“But the difference now, we’re asking: are you okay to stand in the fire? Are you okay to be vulnerable?… Are you willing to take data and metrics and be incredibly transparent with it? Not only internally, holding yourself, your people, and processes accountable; but externally too.”
Julia’s biggest piece of advice to small tech companies who are just starting up, is to construct your inclusion strategies right into your business strategies. You’ll never find someone who does equity and inclusion work who sees themselves as having a folding chair to pull up to the table. Your strategies for including equity, diversity, and inclusion into your business, should start from the beginning and be included in every process of your company.
“Diversity and Inclusion, often in women roles, are paid less or asked for among many other hats. Pay them well, and pay them because they are at the table with their own seat, not a folding chair.”
Within her work, Julia continues to be a learning and inclusion strategist on fire!
Connect with Julia on social media:
LinkedIn
Twitter
