Dear readers,
We are glad to be able to inform you that the year is basically o v e r. đ
âŠwhich doesnât really make any sense because it seems to have been the swiftest year on record, while also feels like it's been going on for half a century. And for many of us, it's been the most agonising weâve ever experienced.
2020: The good, the bad and the ugly
Every year typically has a few defining moments, but the past oneâs contained so many world-changing, paradigm-shifting developments that itâs getting hard to believe weâre not in a simulation thatâs running every possible scenario at once.
In spite of this, we highly recommend that you take three minutes and think about what you are proud of. We did. And it feels great! Some of our biggest accomplishments of 2020 are:
We had some conversations with management about the lack of female representation at the top. We watched TIER hire not one, not two, not three, but we-can't-even-keep-track-of-how-many women in senior management. We don't take credit for that, but...coincidence? We think not!
We changed our webinar series to 100% remote and still managed to have some of our most engaging events yet. We knew you'd like women in mobility, but seriously, retirement planning? We must be getting old.
We dug into the data. Well, one of us did. Our Woman of the Year Rachel Drapper (read more below) interviewed over 40 women and did a lot of other cool analysis to identify key barriers to women using e-scooters. Her findings are our secret for now, but watch the TIER space to see what we come up with next.
We worked hard and we asked for more recognition. And we got it! Being able to share with you and our colleague that we were a finalist for 'Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Year' at WomanTech Network was definitely a highlight. Jury's still out on our pay raises.
But hey, this isnât Instagram where everything is perfect đ, so we also want to share our top challenge: juggling to run initiatives for something we're so passionate about alongside our full time job is not easy. Sometimes the stress got the better of us and, well, let's just say our communication not at 100%.
All of this made us think about you parents out there who might be balancing your careers with other âinitiativesâ đ¶. You are stars!
So to wrap it up, here are some learnings from those more challenging moments of the year:
Purpose and meaning really do matter and having a passion project makes the day-to-day feel easier, despite those extra hours.
Diversity initiatives go farther with the support of others - not only women, but male allies, too.
Communication is number one and collaboration is the key to ignite a movement!
Staying in the Loop
All we want for Christmas is a reading marathon and lucky for us, we have a book recommendation from our colleague Hanife Dagkus to snuggle up with this holiday season:
F*ck Being Humble: Why Self-Promotion Isnât a Dirty Word by Stefanie Sword-Williams
This manifesto shows that the way the entire world has been encouraged to be humble overtakes peopleâs ability to see and share their own skills. Sword-Williams argues that âself-promotionâ shouldnât be looked down uponâespecially among womenâbecause it hinders us from getting our âtrueâ value noticed. She encourages us to dream big, do bigger, and while ticking the achievement boxes, take a minute to give ourselves and others that well-deserved kudos!
HmmmmâŠremember those three minutes you definitely took earlier to consider what you're proud of? Go shout it from the rooftop!
Woman of TIER - 2020
December has Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and more days off than any other month, so we decided it didn't need our Woman of the Month. Instead, we bring you our Woman of the Year: Rachel Drapper.
Whatâs the most memorable thing that happened to you this year? Becoming a new aunt to my beautiful nephew!
What do you like about working at TIER? There are so many things to like about working at TIER: being empowered to work towards a meaningful and progressive goal, being challenged every day in some way or another, getting to learn from people far smarter than yourself. But really, my number one reason has to be the support group and friends I have made through Women of TIER. I look forward to our Thursday lunches every week and know that, whatever the topic or task, I could rely on these talented, devoted and incredibly kind women to help make it a lot more manageable.
What do you want to see more of at TIER? Besides women? đ Genuinely though, I really would like to see more women work at TIER. I truly believe that we can only reach our full potential and create a mobility product that meets the needs of the entire population if that population is represented in the company. This holds true for all identities and abilities, whether that be gender, race or anything else.
What is the most important thing you've learned throughout your career and throughout your time at TIER? No matter how many times it is said, communication is more key than anyone will ever convince you! And you may only realise it after you make some real communication blunders.
Also, always assume best intent - people are mostly good!
What's your career goal in 2021? Finish my masters! And do something interesting in the summer of 2021 - all ideas welcome at the stage.
For our upcoming newsletter, we will start to showcase women outside TIER as well, so if you know someone who should be featured in our newsletter, reply to this newsletter, write a comment below, or send us a messenger pigeon. (And f*ck being humble - you can nominate yourself!)
This year with so many women leaving the workforce, the pay gap widening, and women taking the brunt of the global recession, we want to congratulate you on making it to the almost-end-of-the-weirdest-year many of us will probably (and hopefully) ever live through. And while we donât know what 2021 holds for us, we do know that supporting each other and advocating for one another has never been more important.
Sure this pandemic is far from over, but there's something comforting in the idea that a new year, with shiny â new possibilities â is just around the corner. And we've prepared some really exciting things for you, so watch this space!
Until next year,
Your women of TIER: Galuh, Ligia, Nastya, Rachel, Sadie