Employee Spotlight: Susan Ganeshan

To celebrate International Women’s Day we asked Susan Ganeshan, Clearwater’s Chief Marketing Officer, her advice for women in tech:

“Make an effort to listen and promote your fellow women.
Studies have shown that women face unconscious bias from both men and women. In fact, one study revealed that an equal number of women and men will ignore the points made by other women during meetings. Let’s work together to solve this issue.

‘Touch bottom’ on the tech stuff.
Dive deep to gain a better understanding of the numbers, technology, customers, and team. As you rise through the ranks, never forget that the occasional deep dive will uncover beautiful information and enrich your ability to lead.

Math is your friend.
From an early age, woman are often told they aren’t good at math, science and STEM. But if you have a job in tech, you probably already bucked that trend. Now is the time to make sure everyone around us agrees. Make sure you know how to do the necessary math, such as calculating % achievement, % growth, and conversion rates. If not, take the time to learn and pair that knowledge with industry averages so you can benchmark yourself and your function against others.

Don’t be afraid to show emotions.
Early in my career I made a mistake that cost my company about $10,000. I was devastated and went to the ladies room to cry. One of the founders of our company (a woman) walked into the restroom, saw me, hugged me, and said, “I’m so glad I’m not the only one crying in the bathroom.” She was real with me, and it made all the difference. Being real and letting emotions guide us is not a bad thing – it can show our humanity, it can motivate our team, and it has real value in business.”