Tell us a bit about your background.
I started my career in business and advertising. In my early career, I would say I’ve touched upon almost all areas of business management from financial modeling to product marketing. The operational hands-on experience taught me how to successfully take an idea from concept to completion and prepared me for what I’m doing today.
What inspired you to build Products by Women and what is the organization's mission?
In late 2019, as a new mom and having just switched career paths, I was seeking mentorship and trying to build a support circle for myself. Through my experiences and interactions, I quickly realized that there was a gap and not enough focus on mentorship for early to mid-career women in Tech. I also started noticing the lack of gender diversity in Tech, which is still very prevalent today. The tech industry still sadly lags compared to other industries when it comes to hiring and mentoring women. Women software engineer hires have only increased 2% over the last 20 years.
I wanted to acknowledge and tackle the barriers women face for entry to mid-level positions in Tech. Products by Women was then founded. We offer women the opportunity to connect and learn from peers from around the world, find skill-based jobs and training, and match them with mentors to accelerate their career.
What has Products by Women accomplished since its founding?
In less than a year, we have partnered with organizations and speakers including Glossier, Forbes, Etsy, Amazon, Audible, Squarespace, Columbia University, OXO, Compass and many smaller to medium sized companies and start-ups from all over the world. Post COVID, we are seeing a double digit week on week growth in subscribers from America, Europe and Asia.
You’ve spent most of your career in Product Management, which is constantly evolving. Can you attest to that? What sectors do you see a need for innovation?
Change is the only constant in product management, things are always changing and so are ideas, goals, objectives, and product features. Personally, I think education, agriculture, femcare, and water and sanitation are a few sectors that will see some exciting and much needed innovation in the next few years.
How do you continually evolve and stay innovative within the ever-changing product space?
I am a huge advocate of continuous learning, which involves reading, seeking feedback, and mentorship. I leverage technology by customizing my social feeds and news, subscribe to newsletters and podcasts, and most importantly, I continually network.
Reach out to Naimeesha on Linkedin.