Last June, we were honored to once again participate in the European Women in Tech conference held in Amsterdam. This renowned event brought together thousands of developers and engineers from around the globe with a shared mission: to champion and empower women in the technology industry.
The focal point of the 2024 edition was “Human X Digital”: the fusion of our physical world with the digital landscape. Over these days, participants delved into the dynamic interplay between “humans and the digital AI era,” exploring how they intersect and shape each other and how these dynamics can be harnessed to forge a brighter future for all. By scrutinizing this convergence’s potential advantages and risks, attendees sought fresh avenues for innovation and advancement.
DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) is ingrained in Criteo’s core values. Our firm conviction lies in shaping a more inclusive industry and centering our culture around our employees. We are dedicated to championing women in their career paths and advocating for equal opportunities in the tech sector, which drove our decision to endorse and sponsor this event.
Criteo’s Talk: Unleashing Creativity and Navigating Privacy: The Dual Edges of Generative AI
Jaspreet Kaur Sandhu, a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, and Arij SAKHRAOUI, a Machine Learning Engineer, presented a unique perspective on the challenges posed by the current Generative AI era, which is significantly impacting our world.
They delved deep into the intriguing realm of Generative AI to grasp the underlying models and their functionality. Their exploration extended to examining its influence across various sectors, particularly in advertising, and the ethical dilemmas arising from its widespread adoption.
Expanding on the fundamentals of Generative AI, they further scrutinized the critical aspect of privacy within this domain. Their analysis focused on how these sophisticated models interacted with extensive and varied datasets, potentially containing sensitive personal data. The conversation underscored the essential balance required in Generative AI, emphasizing the need to leverage its innovative and creative potential while implementing robust privacy safeguards to protect individual information. This segment aimed to dissect the obstacles and approaches essential for maintaining this equilibrium in the swiftly evolving landscape of Generative AI.
They also delved into the profound impacts of Generative AI on creativity, data governance, and privacy. Participants acquired insights into the operational mechanisms of Generative AI, its transformative effects on creative domains, and the necessity of addressing privacy concerns in its application. This equipped them with a holistic comprehension of the technology’s societal implications.
Takeaways from Criteos
Mariia Vladimirova
I had the great opportunity to participate in this initiative that brings women professionals together, creating a safe knowledge-sharing space. For me, the main highlights were not just the talks but the atmosphere and the openness to learning something new. Although the conference focused on women in tech, the audience included individuals from various fields eager to learn more. Events like this make it possible for women to achieve their goals, drawing necessary inspiration and support for their growth.
I particularly enjoyed the high-level talks by accomplished women who shared their career wisdom. One talk that resonated with me emphasized the ability to unlearn and the openness of boundaries as essential for growth. Stepping out of our comfort zones and not being afraid to ask questions enables women to achieve their goals.
Another intriguing point discussed was our tendency to shy away from projects or roles when we feel unprepared. Many people never feel entirely ready, and readiness often comes with experience. Therefore, to grow, one must sometimes take on roles for which they feel only partially qualified. Being just qualified enough allows us to perform while pushing us out of our comfort zones.
Agnès Masson-Sibut
Even when EWIT might not be seen as a pure tech conference, it’s a conference to show that women do tech, too! Once again, there was very inspirational talks, really nice companies with incredible women working for them, and good vibes everywhere. It’s also a good way to meet with other women who work at Criteo as well: I feel so proud to have you in our teams, to be able to call you ‘my colleagues’ and to see the role models that you could be for others in the industry.
My key takeaways:
- From Svava Hildur Bjarnadottir (Tech Lead at Picnic Technologie): Glass ceiling analogy gives the impression that once you broke it, you are done. Another concept introduced by a Harvard study: the labyrinth or leadership. At Criteo, we already took most of the actions that were mentioned in the talk but I still see some potential improvements with a more transparent process to move from IC to lead, and to increase visibility on role models (internal or external)
- From Patience Shyu (Engineering lead at Kraken): on highly distributed teams, respect is the key, as well as norms and standards. It’s thus crucial to be clear on conventions that you use in the team and to review them on a regular basis to make them evolve with the team. It’s also easier to onboard new team members.
- From Rashmi Sharma (VP of Engineering at Mambu): to overcome bias and ease building diverse teams, allyship is the key. The key is to identify in a group of people or in meetings who is the single voice in the audience, and to make sure that this voice is heard.
- From Natasha Manick (EMG at Decathlon): Build your own career plan. A career is like every project that we have to drive. If you know where you want to be in 5–10 years, you have to organize in order to make it. On the path, you’ll fall and learn from it.
List of books:
- The Async-First Playbook: Remote Collaboration Techniques for Agile Software Teams by Moghe
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
- The Culture Map by Erin Meyer
- Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Joseph Grenny
- Radical Candor: Fully Revised and Updated Edition: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean by Kim Scott
Minh-Quyên NGUYEN
It was my first time attending a “Women in Tech” event, and I was very impressed by the number of women who do tech, too!
All the talks I participated in were very inspirational and proved that everything is possible. I mainly participated in leadership type of talks. I was afraid to face speakers explaining how hard it was to work in a tech environment and the « bad experience » they could face. But it was actually the opposite, I really liked the fact that the women were empowering their experience and their success because they are talented, hard worker and passionated persons. Sometimes, you already know all the theory but it always feels good actually to hear it with concrete examples.
I also like all my interactions at the booth, meeting women from diverse countries and diverse type of companies.
My key takeaways:
- From Svava Hildur Bjarnadottir (Tech Lead @Picnic Technologie) : Everybody can do it but for women who aspire to top leadership, several routes exist but they are full of twist and turns. I completely agree with Agnes Criteo is ahead compare to other companies but we don’t have enough visibility on the leadership opportunities.
- From Ester le Roux (Competence Lead and Senior FE Engineer @Hexaware) : Everybody can be a leader and we must not block ourselves to be authentic, it is okay to show vulnerability and we must hold on to our core values.
- From Manuela Locarno Ajayi (Senior vice president of Product Engineering at Tomtom), I retained three major ideas: focus on what you can control, give yourself permission to lead, and Learn by coaching others.
- From Natasha Manick (EMG at Decathlon): We can « Run Your Life Like a Product Roadmap » and we should not hesitate to take time, find allies and take a leap of faith.
Sponsoring the European Women in Tech conference was a fulfilling and gratifying experience. Our support for this pivotal industry gathering played a significant role in advancing equal opportunities, inclusion, and diversity within our sector. We take great pride in our affiliation with an event that celebrates exceptional women who have achieved remarkable milestones in the IT field.
Moreover, the enlightening discussions and workshops conducted by esteemed experts provided us with fresh insights, innovative concepts, and valuable connections. We extend our gratitude to the organizers, speakers, and all attendees for contributing to the tremendous success of this event. Our aspiration is for European Women in Tech to continue flourishing and inspiring more women to pursue careers in the technology sector. Together, we are shaping a more inclusive tomorrow for the tech industry.
