Women’s History Month is a time of celebration, but also offers an important opportunity for reflection, inspiration, and action.

Let’s get real about the gender gap in tech. 

Despite some progress in recent years, the gender gap in the tech industry persists, with women being significantly underrepresented in various roles from engineering to leadership positions. Women currently hold only 26.7% of tech-related jobs, but this gap is not only a matter of statistics; it reflects systemic biases and barriers that hinder diversity and innovation. 

Closing the gender gap is crucial for the advancement of technology and industry growth. Diverse perspectives can help foster creativity and better problem-solving, which results in more inclusive products and services that cater to a wider range of users. By advocating for better gender equality in the tech sector, we’re fighting to unlock the full potential of talent to drive progress and innovation.

Starship’s road to better representation.

The Starship team aims to inspire positive change within our company and industry to close the gender gap, advance female leadership, and diversify our employee mix. 

Due to an increased focus on diversity and inclusion, Starship has seen a 27% increase in the ratio of female to male employees since 2021. Improving from our earlier years, women now represent 43% of our company-wide leadership, serving as strong role models for those under their guidance. Our teams have also recently launched new internal policies and benefits in response to reproductive rights changes and parental leave needs.

Starship is committed to breaking down hiring bias, building an inclusive company culture, and promoting strong female leaders to pave the way for those in their footsteps. While we acknowledge we are not where we need to be, we’re dedicated to reflecting on our weaknesses as an industry, and taking action toward a more representative workforce.

Women of Starship share their female role models.

To serve as an inspiration and empower others within the industry and beyond, we reached out to the women of Starship, inviting them to share the female leaders who have profoundly influenced their careers.

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Keidra Head, Operations Lead

“The female leader who has inspired me in my career is the Birmingham, Alabama native Annie Easley. Annie worked for NASA for 34 years as a mathematician and computer scientist. She didn’t have a college degree but her work ethic coupled with her high school graduation as valedictorian equipped her to take on the tough challenges of space research. The most motivating fact that I always remember about Annie is that in addition to fighting the odds against her, she was able to advance in her career with NASA and devote her free time to tutoring students on how to pass literacy tests that were required for African Americans to vote during that time. Giving back is something I’m incredibly passionate about because small efforts make a world of difference for those less fortunate than yourself.”

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Heidy Kerma, VP of People Operations & Internal Infrastructure

“Throughout my career and life, I have had numerous exceptional women who have left their mark, yet none have impacted me as deeply as my grandmother Aino. From her, I learned invaluable lessons in work ethic, decision-making, and caring for those around me.

She was a true wonder woman, effortlessly balancing the demands of her private business with her caregiving responsibilities. Everyone, even those outside the family, found support and empowerment in her presence. She never micromanaged, instead preferring to offer guidance on solving even the most complex problems.

Her unwavering commitment to empowerment fostered in me the confidence to navigate my own path, building a sense of responsibility and independence from a young age. Today, I’m driven to cultivate a culture of empowerment at Starship, drawing on the resilience and compassion she instilled in me.”

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Anneli Aljas, VP of Finance

“I have always admired strong, powerful, independent, passionate and positive women. From my experience, I know, that it is by far not easy to be a mother and a businesswoman at the same time. Though, what has been a driving force for me during times when I feel like I’m not good enough, I can’t do it, I keep reminding myself of a mentality I promised myself to follow in my early 20s and now raise my children with: If I know what I want, if I know what my dreams are and what needs to be done, my only route can be towards it. But while moving towards your goals, don’t forget the most important ingredient of the ‘success soup’: keep a passion in your heart! This, I believe, is the only way to achieve your goals and truly feel fulfilled!”

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Lis Nõmmik, Customer and Merchant Support Team Lead

“Our Head of Customer and Merchant Support at Starship, Sandra Linnasmägi, is truly inspiring, and I have learned so much from her over the past 10-11 months. She always stands up for her team, is not afraid to say no, and lets you learn from your own mistakes. I aspire to have the same vision and attitude towards receiving my career goals one day and I am glad I have had the opportunity to already learn from her.”

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Annie Handrick, Campus Marketing Manager

“A business guru I really look up to is Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. What sets her apart is her attitude towards failure – she doesn’t see it as a roadblock, but rather as a necessary part of the journey.

Her dad used to ask her, “So, how many times did you fail today?” every night at dinner. It’s such a refreshing perspective because most of us are taught to fear failure, but Sara’s incredible success is a prime example that if we are open to failure, those risks can lead to greater innovation in business.”

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Jaci Story, Operations Lead

“Growing up my mom was my hero and role model. She was a single mom, working full time yet still making time for all of the big and little moments in life. I believe that because of her, I feel I can do anything I set my mind to. She’s strong, outgoing, and while I may be biased, is one of the kindest women most people don’t have the pleasure of knowing.

While my mom may be the reason I have a strong work ethic and ambitious goals, it’s also women like Amelia Earhart and Sandra Day O’Connor who inspire me to test my limits. Two years ago, I applied for a management position at Starship. While I had experience in management, I had little to no experience on the tech side of things, but I thought “Why not?“.  I love learning new things and challenging myself to be the best I can be, and I have my mom to thank for that.”