Employee Spotlight - Allison's story

Why do you think it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day?

To me, celebrating International Women's Day is a way to remember that the fight for equality is not over. Right now in the United States women's rights are being taken away from us. Our power over own lives and bodies is being taken away under the guise of a "pro-life" agenda. In reality, it is pro-control. To celebrate means to remember.

Remember women's suffrage. Remember all who came before us who fought for what we have now. Remember all who will come after us who we need to fight for.

If you could have dinner with any woman in history, who would it be and why?

I would choose Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She received attention for her passionate dissents and was dubbed "the notorious R.B.G." . R.B.G. never shied away from sharing what she believed in. She did incredible work during her life, fighting for gender equality. She had to fight nonstop for a place in her field. I was fortunate enough to hear her speak at Roosevelt University; you could feel the power she held over the room as she spoke about her life and her fight for justice.

Who is a woman that inspires you and why?

Mariska Hargitay is a women who inspires me. She is an actress on the show Law and Order: SVU. But she has become so much more than that over the years. She is an incredible advocate for those who have suffered sexual assault. She took this role of being a police officer in a show and turned it into being a real life hero. She could have just went on with her normal life while playing this character, but she didn't. She received thousands of letters and emails from fans of the show, who were also survivors. They told their stories of abuse to her. She started the Joyful Heart Foundation because of this. This is the leading national organization with a mission to "transform society's response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors' healing, and end this violence forever."

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?

The best piece of career advice I have received would be to track your own accomplishments. As a woman in tech, you sometimes have to fight to be recognized. You should never wait on someone else to talk about what you've done. Keep a running list, that way during salary negotiations, you already have all the reasons you deserve a raise. Keep screenshots, client emails where they praise you, etc. Be your own number-one supporter.