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If data from the past several years is any indication, 2024 should see positive change for women in the workforce. As we close out Women’s History Month, we sat down with Malgorzata Gawrysiak, Country Manager, Country Sales Director in Poland at Genesys. Malgorzata, who was awarded as a Strong Women in IT 2023, has worked within the customer experience and employee experience space for more than 20 years. She began her business adventure at SAS Institute, followed SPIN and NTT. As a member of the Genesys team since 2014, she works with customers who want to optimize their processes and make businesses more efficient.
Malgorzata creates solutions that build real added value and are more end-user friendly. She’s a trusted advisor to her clients — with the experience and empathy that helps them overcome obstacles. She’s also passionate about change.
What Is the Strong Women in IT award?
‘Strong Women in IT’ is a unique connective and inspirational platform. Initiated in 2018 as a concept, with the presence of 55 women, the award became a respected brand, directly engaging with around 350 women at the C-level from within the tech industry.
It gives all connected women a chance to inspire and learn from each other and build a sustainable motion to enable others to reach high managerial and leadership positions in the IT industry.
What challenges do women in tech face?
We need more female representations in top management. The more women we have in senior leadership, the better. This will help people see a possibility for themselves. But we need a flexible work environment to attract and retain women. This is so important.
Very often, women earn less than men — a barrier for them to get into senior leadership. What happens is you often do the job, but you don’t get the job title. It’s frustrating to do the work but not get the recognition, job title and money to go with it.
There are so many strong and powerful women out there who aren’t getting recognised. We often don’t see each other’s success and talk about them loudly enough. We need to talk about our journeys and share the difficult roads we took to get where we are, as well as what has worked and what hasn’t. We need to build a community of both men and women including young people already.
Women in the tech industry also face areas of systemic barriers and biases throughout their career paths, including pay gaps, a lack of flexible work and stereotypes. If we encourage more women to pursue their passions, take risks and challenge themselves — and we celebrate their achievements and successes publicly — we can help more women achieve senior leadership roles.
Genesys encourages our voices and creates a culture of inclusion and diversity where women are valued, respected and supported for their contributions and potential. This is done through mentorship and sponsorship opportunities — more companies need this.
How do you feel about receiving this award?
I’m the same girl as before. I believe this award gives me a broader opportunity to help other women in the tech industry. Through my experience, I can offer guidance for taking the right steps to get results and reflect on why it’s worth doing what you believe in!
Why did you get involved?
I was noticed without any application or activity from my side. It’s all for my job in my role. I am active in many conferences and discussions and someone in the audience referred me. I think it was a key factor — to help people when possible, showing them heart and empathy. Keep smiling and having a never give up attitude helps a lot.
Why did you choose to work in the tech industry?
Life accidentally pushed me in this direction. When I was a teacher of business English at the SAS Institute, the CEO noticed me and offered me a job. I took the challenge and saw the opportunity.
I’ve been really lucky to always work for the best brands in the IT world. For almost 10 years now, I’ve had the privilege of working at Genesys, the leader in the areas of customer experience, employee experience and operations.
What do you consider to be your best professional achievement?
It’s always difficult to name an achievement, but I believe my best achievement is building a great team. They’re good people with big hearts, very professional, perfect parents and partners. Building the One Genesys team is something I’m very proud of. We can always rely on each other; we are losing and winning together. And we are more than Genesys co-workers — we are friends.
What are you looking forward to after this achievement?
I am excited to have the chance to nominate a person of my choice and give another woman the chance to promote women’s leadership. Also, Forbes has asked to interview me, in addition to receiving requests for keynote speeches on a variety of subjects. I am thrilled to contribute as much value as I can.
What advice would you give to a woman progressing a career in the tech industry?
Let me start by saying that this sector is not much different from others. And 20 years ago, it was much harder for women in tech, and in general, to have a strong career. Now the representation of female professionals is increasing. And we can’t ignore the fact that there are several initiatives in place to bridge the gap.
From my perspective, it’s a diverse industry. And people appreciate women’s concrete attitude, our willingness to win and our empathic approach to work. Through an inclusive mindset, we can learn from one another for personal and professional growth. And in one sentence the advice I would give is to remember this: Changes are chances or challenges — not risks.
