CROC and Women in Tech Russia Partner to Boost IT Career for Women

Moscow, Russia, August 21, 2020 --(PR.com)-- The arrival of the coronavirus in Russia was expected to impact women economically and socially. Even though there are a lot of tutorials where people can get technical knowledge, one can hardly find a program where ladies could learn how to communicate more effectively, speak up for themselves and feel welcomed in a ‘brogrammer’ environment – the soft skills that are crucial for professional survival during the pandemic.

With this in mind, a joint team of CROC and Women in Tech Russia worked hard to perform a brand-new educational project to improve soft skills. It took record-breaking two months to organize and implement everything from scratch: create the program, attract highly qualified lecturers and couches, announce and perform the selection process, enjoy a 4-week course, and have fun at a farewell networking Zoom party.

The result of a 10-day application period to compete for 60 places in CROC&WIT Soft Skills School surprised the organizers: 521 women of 16 to 54 years old from all over Russia and CIS, and those speaking Russian in Northern America and Europe applied and asked for help in improving soft skills, mainly self-confidence and communication.

Thus, the course covered goal setting, assertiveness, effective communication, networking, and mentorship – everything dedicated to improving both internal development and overcoming long-held tech stereotypes. It brought together Russian outstanding women in IT, such as Marina Alekseeva, ex-VP, Intel Russia, to lecture and coach, and created an open and friendly space for participants to interact.

Polina Khabarova, HR Director, Chief Transformation Officer, CROC, emphasizes that CROC equally employs and onboards both men and women. Organizing such projects helps promote gender equality values among other corporations and leave gender stereotypes behind, thus letting women succeed.

According to Elina Valeeva, Russian Chapter Ambassador, Women in Tech global movement, soft skills are a must-have of the 21st century. The tech industry values scholarly achievements less than soft team member skills. If you have strong soft skills, it will be easier to get a great job, manage workload, and move up the career ladder. Soft skills are for life: they are a useful asset, regardless of a particular business or career.

The school can be considered as a new type of non-commercial win-win partnership with the high level of self-motivation, responsibility, balance and trust of everyone involved. CROC on the corporate level has got a deeper understanding of Women in Tech issue outside the company and inspired female top managers to contribute more to the movement. Women in Tech Russia as a newly launched NGO has got a good introductive ‘window to Russia’. Participants, both couches and students, got access to a strong networking platform. Most importantly, this initiative has created a new community of open-minded and talented women who dream of a career in IT.