International Women's Day - How Avrios is breaking barriers

It’s International Women’s Day today! And while we are celebrating women worldwide, we also want to talk about why gender parity and female leadership is important to Avrios, and how we have managed to achieve a company that is 48.8% female, has a gendered balanced management team, and a female CEO, all while working in the male-dominated tech and automotive world. 

Creating equal opportunities right from the start

At Avrios, building a welcoming and diverse culture has allowed us to attract great talent, find new perspectives that have improved our product, and create a company that we are proud to work in. This starts with the recruitment process. Dunja Bitar, our Sr. Talent Acquisition Manager, tells us how she approaches diversity in hiring. 

“Diversity is truly the key to growth. Hiring diverse talent starts with having an open-minded and forward-thinking recruiting/hiring team that evaluates not only technical skills but also the cultural fit of candidates with the same importance. We target intelligent, hard-working, resilient, fun, innovative, and agile people. As part of that, it is also essential to create equal opportunities and growth for every woman and man that I am hiring once they start.”

Breaking “the male line of succession”

A lack of women leaders at the top can not always be attributed to a lack of female talent, often people are overlooked. Tech needs women leaders. Research shows that sender equal leadership leads to more inclusive and effective companies, better products, and greater economic success.

When our founder and CEO Andreas Brenner stepped down last summer, he broke with the typical “all-male” line of succession by naming Francine Gervazio, our then Chief Revenue Officer, CEO. Speaking about why he choose Francine, Andreas wrote, 

“Avrios was always more than just a company to me. When I decided to step away from operational involvement, I wanted to ensure our values lived on. I wanted a successor who deeply cares about our customers and people. It had to be someone humble enough to keep our outcome-driven and rapid learning culture alive. But it also had to be someone ambitious enough to develop their own vision and to continue bringing game-changing innovations to market. I found this perfect successor in Francine, and I am very proud and grateful that she accepted the challenge to lead Avrios into the future.” 

Offering workplace benefits beyond equal pay 

We pay equally - meaning men and women earn the same amount of money for the same role and seniority. Beyond pay, we have worked hard to provide an environment that offers employees training and development opportunities, good work/life balance, and flexibility. 

At Avrios, we have always valued flexibility, even pre-pandemic, when we were all going to the office. Kata Gyorke-Szasz, our Marketing Automation Manager reflects on what it’s been like to be a mother of two while working at Avrios for the past three years. 

“As a mother of two, it's always challenging to find the right balance between my career and my private life. Thankfully, ever since I started my journey with Avrios, I have felt the constant support of my colleagues and the management team. I know I am lucky to have found a company that supports mothers through flexible work hours and home office opportunities long before the pandemic. Thanks to Avrios, I can spend more time with my kids because I am saving valuable time on commuting and my sons are also happy because they can spend lunchtime with their ‘mummy’, and because they are happier, I am calm and can concentrate better on my work.” 

Breaking Barriers for Parents 

Motherhood has been deemed the true cause of the gender gap as mothers who take time to care for their children are often penalized, overlooked for promotions, and even pushed out from companies. At Avrios, we provide parents, both male, and female, with sick leave to care for their children, flexibility, and an environment in which you are not penalized for being a parent. 

"Unfortunately, in many companies, even today, choosing a leadership path while also wanting children is unfavorable. I am very thankful that my experience with Avrios has been completely different. I knew I was up for a promotion when I got pregnant but assumed it would wait until I was back from maternity leave. I was pleasantly surprised to receive the promotion while I was 6 months pregnant! Nothing motivates me more to work harder and more effectively, than a supportive work environment where I can pursue my career ambitions and my personal goals. I’m happy to have this at Avrios," says Bea Dominguez, Head of People & Talent.

But it does not stop there. Wouter Hendriks, our VP of Operations, also reflects on why parental flexibility at Avrios makes an impact that goes beyond our female employees: “The flexibility in working hours and location that Avrios provides allows me to do things like bringing my son to daycare, stay home when he is sick or prep dinner while still getting my work done. Not only do I get to spend more quality time with him,[but] it also means my wife doesn’t have to compromise between being a mom and her career.”

Differences should be valued and celebrated.

Our CEO, Francine, stresses why supporting employees regardless of who they are is key for Avrios.  “We support and empower employees regardless of gender. Gender is not important or relevant for their work. I am proud to be building a company that allows equal growth"

With a company that is almost 50% female and a leadership team that is 50/50 at Avrios, we are building an inclusive environment and a place where ALL people, especially women, can grow and excel.