We keep making significant progress in bringing visibility to powerful women. For this second entry to our blog interview format, Nearsure has proudly collaborated with Liliya Frye, Director of QA Engineering at LeagueApps.
As we’ve previously stated, we take amazing pride in keeping close relationships with Nearsure’s select business partners. Precisely because of that, we couldn’t be more thankful to have Liliya Frye’s personal take on gender issues for women in the tech field.
Thank you, Liliya, for collaborating with us in our continued commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Here’s a first-hand interview for our readers to enjoy as Liliya tells us more about her position, the challenges she’s facing as a woman in technology, her main pain points in this industry, and her overall vision of female empowerment.
- Nearsure: What’s your current role in your organization?
Liliya: I’m the Director of QA Engineering at LeagueApps. I’m responsible for the quality of our software, in charge of the goalkeepers and the line of defense before software applications releases to production.
- Nearsure: What are your main challenges as a woman in the tech field?
Liliya: The main challenges I see for women in tech are:
- Lack of female role models or women in leadership in the field
- Lack of representation for women in tech
- Lack of understanding of women who have work experiences gaps in resumes due to periods of raising children
- Gender bias in the workplace
- Nearsure: What is your main pain point?
Liliya: Unequal pay for the same skills and experiences. Women are still paid less than men for the same responsibilities. That leads to the retention gap. Women often leave their jobs out of feeling undervalued, underpaid or lacking opportunities for growth.
I do my best to advocate for women by promoting them and championing equal pay.
- Nearsure: What can we do to encourage more women to work in technology?
Liliya: We could provide encouragement by:
- Inspiring and uplifting women
- Helping women to believe in their own abilities
- Removing gender bias from job descriptions
- Hiring, promoting, and supporting women
- Giving women a voice and implementing their ideas
- Sharing within the organization how important women’s contributions are
- Nearsure: When have you felt especially supported/not supported in your role or organization?
Liliya: I felt unsupported in one of the previous companies I worked for where I only saw men in leadership positions or only men were promoted, and I often was shut down by men or talked over or excluded from gatherings or meetings. I also saw a lot of women leaving the company as they felt marginalized, overworked, unsupported, or uncomfortable in a bro-mentality organization.
Currently, I feel supported where my voice is heard and my ideas are implemented, and where I see a lot of women in the Engineering department and at the company overall.
- Nearsure: Describe your career trajectory in a nutshell.
Liliya: I have always been tech-curious and tech-savvy. My passion for quality and the evolution of technology drove me to self-teaching most of the skills and continuously adapting to the new technology over the last 25 years. I created and ran my own companies, and I’ve been in web development, software testing engineering, and people leadership roles.
Throughout my career, I’ve focused on building high-performance teams with a culture of trust, positivity, teamwork, clear communication, and delivering quality results. It’s my life’s purpose to help people reach their potential by inspiring them to always believe in themselves and be fearless in taking calculated risks in personal and professional growth.
I believe women in technology and leadership roles create value through the diversity of their thoughts and ideas. They contribute significantly to the delivery of high-quality tech products that continue to innovate the industry.
- Nearsure: How do you believe your experience has been reflective of other female professionals in tech or at your organization?
Liliya: I create a safe and inclusive environment for all people. I accept each individual as they are and make sure each voice is heard. I hire, develop, and retain women. I empower them to feel confident and assertive, to use their strength, and ask for what they deserve.
I do my best to support and advise women, people from the LGBTQ+ community and any other individuals on the IT path who reach out to me for mentorship or coaching.
Summary
From organizations where women are excluded and marginalized to creating a safe and inclusive work environment for people of all races and genders, Liliya Frye’s interview reminds us of the importance of diverse representation in tech.
Women and other minorities need to be empowered, valued, and heard. This all begins with equal pay opportunities, supportive programs for talent retention, as well as communication within organizations to ensure gender bias is minimized as much as possible within the workplace.
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