With 64% of the supervisory roles being women, Prosum is leading the charge in empowering women’s careers and advancing women in leadership in the tech staffing industry.

According to the 2023 Women’s Business Collaborative Benchmark Survey on Gender Equity in the Staffing Industry, staffing firms have 66% women employees,  yet only 50% of them are in executive roles. While the staffing industry as a whole is a positive example of growing leadership roles for women, we continue striving to increase gender equity, and there is still room to grow.

How do we accelerate progress? We spoke with members of our Prosum leadership team to gain more insight into the roles women can play to support and uplift other women within tech staffing and in the tech sector overall.

Meeting Expectations and Embracing What Women Value

“We must recognize what women value in their careers and build hiring strategies that support those expectations first and foremost,” says Jamie Contino, VP Mountain West. “A top question we are regularly asked is about career opportunities that offer flexibility. Not only from women, but across the board from candidates for both consultant roles, as well as internal Prosum career opportunities. For women, however, flexibility resonates significantly as it remains one of the top noted items they look for when choosing the right fit for their next role. At Prosum, we have evolved our workforce strategy to allow for flexibility in a remote setting. This has resulted in a highly-productive team with less turnover, longer tenure and a team that sees its representation of successful female recruiters and account executives continually increase.”

Prioritizing Growth and Advancement

“It’s important that women see a growth path for themselves at their work as well,” adds Diana Huang, VP Southern California. “Goal setting, performance , and growth indicators must be clearly communicated and regularly revisited in order for female team members to strive for the next level. We work in a fast-paced, time-crunch environment and sometimes these important discussions are postponed. With my team, their growth is my priority, therefore timely recognition of their accomplishments is critical to their career development. For women in particular, it is important for others in the organization to witness their advancement, and that those achievements are acknowledged as we work together to build a diverse workforce.”

Contino echoes this sentiment, “I provide clear expectations for my team and work with them closely to find out what they need to be successful. I’m here as a strategic partner– I can be an escalation point, a sounding board, or a producer alongside my team. Together, we focus on our clients’ goals which mirrors our own: to find top technology talent.”

Creating a Culture of Support Through Mentorship

Eleni Tio, Prosum’s VP of People Operations, says it best, “mentoring is the most important thing I can think of to help a professional career grow.” “Giving forward,” she notes, “is critical to professional and personal growth, particularly when you work in a culture that is supportive and provides space to take risks and learn from missteps.”

This notion is amplified in a work environment that facilitates mentorships, because there is someone to lean on and learn from who can help guide career choices. For women, mentorships are particularly important. According to Guider.ai, “In our original research conducted with Women in Tech forum, 89% of respondents found mentoring impactful and 86% would recommend mentoring to another woman in tech (Source).”

If any additional proof was needed to support mentorship programs, research shows that overall, “91% of employees with a mentor were happy with their jobs.” That’s clearly compelling evidence to demonstrate the need for seeking mentorships, whether as the mentor or mentee. For Tio, a long list of mentors helped shape her professional career, gleaning from each of them nuggets of wisdom and advice that she uses to support her own team’s advancement.

Advancing Women in Leadership

TeamProsum is proud of the strong legacy of female representation they have built in the organization. Prosum’s ratio of 7 women out of 11 members in supervisory and/or leadership roles is remarkable.

• Lexi Royal, Prosum Senior Recruiting Manager in Southern California, thrives in the fast-past location and credits perseverance for success and being resilient in the face of adversity.
• Amien Conway is a recruiting manager in Denver, dedicated to motivating her recruiting team to face evolving challenges of tech talent acquisition head on. Her team continues to flourish, even amidst the ebb and flow of the staffing market.
• Terese Diaz, manages the recruiting team in Phoenix, a metro that is fast-becoming a go-to tech hub for talented IT professionals. Terese partners with her team to create positive interactions for both consultants and clients, helping to define Prosum as a stand-out tech staffing agency.
• As an internal leader, Tracy Gonzalez is an integral member of Shared Services in the finance department. In staffing, the focus often tends to be outward – sourcing, recruiting, and building relationships, yet the internal operations of a firm are critical to its success; Tracy creates a seamless experience in an accounting department that has a wide reach.

In addition to advancing women in leadership, Prosum’s workforce is reflective of a diverse hiring strategy with a collective team of Account Executives, Recruiters and internal members that boasts 45% women. We extend this hiring strategy to our clients and actively encourage them to take actions that will empower women in the tech workforce. Actions such as promoting women in leadership roles, modernizing recruiting, providing ongoing learning and education, and including women in the interview process are a start.

As a leading minority-owned tech staffing agency, we can help with your recruiting efforts to find the skilled talent you need. Learn more about our tech and IT staffing solutions and request IT talent today.