From Tech Superstar to Motherhood Advocate: Mariana Missakian on ‘Mother-Inclusive’ Workplaces

CNME Editor Mark Forker sat down with Mariana Missakian, mother, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and a doctoral candidate, to learn more about her mission to make the global IT and technology landscape more ‘mother-inclusive’ in the latest interview in our Women in Tech series.

Missakian believes that supporting working mothers is not a luxury, but a business necessity.

“The time has come to stop asking mothers to adapt and start asking companies to attract.” 

But how did she get here, let’s go back to the beginning. 

At the turn of the millennium, Mariana Missakian was a high-flying technology executive with the world at her feet.

She began her professional career with IBM, before she was recruited by Intel.

She continued to soar at Intel, and was tasked with the responsibility of setting up their operations in Kuwait.

However, as she conceded during our conversation, she had become addicted to the hustle, and one day it dawned on her that she was the only woman in the room.

That set her off on a completely different career path, and today, she is one of the most powerful advocates for ‘mother-inclusive’ workplaces in the IT and technology sector.

In a candid discussion with CNME Editor Mark Forker during GITEX Global 2024, she began by highlighting her own journey and how she became completely caught up in what she described as the race.

“I began my professional journey in tech with IBM in 2000, and was responsible for driving the regional channel partner growth of their software business across the Middle East, and into North Africa and Pakistan. I loved the job, and the nature of the IT landscape is so dynamic and fast-paced that you need to have the ability to always adapt and evolve as things happen so quickly in that industry. Due to my work at IBM, I was recruited by Intel, who had recently entered the Middle East marketplace, and at the time were focused on expanding their channel presence in the UAE. During my time at Intel, I also moved to Kuwait to head up their local channel operations, so it was an incredibly exciting, challenging and rewarding job.” said Missakian.

However, as Missakian explains one day everything changed, and it triggered her to completely move the dial on the direction of her life and career.

“IT traditionally, was and still is a very male-dominated sector, and one day all of a sudden just dawned on me that I was the only woman in the room. That sudden realisation for me was overwhelming. When you’re in the race you are oblivious to who is in the room as your lasered focus on KPIs, sales, growth and adapting to market demands. One day I woke up and asked myself do I really want to continue being the only woman in the room? I decided that I didn’t, and I always say that sometimes you need to ask questions at the right moment to bring you clarity. I believe that’s why I’m here today talking to you about my research around making workplaces more equitable and inclusive for mothers.” said Missakian.

I started my research, because I wanted to know why there were so few women in IT, and especially at the top levels. I found out that over 60% of women in IT leave their job two years after becoming mothers. And that was my AHA moment, when I realized the leadership pipeline in tech is bleeding mothers, and the industry is losing critical talent because we have been asking CEOs the wrong question. We were asking them, “Are you hiring women?” when we should have been asking them, “Are you retaining the women you are hiring once they become mothers?”

A negative stereotype that has been levelled at female leaders in the past is that they lead with empathy, and that is seen by some as weakness. The perception amongst some is that female leaders lack the ruthlessness needed to really make tough decisions.

Unsurprisingly Missakian dismisses that assertion, and cites empirical academic data to reject that claim, whilst reiterating her pleas for female leaders to lead authentically through their womanhood and motherhood. “I don’t want to be pinned down by statistics, but female leadership drives and sustains incredible success, and the data backs it up. Female leadership has been proven both academically and scientifically to enable an environment that drives teams to be more productive, and companies led by women are more profitable. And this is even more true for mothers, as research has shown that motherhood improves our productivity, drive, and commitment and makes us better leaders.”

“Women leadership, and especially in IT, is viewed through the prism of KPIs, sales targets, or titles, but I want it also to be viewed through the prism of womanhood, and motherhood, because ultimately that is who we are, and by leaning into our strengths as women and mothers is what has gotten us to this position in the first-place. Let’s normalize the role of motherhood in leadership. We need female CXOs to highlight the fact that being a mother is playing a key role in their continued success, and we need to see motherhood being highlighted in their leadership journeys.” said Missakian.

There is an old saying in business that the numbers don’t lie, and that certainly rings true in relation to some of the research that was conducted by Mariana.

However, these numbers don’t reflect positively on the IT industry.

Staggeringly, an overwhelming number of women in IT leave their job on average around two years after becoming a mother.

A grim statistic that should force the IT sector to act, especially that replacing women costs Silicon Valley $16 billion per year.

Missakian believes that mother-friendly workplaces are no longer enough to sustain a gender balanced leadership pipeline, and it’s time to shift the conversation to mother-inclusive workplaces.

“The corporate world has constructed motherhood to be very clearly separated from leadership and the workplace, and that shouldn’t be the case, and that is what we need to change. I’m arguing against that every day. There shouldn’t be a separation, or even a balance, there should be an integration, and I’m making the case that the future of leadership is motherhood, because women will lead when mothers lead. The majority of working women will become mothers, and the data indicates that women in IT leave their jobs two years after they become mothers. Companies need to recognize the strategic value of mothers in leadership, and create environments where mothers are an integral part of the business success.” said Missakian.

When asked what advice she’d offer to young women started out in their careers in IT, Missakian highlighted that you should never try to emulate somebody, but conceded that when you are young that can be a difficult thing to avoid.

“When you’re young and starting out on your professional career then it’s fair to say that we are all quite impressionable. We automatically want to mirror the person at the top in order to replicate their success, whether we do it consciously, or unconsciously it happens and that’s the reality. But we should never try to emulate, or imitate. We need to stay true to ourselves and lead with our own authenticity, and our own unique personality, character, and identity. I fell into that trap, of following the system that was in place, in order to climb the corporate ladder, but when it suddenly dawned on me that it wasn’t my race I was running, it was a sort of eureka moment. However, it allowed me to hit the reset button, and actually take a step back and look at what the big picture actually was.” said Missakian.

Missakian did acknowledge that more and more women were getting into STEM-related fields across the Middle East, and especially in the UAE. “It’s so exciting to see so many women in IT now. The industry has come a long way” she said, reflecting on the positive changes she’s witnessed in recent years. However, she questioned whether the landscape in terms of female role models at the top, has changed all that much since she entered the IT domain back in 2000.

“In the UAE, the number of female graduates in STEM related fields is double the global average, so that is fantastic, but who are these women looking up to? Who are they seeing at the very top? Is the industry insightful and intuitive enough to be able to provide these fresh graduates with women role models in top leadership positions who are leading with their womanhood? The first step in solving any problem is actually acknowledging that there is a problem in the first place. There are not enough female leaders in the technology industry full stop. In fact there are very few. There were 400,000 people globally who lost their jobs in the IT industry over the last few years, and 60% of them were women, and more than half of that 60% will be mothers. So it’s very highly unlikely that any significant progress will be made at the top without the support of mothers, and as an industry we need to sit down and accept that there is an issue and recognise that the future of women in leadership is rooted in motherhood.” said Missakian.

Missakian concluded a wonderful interview by stressing that organisations need to realise that being ‘mother-friendly’ is simply not enough in the current climate.

“We don’t just want friends. We need allies, and sponsors and a clear path to leadership. I have been lucky to work with inspiring women managers, but individual support alone isn’t enough, and fixing the system isn’t on women and mothers alone. It’s about creating a structured framework that supports women at every stage of their careers, and through pregnancy, motherhood and beyond. These cosmetic and tick-the-box policies that businesses do to create mother-friendly environments is not enough anymore, and will not foster the change we need. How are companies supporting and retaining mothers after maternity leave? Are they actively attracting, hiring, and promoting mothers? How are they creating structured and sustainable paths to keep mothers in the leadership pipeline?”

What I have been saying for the last number of years is that we don’t want mother-friendly environments, what we demand is mother-inclusive workplaces, and mother-inclusive workplaces means that companies are actively, proactively, and consciously involving mothers in the leadership conversation. It’s all about culture, are organisations going to create an environment where there are opportunities for mothers to thrive? That’s the question. There needs to be a mindset shift across the board as an industry from the top down to really drive change, and I will continue to shout, fight and advocate for a more inclusive work environment for mothers in the IT sector.” concluded Missakian.

Image Credit: Mariana Missakian