Daylight + ChickTech: Creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace

At Daylight, our core values of Integrity, Open Communication, Innovation, Driving Results, and Doing Good are the words we live by and guide everything we do. Working here means making a positive impact, so supporting diversity, inclusion, and more women in technology has always been a no-brainer for us. We understand that women & girls are not empowered to pursue careers in technology, and looking around our offices; female programmers are grossly under-represented.

As a part of our self-reflection, we realized that supporting organizations that champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is a great start but just not enough. We have to do better and want to do more. That’s why we reached out to Janice Levenhagen, Founder and CEO of ChickTech, to start a conversation around becoming a partner committed to advancing women & girls in technology, and most importantly, being a digital agency dedicated to creating a more inclusive workplace for everyone.

Janice spoke with our team about why she started ChickTech and how girls are not encouraged to enter STEM programs from a very young age. Because teachers don’t see them as techy and capable—and they don’t see women role models in those fields, they don’t think it’s for them. Those that do enter STEM and get jobs outside of college often feel out of place—working with few women. They often face discrimination and don’t think that they fit into male-centric workplaces.

We also gained valuable insights into our workplace environment, realizing that we could do a better job creating a space and culture that is more welcoming to women.

With that in mind, Daylight is excited to announce ChickTech as our strategic non-profit partner and empowering women in tech as our primary cause. Our partnership with ChickTech will allow us a greater focus on creating a supportive environment for female programmers, and make an even more significant impact in advancing the careers of women in STEM programs. We will be attending this years’ ACT-W: Conference, with a portion of our leadership team planning to attend ACT-W: Achieving Equity which provides action-oriented training and discussions to level up organizational diversity initiatives to spark real change. Daylight also plans to have a booth at the conference’s career fair.

Over the next year, Daylight and ChickTech plan to work closely on several collaborative projects and initiatives that support both of our missions. We plan to address and put into action specific efforts that create a more inclusive Daylight workplace for women. Over the longer term, we aim to become a model agency for workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion; a true ally working to create a world in which people want to do business and a world in which people want to live.