Rubicon Project's Alex Smith on Driving Innovation to Smash Glass Ceilings

Smith has an interesting educational background majoring in both math and philosophy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherstamp160 quotPeople ask me why both math and philosophy and I tell them that I am a multidisciplinary thinkerquot she saidamp160 quotI went to college to learn cool stuff and both subjects were interesting to mequotUpon graduating from school and focusing on a career math took precedenceamp160 quotThe philosophy factory down the street wasn39t hiringquot she deadpannedamp160 Smith39s first job was with Liberty Mutual in the technology development programamp160 She tried different areas before discovering product management which combined many areas that she likedamp160 From there she went to Rubicon Project where her blend of philosophy and math is the perfect combination to not only develop intuitive products but also bring technologists togetherBeing one of the few women in technology I wondered if Smith feels progress has been made in integrating more women into the fieldamp160 quotAh amp8230 it39s hard to sayquot she said after some hesitationamp160 quotI think that we are making a lot of progress in education right now in techamp160 It still hasn39t gotten to the workforceamp160 When I was in college it was rare to see women in computer science classesamp160 When you told people that you were going to get a job in tech they would look at you a little funnyquotamp160 Now there are many organizations such as Girls Who Code and Kode with Klossy thatamp160are making great strides in welcoming girls into the STEM disciplinesquotI haven39t seen many changes in the workforce yetquot Smith admitted adding she is optimistic that a great female wave is coming soon and the industry is ready to hire themamp160 quotWe need to start with educationquot she said amp160quotThe most important thing industries can do is to support education from middle schoolamp160upamp160to encourage girls to get into these technical fieldsamp160 We will reap benefits years laterquotHow did she manage to overcome workplace obstaclesamp160 quotSomething for me that was instrumental in tech was having a mentor who concentrated on my career growthquot she revealedamp160 Smith was lucky that her first manager at Liberty Mutual was an advocate for women in tech who developed into not only a mentor but a good friendamp160 quotHaving her mentorship from the beginning greatly impacted my career and how I think about being a woman in tech and a person who cares about others in techquot Smithamp160said noting that mentorship is critical to develop a strong sense of belonging and confidence to take one39s career to the highest level it can goamp160 quotIt can be a make it or break it factorquot she assertedNavigating in the male dominated space is quotintimidatingquot she addedamp160 quotIt can be hard to break in if you are differentquotFor Smith not being a developer and not writing code presented a unique challenge with her participation in Prebidorgamp160 quotWhile I may not have an opinion about howto code I do have an opinion about how we can grow this organization get more scale and involve more publishersquot she declaredamp160 quotI can bring value to this organizationquotamp160 In fact the organization has been very welcoming and she feels confident in her ability to add value to its missionWithin the workforce men can help women progress by quotnot just giving them a seat at the table but inviting them to dancequot Smith explainedamp160amp160She suggestedamp160that men can make women feel more comfortable and part of the team by encouraging them to participateamp160 quotIt is easy to feel like an outsiderquot she said adding thatamp160womenamp160quotneed to have courage and just go for it even if you are a little afraidquotamp160 And she reiterated quotmentorship is criticalquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Rubicon Project's Alex Smith on Driving Innovation to Smash Glass Ceilings

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Charlene Weisler

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Rubicon Project's Alex Smith on Driving Innovation to Smash Glass Ceilings

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Charlene Weisler

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