Elevating the Profile and Leadership of Women in Advertising Technology

Women continue to be underrepresented in technology roles, making up about 25% of the tech workforce. The disparity is even more apparent in leadership positions as only 11% of women hold executive roles.

As women in technology ourselves, we know this first hand.

Rowena Lam, Sr. Director Privacy & Data, writes about her experience in this AdMonsters article. A quote that stands out to me: “You will often hear about giving people of diverse backgrounds a seat at the table or allowing them to be in the room. That’s a start, but in my opinion, it’s not enough.”

Hillary Slattery, Sr. Director Programmatic, writes about her experience: “It took the majority of my 15+ years in this industry to feel truly empowered. Working alongside the strong, brilliant, capable female product leads on the Tech Lab team has been integral to that growth. I try to do everything in my power to ensure that it is easier for the next generation of women in ad tech than it was for me.”

As VP of Product, I’m honored to work alongside them, advocating for more representation, especially in positions of leadership, and making things easier for those starting in the industry.

Here at IAB Tech Lab we are fortunate to have women in 50% of our product roles, leading the development of technical standards foundational to the way digital advertising transactions occur, such as OpenRTB, the Global Privacy Platform, and OM SDK. We’re excited to leverage our experience and platform to elevate the profile and leadership of women in advertising technology, particularly in product and engineering roles.

This is why at Tech Lab we are launching “Women of Tech Lab”

Our Mission

With this program we are looking to foster community, mentorship, and career growth for women in ad tech product and engineering roles. Our core goals are:

Learning from peers & executives: Share experiences, collaborate on challenges, and lift each other up.
Facilitating mentorship: Career progression is easier with guidance. We’ll explore ways to connect mentors and mentees in the industry.
Networking: Build a strong community of women in product and technology roles, creating spaces for support and shared success.

Why Tech Lab is Doing This?

Ada Lovelace, revolutionized the computer industry as the first person (not just woman) to see the potential computers had for mathematical calculation, which has resulted in her being known as the first programmer! Following Ada’s breakthroughs, the early days of the NASA space program had women serving as ‘human computers’ (which referred to a job title for someone who performed highly complex mathematical calculations). A popular book and film, Hidden Figures, highlights the work of Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan.

Even after NASA acquired electronic computers from IBM, computer programming became women’s work. We also can’t forget about Hedy LaMarr who in 1941 invented frequency-hopping technology that became a precursor to the secure Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth now used by billions of people around the world.

Foundationally at IAB Tech Lab we set the standards that enable growth and trust in the digital media ecosystem and that includes setting the standard for women empowerment in the industry as well. Just as Ada did in the 1800s, the women in ad tech today are making groundbreaking steps and Tech Lab wants to use our voice and resources to guide, mentor, and encourage the women of today and future generations to come!

How YOU Can Get Involved

We are launching our first cohort with 35 participants, ensuring a balanced mix of early-career professionals and senior leaders to foster mentorship and collaboration.

Quarterly remote meetings: We are kicking things off during Women’s History Month on March 11th
Want to join? Fill out this form by February 28!
In-person networking events: Opportunities will be available around Tech Lab events, including an initial gathering on March 19th, the evening before Signal Shift in NYC. Stay tuned for details!

While there is still a long way to go, Tech Lab is determined to use all the power and resources at our disposal to remind ALL women that they deserve to have a seat at every table!