Hannah Hawken, Channel Solutions Architect for EMEA at Wiz, reflects on her career-defining journey as the first and only woman in technology for Wiz in the region. This pivotal moment sparked important conversations about female representation in tech and led her to create "Wiz’s Wonder Women," a community dedicated to empowering women in the workplace. With a focus on mentorship, collaboration, and fostering a culture of equality, Hannah continues to champion the importance of women supporting each other in a traditionally male-dominated field...

What has been your career defining moment as a woman in business?

Entering Wiz as the first and only woman in technology in EMEA as a Solutions Engineer for the Channel in January 2024 was a career defining moment for me as I see it as the catalyst for increased dialogue around the increased representation of women.

Since this date, I have established the pioneering women in tech community – Wiz’s Wonder Women – which creates a safe space for women to bounce ideas around strategies to ensure their voice is heard, they are set up for success and equality at Wiz.

Before Wiz, I had always been one of few women in the room, but when part of larger organisations, the chances of finding a woman to be by your side is greater.

Were there any obstacles you had to overcome as a woman in business?

"I am proud to be a woman in technology"

Thankfully, I have not experienced obvious setbacks due to my gender, to my knowledge, to date. The hardest part is knowing that the reason for an aspiration or goal not being met is as a result of being a woman. I focus on doing my best at everything that I am able to control and I am proud to be a woman in technology with a diverse educational background.

What advice would you give to a younger woman looking to join your industry?

My approach is to embrace every situation and working relationship the confidence that equality is a given and not let any subordinate position affect you before there is any evidence of a problem.  

If you could do one thing to accelerate the pace of change for gender equality, what would it be?

Hire some more women to work directly alongside me in my everyday tasks. I relish every opportunity to attend women in tech events to network with recruitment on my mind, however it is not currently my decision to select candidates to work with me.

What compelled you to attend a Panelle event?

I am an inherent ‘yes’ person, so will readily connect with new people and initiatives, however Panelle attracted me in particular because of the opportunity to connect with inspirational women in a small circle. I am excited to develop deeper discussions due to the select number of voices that will engage in the roundtable event.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Respect the perhaps arduous journeys that other women have experienced to execute their role to their desire when faced with obstacles in a male-dominated environment, but do not believe these as my own reality.

I quickly learnt the importance of my attitude when approaching a situation and the impact of believing something I did not want to be a reality – it is far better to give everyone the chance to follow you on the road to equality and show them the way working relationships should be between men and women.

I would also advise my younger self to ask more senior female leaders how they were working to champion women in the workplace, specifically which initiatives they were contributing to as well as organisations that they were involved in.

A lot of my recent reflection on the topic of DEI has been around the activities that have greatest engagement from the female community and impact amongst the community as well as outside to involve other colleagues.  

What’s your go-to advice for preventing burnout?

Anyone that knows me will 100% vouch for the fact that I am not an advisor on the subject. I tread close to the wire constantly with burnout. I seek most satisfaction from pushing myself physically and mentally, however my tactic for not burning out is to allow myself to give in to a so-called ‘write off’ day once in a blue moon.

It is important to fully disconnect. I also advise that everyone spends some time working through the activities that best recharge their batteries. For me, that is running and swimming.

I believe burnout comes when we truly have no more mental strength or resilience, so if we can all give ourselves headspace to put life and all the asks of a day in perspective, we should enable ourselves to fight off any burnout.

Why do you think it’s important for women to help other women win?

While no woman should depend on another woman to open a door to an opportunity for her as she may set herself up for her own success independently, I am a firm believe that you should make every intention to never turn down an opportunity – be that sharing an opportunity to engage others or accepting an opportunity.

"It is important to help other women win"

It is important to help other women win, as this creates hope for more women to follow and achieve the same feat in greater numbers. I am fond of the storytelling that women do so well when inspiring other women to seize opportunities to win.

Finally, can you share one woman in business who either inspires you or has pulled out the seat for you?

Amulya Uppula at Wiz inspires me in the way that she has taken a leap into a career change and exercised all of her skills very quickly to perform in the role of Commercial Solutions Engineer in NYC. She proactively reaches out to learn, connect and collaborate which are all of the qualities of successful women who see no limits.

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