Celebrating International Women's Day at Tact.ai

A Conversation with Tact.ai’s Chief Revenue Officer, Jennell Dill

International Women’s Day is a global celebration honoring the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also is designed to accelerate gender parity and equal rights.

Keeping it in line with the 2021 theme for International Women’s Day, “Choose to Challenge”; Tact.ai is celebrating our women leaders throughout this historic month.

According to a recent study, women represent only 25% of the position in tech sales, and only 12% in sales leadership positions. Tact.ai’s Chief Revenue Officer, Jennell Dill, discussed why being an ally has always been a priority for her, and the challenges of balancing leading a global sales team and being a working mother during the pandemic year of 2020.

Here is what she had to say:

What is the best part of the job at Tact.ai?

One of the most inspiring and fulfilling parts of being a woman in leadership, is being able to build, promote, and support other strong female leaders. I don’t want to be the only female at the table, and I never want to be the last. I thrive off of finding people (women) who can ultimately take my position and do a better job than I did. That is my definition of success.

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2020 brought all of us unique challenges in both our professional and personal lives. How did you handle such an unprecedented year?

I’m stating the obvious by saying, 2020 put a huge strain on a lot of people, both women and men. However, the impact COVID has had on working women has been devastating. To put it in perspective, four times as many women than men dropped out of the labor force in September, roughly 865,000 women compared with 216,000 men. Which brings me to my experience working at Tact as a woman. Like many, I have spent the past year (and 1 month but who’s counting) homeschooling my kids full time and working full time, and because my husband is an essential care provider, I am often time home alone all day. Through all of this, what's been amazing about working at Tact is the understanding of just how hard it is to be a working parent right now, and the support from all aspects of the company.

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What was the environment and culture like at Tact.ai this past year in 2020?

Tact.ai has created a safe environment through these tough times, and while I’m truly grateful for the support I've been given as a women, mom, and employee of the company, I’m also very grateful and happy to see that not many (if any at all) women resigned from Tact in 2020, which speaks to just how supportive Tact is overall in terms of balancing each person’s unique needs with the demands of our customers. The people-first approach at this company has been instrumental in the retention of our employees, and Tact.ai wouldn’t have grown in such a challenging year without each and every one of them.

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What type of culture does Tact.ai try and foster for women?

I’ve really never worked at a company where all the women, and I mean ALL, in the company have invited me into their “home” with open arms. The women at Tact are a community and they stand together, which is refreshing to see. They are inclusive and accepting, and because of this, they’ve built a community of Tact women who love to share jokes, hobbies, vent, and encourage one another.

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What is one piece of advice you’ve heard or received that you try and live by?

Quoting Hillary Clinton “Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it, change it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.”

At Tact.ai, we believe that to achieve diversity and inclusion, all employees need to take part in creating a collaborative, empowering and welcoming workplace. Tact.ai continues these critical conversations with our team across the globe, and will highlight an interview with a women leader at Tact.ai each week throughout the month of March.

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