March 13, 2020
With PwC reporting that only 5% of leadership positions in the technology sector are held by women, we have launched a Q&A blog series to shine a spotlight on some of the amazing women we have in our leadership team and how they got to where they are.
In the second part of our series, we spoke to our Head of Airline Partnerships, Livia Vite:
What is your role at eNett?
As the Head of Airline Partnerships, I work closely with airlines that wish to accept eNett VANs from their agency partners. My role also involves supporting our customers in their payments discussions with airlines. As well as educating the industry, where possible, on virtual B2B payments between airlines and agencies by working with our strategic partners like Mastercard and industry associations like WTAAA (World Travel Agent Associations Alliance) and IATA (International Air Transport Association).
What was your path to this role?
I started my career as a lawyer with roles in commercial as well as banking and finance. After joining IATA as legal counsel, I made a career transition to the core business of IATA and held various strategic roles for the IATA agency programmes. The knowledge, experience and industry relationships I gained in my past roles put me in a great position to take on the challenge of developing airline partnerships strategy for eNett.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
It draws from all of my professional experience but in a completely new area, so i'm constantly learning and creating new solutions. My role also has a real impact on the industry as a whole – which is exciting.
Why do you think it can be difficult for women to get into tech and/or leadership roles in tech?
I wouldn’t necessarily limit this question to tech. I think that it is a question that can apply to many different industries, particularly when you are looking at women getting into leadership roles. One of the key challenges for women, and other minorities, is unconscious bias which has been shown already through various studies. Changing this does require a significant cultural mindset shift. On a positive note, there is now a real willingness from both men and women to get behind this shift and we are starting to see some change.
How can the industry kick-start change for women in tech?
There are many ways that have been suggested for an industry to trigger change like having quotas on boards, diversity targets and the like. But again, I think we’ll see real change when it happens at a more fundamental level. For example, behaviours such as men mentoring women professionally as well as men supporting women in the private sphere.
What’s your advice or message for women looking to enter tech?
Go for it!
Stay tuned for part three of our Q&A blog series, featuring our Head of People, Hareta McMullin, next week.
ENDS