As March draws to a close, we’re ending our employee spotlight for Women’s History Month with a double-header: Alesia Gann and Jess Wright, representing the Logistics and Engineering teams, respectively.
Chase: What's your title? Describe your role as if I'm brand new to ScriptDrop.
Alesia: My title is "Logistics Specialist." My daily responsibilities include but are not limited to updating deliveries, monitoring deliveries, updating couriers to meet customer needs, courier performance updates, and sending monthly supporting invoice documents.
Jess: I’m a Senior Software Developer. I work closely with other members of our Technology, Data and Product teams to enhance and monitor ScriptDrop’s cloud-based web applications and APIs.
Chase: Women have been the backbone of healthcare as long as there has been healthcare. What does it mean to you to work in the healthcare space?
Alesia: I had never worked in the healthcare system prior to April of 2020 during the COVID pandemic. To be honest, it is so rewarding knowing that what the Logistics team and I do helps so many people get their medications during a time when there's no other way. During the COVID shutdown of the country, I was able to work daily with a multitude of mom-and-pop business owners across the country who helped us to help their communities.
Jess: I never set out to work in healthcare. I happened upon ScriptDrop during a career transition into tech out of the non-profit sector. I wanted to work in the tech space but was worried I wouldn’t have the opportunity to feel connected to a mission that markedly improves daily life for many; ScriptDrop has offered me both professional growth as a developer as well as an incredible mission and opportunity to positively impact real lives. Available and responsive healthcare is an important determinant to happiness and stability. There is a direct link between the application code I write and medication adherence rates for many people who are unable to make it to the pharmacy. I’m incredibly fortunate.
Chase: What impact do you hope to have being a woman in the technology space – a space that is often over-represented by men?
Jess: I like to believe that I’m setting an example for other women who may be interested in tech, especially those who currently work in other fields but who are considering gaining technical skills to make a similar career transition. At a recent developer conference I was reminded of how critical it is to shape technical job descriptions very carefully, as women statistically apply to positions only when they meet nearly 100% of the required and preferred skills listed on a job posting versus men who will apply when they meet around 60%. As more women gain positions in the tech sector, we must involve ourselves in hiring processes at our companies by helping to craft job postings, volunteering to pair as part of the skills assessment interview rounds and participating in cultural interviews.
Chase: What would you say to girls and women who want to work in Healthcare IT? What advice would you give them?
Alesia: If you want to be in a continuously evolving field while helping others, Healthcare IT would be a great field to pursue. Never stop learning and take advantage of any instructors willing to work with you. Find women who have already started down this path as mentors.
Jess: At your most uncomfortable is when you learn and grow the fastest – jump in! Don’t discount previous job experience; written communication and team-building are extremely valuable skills in Healthcare IT. There are a plethora of female-focused tech trainings, bootcamps, and meetups available to join and test the waters, and the women-in-tech community is welcoming and exceedingly generous.
Chase: What makes ScriptDrop a great place to work for women? How can we improve?
Alesia: I've been blessed to have management that has helped develop and pull out my talents that fit on the Logistics team.
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Thank you to Alesia, Jess, Patrish, and Anastasiya for generously sharing their thoughts and time with us this month. And thank you to all the women and femme-identifying people on the ScriptDrop team and who partner with us! Let’s continue to make our corner of the healthcare IT industry into a welcoming, innovative, and ambitious space where everyone can grow.