In the past few years, the lesser known sister to Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, has grown in popularity.

Galentine’s Day is observed on February 13th as a chance to celebrate the wonderful female friendships in our lives. The concept of women supporting women is a major component of the Women in Tech conversation, so I thought today was the perfect opportunity to support some of my fellow ladies.

There are so many incredible women I’ve met at Ivanti and throughout my career, but I wanted to highlight two who have taught me the meaning of women supporting women firsthand, Sara Coppock and Sarah Lewis.

In January, I had the chance to attend the Ivanti Sales Kick Off Awards Night and the London Women in IT Awards and celebrate these amazing women.

Sara Coppockivanti awards - celebrating women in tech

The Ivanti Sales Kick Off Awards Night is a gala where a handful of exceptional Ivanti employees are recognized for their accomplishments throughout the year. Ivanti CMO Steve Morton defined the Marketing “We Can” award as an award to recognize a team player, someone who our department simply couldn’t survive without.

When Sara Coppock was announced as the winner of the “We Can” award, the house came down. There wasn’t a dry eye at our entire table. Sara’s manager, Sarah Lewis (the founder of Ivanti’s Women in Technology Campaign), stood beaming, tearing up, with the most genuine smile. In that moment, as I looked around at all of the women looking up at Sara with pride, the meaning of “women supporting women” really clicked for me.

I’ve been working closely with Sara for almost six months now. Sara started as the office receptionist and was later promoted into the field marketing department, focusing on event planning and internal communications for Ivanti’s London office. Sara is that person in the office who knows everything; she is everyone’s go-to for all questions.

There are a lot of qualities about Sara that I find admirable. First, she is one of the hardest workers I know. She genuinely cares about the work she is doing; her attention to detail and preparation is indicative of her passion to execute high-class marketing initiatives. Sara is also a loving mother whose pride and love for her children is part of everything she does. 

Being around Sara feels like being around the sun. You naturally are drawn in by her light. You want to revolve around her brightness. People like Sara are few and far between, but once you meet them, you never forget them.

Sarah Lewiscelebrating women in tech

I saw the concept of “women supporting women” in action again at the London’s Women in IT Awards. I attended along with my Ivanti colleagues to support Ivanti customer Sally Bogg of Leeds Beckett University, who was nominated as the Women in IT Advocate of the Year. We were also supporting Sarah Lewis, whose incredible Women in Tech campaign at Ivanti was nominated for the Diversity Campaign of the Year award.

I’ve blogged about my respect for Sarah Lewis in the past, but this article is about women supporting women, so here we go again. Sarah has championed Ivanti’s Women in Tech campaign by creating the Twitter community @TheTechieGirls, starting a successful blog focused on workplace diversity, surveying over 500 women in technology to learn about their successes and challenges, leading a massive social media campaign celebrating the strengths of women in tech, and so much more.

Everything Sarah does embodies supporting others, especially women. She is a born mentor who strives to help those around her succeed. Her organizational skills are unparalleled, and when she accompanies these skills with her brilliant strategic mind, magic happens.

I’ve learned a lot by watching how Sarah carries herself in the office. She balances years of experience and expertise with the talent of listening to others and genuine empathy. Like Sara, her passion for the work she does shines through everything she does. Her dedication to the women in technology campaign inspires me daily.

I encourage people everywhere to celebrate this Galentine’s Day by identifying the women in your life who inspire you and thank them. Tell us about your favourite women in technology on Twitter and tag @TheTechieGirls!

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