Companies preach the necessity of caring and investing in women in the workplace, but what exactly does that look like in practice? For the Yotpo team, it doesn't require much more than looking at the list of initiatives it provides to empower women both at Yotpo and in the e-commerce industry as a whole.
“I don’t see any other sector that has the potential to cultivate female talent like e-commerce can,” said Yotpo’s Co-Founder and CEO Tomer Tagrin.
We chatted with three company leaders to learn more about the exciting ways in which Yotpo goes above and beyond in their efforts to eliminate the glass ceiling.
FOUNDED: 2011
EMPLOYEES: 300 (130 local)
WHAT THEY DO: Yotpo provides marketing solutions for user-generated content, loyalty and referrals in order to help e-commerce companies accelerate their growth.
WHERE THEY DO IT: NYC
EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED: Yotpo works with newer, more disruptive brands like Glossier and UNTUCKit, as well as established companies like Steve Madden and Bob's Furniture.
Cris Dinozo, Senior Director, Marketing Communications
Cris oversees brand and communications activities at Yotpo, making sure their big ideas and new projects are shared through a variety of channels.
BEYOND WORK: Running on the busy the streets of New York can be a challenge, but Cris loves it all the same ― the moment her sneakers hit the pavement, she’s liberated.
Yotpo has an Amazing Women in E-commerce initiative, where you honor women leaders across the e-commerce industry. What does the initiative mean to you?
Amazing Women in E-commerce is as close as you can get to marrying a personal passion with my work. As a woman and a mother of a teenage girl, I’m beyond proud to work for a company that champions women and their empowerment. All the credit goes to my colleague Talia, an amazing woman herself, who launched this project and secured a sizable donation from Yotpo to Girls Inc., a nonprofit women’s advocacy group.
How does having a diverse team with a unique culture enhance the overall experience of working at Yotpo?
Yotpo has built a culture that values authenticity, hard work, deep camaraderie and entrepreneurial spirit. This culture enables innovation in our products and satisfaction among our customers. It started in Tel Aviv and spread to New York, London and, now, Boston. No matter what office you are in, you can expect to find colleagues who embody these values, making this a rewarding workplace experience.
As a woman and a mother of a teenage girl, I’m beyond proud to work for a company that champions women and their empowerment.”
How does Yotpo go about fostering a strong sense of community?
Yotpo’s people team is the absolute best, and it serves as the true connective thread between all of us. They have relationships with every individual and work hard to make sure that the sense of community is strong all the time.
Tomer Tagrin, Co-Founder and CEO
Tomer is a co-founder of Yotpo and a very busy man ― he oversees finance, product, business development, strategy, and HR.
BEYOND WORK: Tomer is a podcast superfan who keeps his mind sharp in his off hours by listening to the thoughts of some of the smartest leaders in the world.
Tell us about the Amazing Women in E-commerce initiative at Yotpo. Why is it important to you?
I have the honor of serving women who are launching brands and engineering products, and creating commerce experiences of the future — I don’t see any other sector that has the potential to cultivate female talent like e-commerce can.
When my team came to me with the initiative, their passion was so inspiring. We really want to rally the industry around this mission to recognize, nurture and grow female leadership and achievement.
What steps do you take to make sure women’s voices are heard and celebrated at Yotpo?
We are developing a variety of initiatives and programs to ensure our teams across the board are progressing in their careers and have the resources they need to succeed and grow. One great initiative is our Women at Work speaker series, where female luminaries share their stories, lessons learned and valuable advice.
These efforts are a product of a task force that is addressing concerns, which popped up in our last pulse survey. We even created our own anti-harassment training to keep our workplace safe and empowering.
As a father of very young kids myself, I am happy to provide work flexibility for parents to leave early, come later, or do whatever they need to do in order to be great parents.”
In what ways does Yotpo encourage and empower working parents?
We recently moved into the sixth floor of our New York offices and built a stylish yet welcoming lactation room, with warm colors and comfortable furniture.
That said, we’re still learning. One of our new moms told us we also need a refrigerator for storage, so we made that happen. As a father of very young kids myself, I am happy to provide work flexibility for parents to leave early, come later, or do whatever they need to do in order to be great parents.
Jackie Werner, Senior Account Executive
Jackie is responsible for bringing in new business and educating e-commerce brands about the power of user-generated content.
BEYOND WORK: Jackie believes she was an event planner in a past life. From small group dinners to company-wide outings, she has a knack for throwing the perfect party.
Tell us a bit about Yotpo's Women at Work speaker series.
The Women at Work speaker series really originated as a direct result of the findings of an employee engagement survey. We noticed women in the organization weren’t feeling as connected to the company, and we wanted women to feel more empowered in the workplace. What better way to do that than by letting them hear from some of the most successful women leaders in the space?
Since launching the Women at Work speaker series, employees have been able to hear from some of the baddest boss ladies in tech and have felt more empowered to speak up, continue learning and developing outside of the workplace and advocate for one another. For me personally, it is something I am super proud of and I feel lucky to work at a company that acknowledges what needs improvement and actually takes action.
Since launching the Women at Work speaker series, employees have been able to hear from some of the baddest boss ladies in tech and have felt more empowered to speak up.”
How does your past experience contribute to your role at Yotpo?
I find myself, because of my background in women and gender studies, generally being more aware of certain gender dynamics in the workplace. Because of this, I feel comfortable speaking up and being an advocate for others as I see things happening
Although we have made a ton of progress, there are still inequalities — often a result of unconscious biases — in the tech space and workplace as a whole. These can only be fixed if we can acknowledge they happen and address the issues immediately. I am able to have these open and honest conversations at Yotpo to help make it a better, more inclusive environment for all.
How does Yotpo’s mentorship program help team members?
The program makes everyone feel more connected to the organization and like they have people in their court who are willing and invested in their growth. It has personally given me an outlet to share my experiences in the sales space with others and help newer sales professional navigate the ups and downs of the role.
