The Women of Rezilion: Product Manager Hadas Schlessinger
We are highlighting some of the amazing and talented women at Rezilion as part of our celebration of Women’s History month. Here we catch up with Hadas Schlessinger on her role as a product manager and why she wants to see more women’s leadership in global companies.
Tell me about your role and how you got started in your career? Why did you pursue this career path?
Hadas Schlessinger: For the past 10 months, I’ve been a Product Manager at Rezilion. In this role I’m involved in designing, planning, and managing Rezilion’s core product. It’s a role that makes me proud.
I started working at Rezilion 3 years ago, when I was a student. Rezilion adopted me and helped me grow and develop; first as a developer in the backend team and now as a PM. From the moment I started looking at the industry, I knew I wanted to be a product manager (and even mentioned it in my interview with Rezilion). I thought that developing software first would give me an advantage and would allow me to be a better PM in the future (and also, I like it). Being a technical PM for me combines the advantages from many worlds – it involves people, vision, research, and challenges. I really like what I’m doing and I feel that it fits me.
What inspires you to do the best you can?
I do the best I can because I don’t know how to do less than that. As a kid and a teenager, I was a gymnast – I was raised to always do my best (this is how you win – train hard, and perform your best). Doing less than the best makes me think that I might lose.
Does being a woman in tech pose any unique challenges?
I think being a woman in tech is challenging – mostly because of our own perspective – as this world is mostly managed by men. We think that we need to prove we are “killers” too, that we need to speak “man-ish” and that sometimes we need to be less emotional. I believe this is our challenge: to understand that our differentiation is also a power. We think differently, sometimes our “emotional attitude” brings a killer idea, and when we are led by professionalism and do our job well, we prove ourselves the same way men do. As women, we have strengths that empower us. Believing we are worth the same and not hesitating is our challenge.
What about working at Rezilion do you think helps foster an environment of inclusion?
Rezilion has been my home for the past 3 years. I’m here today because the company supported me to follow my dreams. It was not because I’m a woman, it was because we are all humans, and they want the best for all employees regardless of gender.
What further progress would you like to see for women in technology around the world in the future?
I want to see more women in managerial positions. When the top 10 leading companies have an equal number of men and women in their management, we will be in a better place. When the majority of the top 10 leading companies are managed by women – I will know a real change was made.
