by Lucia Conti

“Done is better than perfect.” This is the mantra that Lisa Di Sevo, President of SheTech Italy, endeavours to live by.

She remembers seeing this motto mentioned by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and immediately connected to it, because, as Di Sevo argues, “having it all” is impossible. “Growing up means making mistakes and learning from them,” she says. “Even algorithms learn from mistakes.” In Di Sevo’s opinion, trying to be perfect only gets in the way of making progress.

SheTech Italy was born as a non-profit organisation with the goal of bridging the gender gap and supporting women in the world of tech, digital, and entrepreneurship. Through networking events, training, and new professional opportunities, Di Sevo strongly believes than technology can help women achieve real empowerment.

 “The gender employment gap in the technology sector is impossible to ignore,” she underlines, stating that the new digital landscape has become a necessity as we rely increasingly technology in all areas of life. Therefore, she points out, technology represents an amazing opportunity for accelerating women’s empowerment, and indubitably provides “means and resources to change the rules of the game.”

SheTech aims to educate a new generation of tech girls. In 2019 more than 1000 girls joined its boot-camps and workshops, but one of the goals is to bring more men into the discussion and Di Sevo is very proud that seven percent of their associates are men. Furthermore, every year SheTech scouts and selects ten female founders to provide them with networking possibilities, support, and empowerment. “Since 2015 we have raised around 45 million for female entrepreneurs” she says proudly, “an amazing result for Italy.”

Di Sevo was a featured role model in the international virtual conference “Women in Industry and Innovation”. She is a strong supporter of UNIDO’s mission to encourage collaboration and diversity.

“Effective innovation requires thinking from different angles. Teams that embrace such diversity are more productive and creative,” states Di Sevo. “Moreover, collaborations are essential to create real change.”

Her message to women who are starting their own businesses and looking for role models is clear:

“Remaining true to yourself and finding your own voice are the keys to rising above preconceived expectations.”