Celebrating International Women’s Day at Eagle Genomics

Happy International Women’s Day (IWD)! Today is a national holiday for our Ukrainian colleagues as well as an international awareness day. This year’s focus is the importance of embracing equity. As we contemplate this year’s #EmbraceEquity theme, we aim to consider the ways in which we willingly and enthusiastically accept, protect and celebrate fairness and impartiality, particularly as it relates to championing and honoring the women - at Eagle Genomics and beyond.  

Today and every day, we are grateful to all women, both in our teams and those worldwide, who continually embrace equity and drive forward our collective initiatives towards a better world. 

To celebrate IWD 2023, we asked different members of the Eagle Genomics team to share some thoughts on this special day. This includes both women and men who strive every day to embrace equity in their personal and professional lives. Here are the thoughts they shared with us. 

“In support of this year’s theme #EmbraceEquity, there are many ways in which we can all play an important role in not only recognizing and seeing one another and ensuring that everyone is invited to the party, but that everyone is also asked to dance at that party and play to their strengths.” 

Yvonne Pinto, Director of Bioeconomy – AgBio  

“Embracing yourself is a beautiful theme. It is about support, acceptance and strength – these are the very essence of being a woman, which we so easily provide for others. It is time we provide it for ourselves. Happy International Women’s Day!” 

Krithika Srinivasan, Associate Director – Bioinformatics 

“To me, being a woman means being humble, courageous and cheerful.” 

Apoorva Mishra, Software Engineer-QA 

“According to me, a woman represents genuine warmth, support and strength and is equally competitive - all over the world.” 

Vijaya Madhuri Doddi, Associate Software Engineer 

“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong.” 

Roja Das, Software Engineer - QA 

“Let us all honor, respect, and adore all the amazing women, whether they are mothers, wives, or daughters. Let's demonstrate our pride in our achievements and commitment to building a fantastic world. There is a Wonder Woman inside every woman. We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves.” 

Manjot Kaur, Associate Software Engineer 

“Women should be celebrated every day, nevertheless, a day dedicated to female empowerment is extremely special. It doesn’t just honor the iconic women who have changed history but encourages new generations to dream big and know that anything is possible.” 

Pratyusha Kommaraju, Scrum Master 

“To me this day is about creating awareness, and in the first place also being cognizant myself, of the fact that no organization can thrive without an equitable representation of women in key functions, whether that means leadership, innovation or any role which plays to the skillset and strengths of the individual. I am a big believer in having a diverse workforce and embracing this diversity, in terms of including highly effective and differentiated players across our bigger ecosystem. This starts by making sure that every person, and girls/women, get equal opportunities and access to education, industries, companies, jobs, and leadership roles. Basically, providing what girls and women need to be able to accomplish what they aspire for their own fulfilment, and for a better society.” 

Bram Goorden, Chief Operating Officer 

“Women possess incredible potential and strength around the world. We are able to create new life and bring positive change. It is important to celebrate the contributions of women not only in science but  throughout history, and to continue working towards a more equitable world for all women.” 

Jeevita Konari, Bioinformatics Scientific Analyst  

“I aspire to be a role model for the next generation of female scientists and female leaders. I would encourage everyone to spend a little bit of their time leading, mentoring and coaching their colleagues or getting involved in other mentoring programs. Not only are we sharing our experience and expertise with the next generation, but we can also gain a wider perspective of the world around us and new insights into the challenges faced by others. With that awareness and an openness to learn and improve, we can start to break the barriers and create true equity for all.” 

Birgit Meldal, Senior Scientific Data Manager 

“International Women’s Day to me is a celebration and appreciation of women across the world. It is a day when women are recognized, and we show support for everything that has been accomplished. Even more importantly, it should be more about what will be accomplished in the future with fairness and inclusion. #EmbraceEquity.” 

Artem Khlebnikov, Director Bioeconomy Food & Nutrition 

“No LIFE without WOMEN.” 

Gopinatha Reddy Karnati, Engineering – Delivery Lead 

“IWD is a reminder to ground ourselves in the need to celebrate and champion women, their contribution to society (both paid and unpaid), gender equality and women's empowerment. And to translate that grounding into every single aspect of our day-to-day, working collectively to move beyond token gestures, and into true and genuine expansion of women's choice, power, and opportunity.” 

Ester Bortot, Strategy Manager 

“Embracing equity should not only be a goal but also a daily practice. IWD is a reminder to celebrate the progress made towards gender equality, but also acknowledge the work that still needs to be done to create a world where every woman can thrive, without exception.” 

Myrto Kremyda-Vlachou, Bioinformatician 

“Recognizing that different people have varying needs and backgrounds is part of equity, which goes beyond simply treating everyone equally. It entails establishing an environment where everyone, regardless of traits and gender, has equal access to resources and chances. IWD is a day to appreciate all our achievements with great pride, reminding ourselves of the many paths we have crossed to achieve this status.” 

Roshan Shafiha, Junior Bioinformatician 

“Celebrate all successes, care about those you interact with, and ensure you provide a nurturing, positive, caring and fun environment. Care about the wider community you and your team interface with. I do not see myself as a female leader within Eagle Genomics, I think of myself as a leader with purpose, striving to do the right thing. My values define who I am, not my gender.” 

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou 

Sandra Bläser, VP of Customer Success 

"As a woman, daughter, sister, mother and scientist, I want to give thanks to two great ladies in my life: my mother, for the unlimited love and trust in life that she gives me every day, and Science, for the extraordinary source of joy and inspiration along my professional and personal development." 

Lucie Friedlander, Commercial Director for Southern Europe & Belgium 

"All women around the world should celebrate their capabilities, talents, strengths, resilience, accomplishments - in one word, their existence, and the positive impact of their existence on the world every moment of their life. IWD is an important reminder to others to celebrate this day together and once again embrace equality between the genders.” 

Nooshin Omranian, Systems Biology Scientist 

"Today, and every day, let us recognize and appreciate the strength, resilience, and determination of women everywhere. Here's to the ones who have broken barriers and continue to pave the way for a brighter future. Happy IWD!"

Neerupma Bhardwaj, Senior Scientist 

“International women’s day to me is a reminder that while progress has been made there is still much work to be done to achieve gender equality and to ensure that women can live their lives to the fullest potential. At work, I embrace equity by sharing my knowledge and experience to support the professional development of others.” 

Aiswarya Rajasekharan, Senior Bioinformatician 

If you would like to contribute to Eagle Genomics’ purpose and work alongside these and many other inspiring individuals, visit our careers page or contact us.