Mommies on Stage #3

Join Mommies on Stage #3! Our third physical meetup for women on maternity leave by Women on Stage, powered by Riskified Tech!

**Note that the event will be in Hebrew and open to all genders. Participation is free of charge pending approval.

We know maternity leave can be challenging, it doesn’t matter if it’s your first or third time around. We also understand that you might feel like your brain is not as sharp as it used to be, and that’s ok, you’re tired and going through a significant transition in your life. We know, we’ve been there too.

That’s why we partnered up with Riskified Tech to host this meetup for women in R&D on maternity leave, aimed exclusively *for you*! We want to make sure that you’re also taking the time to take care of yourself and YOUR needs.

Riskified Tech is a perfect match for hosting this event since they play an active role in promoting female representation within the tech industry, both internally and externally. For example, Riskified promotes female-led speaking opportunities on podcasts and tech conferences, collaborates with NGOs like QueenB and SheCodes and hosts events with local tech communities, like Data Queens, Women in Clouds, and more.

If you’re eager for some professional and inspiring content and for some networking with top industry leaders who know what you’re going through, this is the event for you (along with your baby)!

Agenda:

• 10:30 - 11:00 Welcome & mingling
• 11:00 - 11:30 Career Before Children - Is It OK for Me to Think This Way? - Merav Dagai, Director of R&D @ Riskified
• 11:30 - 12:00 3 Pregnancies, 2 Kids, and 1 Startup CTO - Nofar Bracha, CTO @ Joonko
• 12:00 - 12:30  More mingling

//Career Before Children - Is It OK for Me to Think This Way? 

“I hated every minute of my maternity leave, and couldn't wait to get back to work to be myself again!”

“I’ve always wanted to excel in my career and my family life, why can’t I have both? ”

I faced many challenges along my career path, including raising three amazing kids (one with special needs) and losing my job during maternity leave (and during relocation), while having these thoughts that we are “not supposed to have” as mothers. If you've also felt this way but were too embarrassed to say it out loud - I invite you to join me to hear my personal story.

How did I deal with the guilt of not spending enough time with my kids? How did I have the courage to move my family twice for work relocations? What helped me to embrace these feelings and thoughts along the way? We will answer these questions, and discuss how we can be both successful career women and successful mothers.

Merav Dagai, Director of R&D @Riskified:

Merav is an R&D Director at Riskified, with 24 years of experience.

She grew in several management positions from leading 10 developers to leading 80 developers, in Israel and abroad.

The combination of managing people and being hands-on with technology makes her the happiest.

Merav lives in Kibbutz Einat, married with 3 kids. In her free time, she loves dancing and baking cakes and cookies.

// 3 Pregnancies, 2 Kids and 1 Startup CTO

When Joonko’s CEO offered me the position of the company’s CTO, which is the highest technical position within the startup, I was already pregnant with my first child (and she was aware of that). I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, but my mother always told me - “Aim for the greatest challenge. At worst case, you can always lower your choices.” She was right. I've followed her advice at every life decision since high school and to this day.

Not too long after my return from maternity leave, I discovered I’m pregnant again! I knew better what to expect the second time around, and set proper expectations with myself and with my co-workers. It definitely wasn’t easy, but I had to devise a system of boundaries. Now, into my third pregnancy, I feel I’ve gained many powerful insights for those who want to keep advancing, even after making the transition to motherhood.

I hope my talk helps you strike a healthier home and work-life balance, so you continue to pursue your dreams.

Nofar Bracha,  CTO @Joonko:

Nofar is a graduate of the IDF’s prestigious MAMRAM programming course and served as a software developer and a team leader in the OFEK software unit of the Israeli Air Force. Nofar brings +10 years of experience as a software engineer, hands-on and tech leader. Her spare time is devoted to cultivating the next generations of tech leaders - she manages the simulation program at BAOT* and mentors young women @ Watoobi. She is also a proud mom of 2 little infants.

* Israel’s largest community of senior software engineers, data scientists, and researchers that are women

About Riskified Tech:

Riskified empowers businesses to realize the full potential of eCommerce by making it safe, accessible, and frictionless. We have built a next-generation platform that allows online merchants to create trusted relationships with their consumers. Leveraging machine learning that benefits from a global merchant network, our platform identifies the individual behind each online interaction, helping merchants—our customers—eliminate risk and uncertainty from their business. We drive higher sales and reduce fraud and other operating costs for our merchants and provide superior consumer experiences, as compared to our merchants’ performance prior to onboarding us.

*Parking can be found at Berkowitz St 7 or Henrietta Szold St 4, Tel Aviv-Yafo