International Women’s Day 2023 will be observed on Wednesday, March 8th. IWD is the global day of celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Barcoding is celebrating some of our most inspiring and hardworking women—employees and partners!
International Women’s Day was launched in 1911 by “New Women” and their fellow suffragettes. Today, International Women’s Day commemorates the agency of women and their socioeconomic, sociopolitical, cultural, academic, and legal achievements. IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere.
The theme for this year’s IWD is #EmbraceEquity. Equity can be defined as giving everyone what they need to be successful. In other words, it's not giving everyone the exact same thing. If we give everyone the exact same thing, expecting that will make people equal, it assumes that everyone started out in the same place—and this can be vastly inaccurate because everyone isn't the same. Learn more about the difference between equality versus equity here.
Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion. Encourage your friends, family, colleagues, and community to embrace equity. Together we can work collectively to impact positive change. Let's all embrace equity today, and always.
Are you in? Will you embrace equity? Show the world your huge embrace. Strike the IWD #EmbraceEquity pose to show solidarity. Strike the IWD 2023 pose and share your #EmbraceEquity photo on social media today using the hashtags #IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity! Together we will help encourage further people to commit to helping forge an inclusive world. Get to know some incredibly strong women here at Barcoding, Inc., Barcoding-Canada, Connect Inc., and Zebra Technologies!
Laurie crisp,
Senior Inside Sales Representative
Describe your job and role at Barcoding-Canada.
My role here at Barcoding-Canada is multi-layered. Dubbed the “Media Queen” by my colleagues I embrace custom consumable projects providing long-term labeling solutions for my customers. Along with these consumables projects, I also provide hardware and professional services to support these projects. Presenting my customers with the best possible complete solution from inception to implementation. Getting my feet wet in the barcoding industry in the mid 80’s I am completely blown away not only by present-day technology but also by the vast array of solutions on the market today!
Who is your biggest female role model and why?
Tough Choice! I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with many influential, independent, empowering women. Choosing just one is far too difficult as many have overcome insurmountable obstacles, including gender-based bias, and physical and emotional abuse both in the workplace and in the home. Many of whom rose above these hindrances to become powerful, influential women whom I’d admire beyond measure.
How have you supported other women in their careers?
I stumbled upon a quote that has since become my mantra “be the woman who fixes another woman’s crown without telling the world it was crooked”. Too often in business & personal life women compete against other women, what I find more empowering is pushing women out of their comfort zones to reach their full potential. To be completely true to ourselves & authentically genuine, the support and reinforcement from other women allows us to freely speak our minds without fear, share our thoughts, and acknowledge that yes, we are all individuals but at the same token we are all talented, extraordinary females.
Shari Christofferson,
President, Connect Inc.
Describe your job and role at Connect Inc.
I am the President of a technology company, and my days are spent conversing with colleagues, business partners, and customers. From those conversations, I learn how to improve my company's solutions. My team and I work to create a more effective delivery of our core value to our customers. Rinse and repeat for happy customers and business success.
Who is your biggest female role model and why?
My female role model is my Aikido instructor, Sensei Enmei Hunter of Logan Square Aikido in Chicago. The reason why relates to a long string of stories that have accumulated over a decade of training together almost every week, on most days. She is indefatigable. She is fierce in her support and care of her students, friends, and also stray cats. At 5 feet tall she is one of the most formidable people I've come across aside from my mother, but when she sits down with you and offers her ear you get the feeling you can solve your problem, overcome your fear, and become better than you were before.
How have you supported other women in their careers?
Many women I know are natural at supporting women's careers, and I should know because they have supported me. What they have taught me is to seize the opportunity and act without hesitation. On occasion, I have received gratitude from people I had not realized that I supported in a meaningful way. It is an incredible feeling to learn that I have the potential to pick up on a gap and move to where I need to be at the right time to support someone else. That this can be accomplished without having to think too much about it or have an agenda behind it, gives me confidence that I will continue to support other women at every opportunity.
Becky Bush,
Director of National Accounts
Describe your job and role at Barcoding.
I joined Barcoding back in 1999, during my last year of college, as a salesperson. The company was just starting its 2nd year in business and there were only a few of us that worked here. I was new to the AIDC industry and had so much to learn. Formal training consisted of driving 2 hours to a sales call with the owner and taking notes about scanners. From that point forward, I just jumped in and learned as I went. Like many small businesses, you learn to wear many hats quickly. I would sell during the day, helping to pack and ship things we sold in the afternoon, tidy up the office space, and help with anything else that we needed.
Throughout our growth, that mentality didn’t change. My focus has always been in sales, but at times the company has needed me to step up to help in other areas such as managing other sales reps or coming in to help with our professional services team to get orders out to meet deadlines, etc.
Now almost 24 years later, I am the Director of National Accounts. In this role, it is my responsibility to integrate myself into my customers’ business, understand how they operate and bring them solutions and process improvements to allow them to be more efficient, accurate, and connected. As one of the original employees of this company along with being a leader in the sales organization, I also see it as my responsibility to do my part and lead by example. We all come from different backgrounds with different skill sets, but at the end of the day, we are all one company with a culture that supports equity among all. And for that, I am proud to be a part of the Barcoding family.
Who is your biggest female role model and why?
Growing up, I can honestly say I didn’t have many female role models around. I came from a poor background where you had two choices: sink or swim. I chose to swim. I chose to push to be the best version of myself along the way. That definition in my mind changed over time as I evolved in my life, as a woman, a mother, and as a professional.
At Barcoding, I am so fortunate to be surrounded by some of the most amazing women I’ve had the honor to be around in my life. Not only are they incredibly gifted in the roles they have at Barcoding, but more importantly they are just good people down to their core. I am humbled by their character, and their willingness to always be there to lend a helping hand or provide the strength and encouragement needed when doubts arise. I consider myself fortunate to have been given the opportunity to be surrounded by such amazing women. They have and continue to inspire me to be better.
How have you supported other women in their careers?
I came into this industry back in 1999, when women in the supply chain were few and far between. I learned quickly that it was going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to gain respect as a Saleswoman in this space. I didn’t look at the situation as if it were unfair or sexist, rather, I took it as an opportunity to develop a drive that helped to fuel my success. I wanted to learn everything and anything I could about the industry, the technology, and how it all impacted our customer's businesses.
Today, 24 years later, I still push myself daily to understand how I can continue to learn and grow to help those I can impact both professionally and personally. It’s not about what we do for ourselves; it’s about how we can make a positive impact on those that surround us.
As C.S. Lewis states, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less”. No one is perfect, and we all have our moments for sure. I just hope that through my own character, and the example set by the women I’m surrounded by, that I too inspire other women around me.
Adriana Capizzi,
Invoicing and Collections Specialist
Describe your job and role at Barcoding.
I have a few different roles at Barcoding. First and foremost, I am on Team Finance as an Invoicing and Collections Specialist. This involves working with the Sales Reps on the collections process of the outstanding receivables. My other roles include depositing checks into the bank and working with the Marketing Team on creating invoices to send to our partners for rebates and refunds from different programs.
Who is your biggest female role model and why?
My grandmothers are my biggest role models because they came over to the United States from Italy with nothing and had to create a life for themselves in a new country where they didn’t even know the language. One of them was a stay-at-home mom who took care of her four children and the other had two children and was an entrepreneur who ran her own business. They are the pillars of hard work and they both made their faith and family central to their lives. Seeing everything that they accomplished against all odds has really made an impact on me that nothing is IMPOSSIBLE to achieve in life if you set your mind to it.
How have you supported other women in their careers?
I have done this in a multitude of ways. One way is that Team Finance is made up of mostly women, especially with my role as an Invoicing and Collections Specialist. I try to be a team player and a positive role model for the women on my team as an example to them. I also look for ways to help my coworkers so that we can do our best to facilitate the growth and success of Barcoding.
Another way that I have supported other women in their careers is when I worked at the LOFT as a retail associate in assisting the female customers with selecting clothing articles that helped them to feel confident and beautiful in themselves.
Gail Ireland,
Support Specialist
Describe your job and role at Barcoding.
My name is Gail Ireland, Operations Support Specialist from Barcoding, Inc. I paved the way—by providing/sharing tools and resources—to help support every stage of the process in operations. I am very resourceful with well-rounded knowledge and can help keep the workflow connected.
I am constantly looking for ways to overcome challenges—by simplifying and optimizing workflow for greater efficiency, communications, collaboration, knowledge enabling, and time management—to increase efficiency, accuracy, and connectivity within an organization to help reduce costs, errors, and time spent completing tasks.
Who is your biggest female role model and why?
I do not have a specific female role model, as everyone is a unique individual, and has made an impact on my life in so many ways.
How have you supported other women in their careers?
I am very passionate about everything I do in life and continue to learn—by leveraging the tools and resources—to help improve my skills and knowledge that will allow me to collaborate with my peers and customers intelligently. I am smart enough to help with business needs and tough enough to tackle any work environment.
I am who I am today with the support and guidance from my amazing peers and everyone from the past, present, and perhaps the future.
Must seize every opportunity, and have the strength, courage, and confidence to face everything and rise. Be present, passionate about everything you do in life, and ready for any challenge.
Anita Gannon,
Channel Manager, East Region, Zebra Technologies
Describe your job and role at Zebra Technologies.
As Channel Account Manager at Zebra, I am able to work with Barcoding and my business partners to work strategically to grow our mutual businesses. It’s a multifaceted job interfacing with all aspects of my business partner accounts.
Who is your biggest female role model and why?
I’m impressed with the next generation of women coming into the professional world now. I think the younger generation is coming into the workforce with expectations of equality and to be treated with respect and professionalism. They are taking on significant roles in business with confidence and exceeding all expectations.
How have you supported other women in their careers?
My primary way of supporting women is through mentoring. I have 30+ years of experience selling in the tech industry and have seen and learned a lot along the way. Women are not only a minority at most tech companies but barely even here! I think young women need to know they have a place in this industry and a lot to contribute. The tech industry is a very rewarding field and rich in opportunity. We need more diversity in ideas and perspectives in the tech workplace to make it the best it can be.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!
Barcoding aspires to celebrate and commemorate all women this International Women’s Day. Through our active efforts and our leaders, we pursue equity and justice for all women. Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquity. Check out our blog posts in 2020, 2021, and 2022 about our remarkable women at Barcoding!
