On The Right Track: Women Are Leading the Way in Racing, Cybersecurity, and So Much More

When you’re asked to picture a race car driver or a technology leader, many will conjure up the image of a man. Unfortunately, that’s often been accurate. But there are many women across the motorsports and technology industries who are changing that, simply by being their authentic selves in these roles. They’ve been able to break into industries that were not previously considered places where women can thrive.

As an organization with a strong team of women leaders, not to mention amazing women in our “pit crew,” we’re excited to be a sponsor of Andretti Autosport and Jamie Chadwick’s No. 28 DHL Dallara. Both industries have come far over the years with more women representation, but we still have more to achieve.

“Here at Andretti, we’re really proud of our long-standing values that have helped create an equitable workplace that champions diversity of thought, of opinion and of perspective to foster a high performance culture and working environment,” said Marissa Andretti, VP Andretti Autosport / Managing Director Andretti Technologies.

She went on to say, “We’ve worked hard as a race organization to ensure equality of opportunity irrespective of gender, race or background, and we’re incredibly proud to have the women represented throughout all divisions of our organization; in Administration, Engineering, Commercial, the pit crew and with three women within our driver roster, including Jamie Chadwick representing us in INDY NXT. We truly believe that as a business and a race team, we are Faster Together.”

Michael Andretti, at a recent panel hosted by DHL in St. Petersburg, put it well when asked about women in motorsports: “We don’t go for people just because they’re a woman, we do it because we want talent.”

The DNSFilter team had an opportunity to interview Jamie Chadwick (who was recently named front of the pack in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Sports & Games class of 2023) during her first INDY NXT by Firestone race weekend and asked her what advice she would give her 10-year-old self: “Probably to believe in myself. Not until my late teens did I actually think it was possible to do what I was doing, and possible to be fast. I always doubted myself. I never went out thinking, ‘You can win every race.’ I’d say believe in yourself, and I’d give that advice to anyone.”

Imposter syndrome is something that disproportionately impacts women, with as many as 85% of women in corporate America experiencing it at some point in their careers according to a KPMG study. 

Jamie also had this to say in regards to DNSFilter’s partnership with Andretti Autosport: “From chatting to the team at DNSFilter who joined me in St. Pete, I can see the parallels from my experience in motorsport, to the world of technology & cybersecurity. I’m looking forward to joining their Women in Technology & Motorsport event later this year as part of the panel discussion.”

We reached out internally to our DNSFilter team to discuss what it’s like being a woman in cybersecurity, and where the industry is heading.

Rebecca Gazda, Sr. Director of Labs had this to say on what it’s like being a woman in tech: “I was at a WIT (Women In Tech) event recently, sitting at lunch with a table of all women and one man. He looked at me and said, ‘You know, it’s really weird to me to be the only man at the table, I don’t think I have ever experienced this before.’ I had never even thought about it before, I am almost always the only woman or one of a few at the table or in the room, my team is entirely made up of men. At my last job, I was the only woman in management for a long time. I don’t mind being the only woman in the room, but I think it must be hard for women just starting in management or leadership roles to have the confidence to speak up when they look around the room and don’t see anyone else like them. For me, my mom has always described my personality as a ‘bull in a china shop’ so it was never a problem for me, but I have tons of friends who are not as outspoken that I know struggle with the tech landscape.”

Aliese Alter, Director of Business Operations had this to say on where the industry still needs to go: “I've always worked in largely male dominated industries. In the past, there was minimal discussion or acknowledgement into the disparity. Now, there is not only discussion and acknowledgement, but action being driven through conferences, groups, policies, media coverage, and more.”

Business Operations, Sr. Manager, Mike Sutton made an interesting observation about the DNSFilter team as a whole. “When I think about the people at DNSFilter who stand out because they’re doing a great job in terms of competency, professionalism, and ease of working with, I realized most of them are women.”

We’re proud of creating a space where women can grow and learn in their careers, and it means a lot to us that we have partners who share those values.

Stay tuned for more information on our Women in Technology & Motorsport event later this year.