Empowering Women in MACH: Building a Community for Change
Jasmin Guthmann talks about the origins of Women In MACH, where it’s headed, and why it matters to everyone in the industry (not just women).
In 2022, a couple of years after the formation of the MACH Alliance, a one-off event in Madrid sparked an unexpected blaze. A small gathering of women came together to share their experiences in a more collective setting during a MACH event.
“Really a few women said, ‘Hey, why don't we get together in Madrid and provide a safe space for us to share with each other how it's going and the challenges we're facing? Because we kind of feel like there's topics that we discuss one-on-one, but they’re not discussed on a broader scale,” says Jasmin Guthmann, Head of Corporate Communication at Contentstack, Executive Board Member of the MACH Alliance and Executive Sponsor of Women in MACH.
According to her, the thinking was simple: “Why don't we get a hundred women together, all leading women in tech, and see what that does?” What that did was something unexpected: the casual meeting quickly revealed the need for a safe space where women in the tech industry could connect, share, and support each other.
“We had no no great aspirations,” says Guthmann. “But then we got together, and that was really impressive. I was stunned because the atmosphere was quite unique.”
The event was well-received from the outset. “The feedback from everybody in attendance was, we need to do more of this, right?” recalls Guthmann. It had been created for women, by women, but not to the exclusion of men. Men were quite purposefully invited to be a part of the event and for Guthmann, the tipping point to turn the event into something more permanent came from a brief conversation with a male colleague during that initial gathering.
“He said, ‘Look at this. This is a room for women, and I'm one of the few men in the room. For the first time in my whole life I feel outnumbered, and I'm intimidated. And that is what you're facing all day, every day.’ And I looked at him and I was like, ‘You're right!’” says Guthmann. That was what she calls her “lightbulb moment”.
From there, things moved quickly. Guthmann and the other early Women in MACH members took action, and Guthmann brought the idea to the board, believing that for it to have lasting impact, there needed to be more to it than occasional conversations.
“From my point of view it needed to be something more profound, something more impactful, because we can all talk about things all day long. It's not going to do anything for anybody,” she says. “So I took it to the MACH Alliance Board and said, ‘We're advocating for best of breed technology. Why don't we also advocate for better diversity, equity, and inclusion? Because teams that are diverse are proven to create better results.’”
Women in MACH has grown significantly, from a casual gathering into a community-driven initiative with three core pillars: events, education (through the EnlightenHer program), and a mentorship program. And it’s not something that the MACH Alliance owns; it’s led by the community, with everyone involved contributing on a voluntary basis.
“It is community-led both for strategy and for execution. So everybody that is working on it is doing it voluntarily,” Guthmann tells me. “It's amazing what you can achieve if everybody pitches in just a little.”
The Mentorship Program: A Two-Way Street
One of the most successful aspects of Women in MACH has been its mentorship program. Initially aiming to match 50 mentors with mentees, the program quickly surpassed expectations, creating over 100 matches in its first cohort. Now, as the second cohort begins, more than 200 mentors have signed up, eager to make a difference.
“I think that was the biggest hit,” Guthmann says of the mentorship program. “It really was a smash hit in year one. And that's also what has grown the movement quite exponentially last year.”
The program is open to experienced professionals of all genders, provided they have a curious mind and a passion for helping others grow. However, on the mentee side, the program is consciously limited to women. “Women don’t get enough proactive support,” Guthmann notes. “What we hear time and time again [from mentees] is, ‘Oh, this is the first time that I have access to something like this.’ So it's not something proactively offered by their employers or within their communities.”
The importance of such opportunities cannot be overstated. As Guthmann points out, representation matters. “We need to lead by doing. The more we can create visibility, be on stage… that creates an incredible sense of community.” When women see other women on stage or in leadership positions, they start to believe they can be there too. It’s about creating a visible pathway for women to follow.
“The MACH Alliance was founded to challenge the status quo. The same is true for Women in MACH,” says Guthmann. And the mentorship program is a key part of how the group challenges existing norms.
Looking Ahead: A Future of True Equity
As Women in MACH continues to grow, a new question arises: When will the group have achieved its goals? For Guthmann, the answer lies in a future where the gender split at events and in leadership roles is naturally balanced.
“If you don't put a foot down for the agenda, and say, ‘I insist that we're going to have a 50-50 speaker split, male-female’ you're never going to get there. Because if you just let it slide, and you do it the easy way, you're always going to end up with 90% male speakers. Always,” notes Guthmann.
Fortunately, Guthmann has become one of the leading voices in the digital space and with advocates like her, we may be closer to that goal than we think. Still, Guthmann is practical and knows that kind of shift in habits takes time.
“The second we enter a phase where we no longer have to talk about it— that's what would conclude the mission. I wish I could say in 5 years time, but I have a nagging feeling that might be a little overly optimistic,” she notes.
Guthmann’s role as a prominent voice in the MACH Alliance and the broader headless and composable technology space was never a calculated move. “I've never needed somebody to commission me with something to do,” she says. “I'm just very passionate about helping other women be more confident and make better choices about what they want to do, how they want to do it, and how they want to build their future. Because there's so much opportunity, if only you’re able to see it. But you need somebody to show you the way.”
As Women in MACH enters its second year of mentorship pairings—with a kickoff event in London—the community’s impact continues to grow, offering women in the MACH ecosystem a place to connect, learn, and thrive. The work is far from over, but with leaders like Guthmann at the helm, the future looks promising.
Leigh Bryant
Editorial Director, Composable.com
Leigh Bryant is a seasoned content and brand strategist with over a decade of experience in digital storytelling. Starting in retail before shifting to the technology space, she has spent the past ten years crafting compelling narratives as a writer, editor, and strategist.