Workplace

Grace Hopper 2020: Wayfair Leaders Discuss Culture, the Pandemic’s Impact

Four women sit smiling on a bench holding pillows with messages written on them, including "She Boss," "Tech Squad," "Coding Crew," and "Data = Girls' BFF".

Attending the Grace Hopper Celebration is always one of the highlights of our year. While that celebration looked a bit different in 2020, our team was still thrilled to participate in the world's largest gathering of women technologists.

We’re looking forward to a time when we can all be together again, but the virtual format was still an incredible way to learn, network and gain inspiration. Joining by video gave us the opportunity to bring a group of Wayfairians together, from their homes, for a thoughtful discussion on virtual work and shaping a remote work culture.

Wayfair Engineering leaders, including Fiona Tan and Krithika Sree Muthukumar, discussed these topics on a panel moderated by our Global Head of Talent, Kate Gulliver. Check it out here.

They discussed how Wayfair’s corporate offices have successfully adapted to working remotely and remained innovative. The panel also shared their thoughts on how to continue nurturing your career and professional relationships while juggling personal commitments and community involvement.

GraceHopper_2_2021.jpg

Despite the move to remote work, Wayfair still prides itself on a collaborative culture that empowers team members to take smart risks, embrace ownership and grow personally and professionally. As Krithika Sree Muthukuma, Head of B2B & B2C Sales Engineering at Wayfair, noted, "We've really aligned on two important things...empathy and transparency.”

The group also discussed Wayfair’s Change Starts at Home initiative, a company-wide discussion series exploring dimensions of diversity and intersectionality. "Being virtual, we felt this really visceral need to try to connect with our employees and check in and see what people were doing during an incredibly difficult time,” said Kate Gulliver. “Our Change Starts at Home conversations are a mix of employees that are incredibly courageous and share their experiences along different diversity dimensions, and different walks of life, and how that has impacted how they show up to work and who they are at work."

Watch the full panel discussion here.

Want to work at Wayfair? Head over to our Careers page to see our open roles. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to get a look at life at Wayfair and see what it’s like to be part of our growing team.

Share