Celebrating IWD and Inspiring Inclusion

Tell us about your Groupon journey. What brought you to Groupon?
I started as an Assistant vendor manager (avm) at Groupon. As a newly graduate, I was looking for experience to kick start my career within the e-commerce retail industry, and Groupon was the perfect opportunity.  I am successful in my role as a vendor manager, and my team and the people I work with are what makes my job enjoyable.

What skills did you learn at work that are useful in your daily life?

Being resilient to continuously adapt through change in agile environments.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?
My biggest challenge at the moment as a co-chair of Blacks & Allies at Groupon is bringing people together across all our global offices, and ensuring all cultures are included.

How are you overcoming that challenge? How do you ask or seek support?
Being based in London (UK), I am constantly working with my colleagues in the Chicago office and making sure I’m reading and expanding my knowledge on American history and culture.

As a Black woman, are there challenges you’ve faced that are unique to your ethnicity?

The pay gap, especially for women – and even more pronounced for Black women –, remains a significant issue in many societies. Black women often face intersecting forms of discrimination, including racial and gender biases, which contribute to disparities in pay and opportunities. Ethnicity pay gap reporting, can shed light on these disparities and help organisations understand the extent of the issue within their workforce.

Furthermore, transparency in pay practices can help build trust among employees and stakeholders, enhance organisational reputation, and contribute to long-term sustainability and growth.

Outside of work, what are your hobbies?
My biggest passion is traveling to new countries and experiencing new cultures. 

How do you prioritise work and life?
I strive to be organised. My calendar and  to do list is a great help with that, it helps me to prioritise my life.

What is your morning routine?
My morning routine consists of 5 simple things:

1- Pray

2- Make my bed

3- List 5 things I’m grateful for and positive affirmations

4- Skincare routine

5- Drink a glass of hot water, a slice of lemon and a pinch of sea salt.

Tell us a quote that inspires you.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style” Maya Angelou.

 I remind myself to embrace all seasons of life, whether it  be positive or negative  as we always take something from it.

What skills did you learn at work that are useful in your daily life?

Learn to adapt to changes. In Groupon, life never gets boring…new issues, new tools, new challenges, new dramas. And you have to find the bright side of this and adapt.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?

Find the right balance between my personal life, my Groupon life 💚 , and XOLO life 🥢  (my restaurant).

How are you overcoming that challenge? How do you ask or seek support?

By trying to organize my tasks and learning to delegate to my team. I find support in my manager, my team, my colleagues, and my family, that is my biggest support. 

As a Latina woman, are there challenges you’ve faced that are unique to your culture/ethnicity?

Being latina has never been a challenge in my work life. The most challenging thing is probably that most of my relatives are in Perú, so visiting them requires a 12-hour flight 😅. That said, I feel fortunate because my parents live in Madrid too.

Outside of work, what are your hobbies?

I love to dance and travel to new places. Also, when I have time, I love to build things. For example, I built 2 high tables for my restaurant last year.

How do you prioritize work and life?

That’s something I’m still learning 😅

What is your morning routine?

On a weekday, take a shower first thing in the morning to wake up and get ready to go to the office. On the weekend, try to stay in bed as long as I can…until I have to go to my restaurant.

Tell us about your Groupon journey. What kept you at Groupon?

Groupon was my first full-time job after university. I started in what would be Content Operations today, did everything but graphics design for 9 years and then 5 years ago made the move over to the Comms team. Yes, that makes 14 years at Groupon this May! What kept me going is that it never gets boring, I’ve never done the same “job” for more than a year, even if the position remained the same. Also I love working globally and online, that suits my passions.

What skills did you learn at work that are useful in your daily life?
It’s a two-way street - I do learn things and skills during my leisure that benefit my work and vice versa. Above all I’d say conversing with people from diverse backgrounds, (hopefully) staying calm, being confident in my position and stance and exuding a certain gravitas when needed.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?
Time management and work-life balance, as probably for most people of my generation and within Groupon. 

How are you overcoming that challenge? How do you ask or seek support?
I exchange tips with my team, my mentors, the incredible people in the Women & Allies ERG, my friends… I don’t mind being open and vulnerable.

As a white woman, are there challenges you’ve faced that are unique to your ethnicity?

Of course not. Sometimes as a woman, sometimes because I am from East Germany, but definitely never because of my ethnicity, I am very aware of my privilege!

How do you prioritize work and life?
I always strive for the perfect blend, but it’s difficult as I fluctuate between being quite German (“9 to 6 with 1 hour break, certainly no overtime”) and a global environment across many time zones, and with the benefits of spatial and temporal flexibility.

Tell us about your Groupon journey. What kept you at Groupon?
Seven years ago, I learned about Groupon forming a brand-new Global Learning and Development team. I applied for a position and landed it. Since then, I've remained with the same team, but I've had countless opportunities to learn and enhance my skills under various leaders. I continue to be a proud Grouponer because of the company values and culture.    

What skills did you learn at work that are useful in your daily life?
a. Using Google Keep/Tasks - I love lists.

b. Interpersonal skills from some wonderful Grouponers I have had the privilege of knowing.  

What’s your biggest challenge right now?
Finding adequate time and resources to make sustainable lifestyle changes that allow me to juggle my responsibilities as a parent with my personal and professional life. 

How are you overcoming that challenge? How do you ask or seek support? 

I approach each day as it comes, being kind to myself when I start feeling overly self-critical. By sharing my goals and progress with my closest circle, I hold myself accountable. 

As an Indian woman, are there challenges you’ve faced that are unique to your ethnicity?

Being judged for expressing opinions, being a single parent, navigating dating, and working irregular hours are common challenges. Additionally, there's the issue of the gender pay gap, although this might not be exclusive to Indian women in the workforce.

Outside of work, what are your hobbies?

I am big on going to the movies and cherish the cinematic experiences that have left a lasting impact on me. While it's not something I do regularly, when I have a spare moment between reading books and spending quality time with loved ones, I do not mind dancing or tossing a disc around for fun! I enjoy theatre (both as a member of the audience and as a performer).

How do you prioritize work and life?
I make lists and check them off. Lists are therapeutic; they help me stay organized and structure my time. They give me a sense of focus, direction, and purpose, while boosting my self-esteem and lowering any anxiety I might be feeling.

Tell us about your Groupon journey. What kept you at Groupon?
My journey with Groupon started in Chile in 2014 establishing the first PMO in Latin America.  I then had the chance to move to Chicago to grow a global team of Technical Leaders and Project Managers.  This journey has led me to work alongside the most talented professionals and genuinely good people, and has solidified my career as a technical leader and program manager.  One of the things that keep me at Groupon is the learning opportunities that come with transforming the business which have allowed me to make a bigger impact.

What skills did you learn at work that are useful in your daily life?
Time-boxing has been very useful to find the precious time to dedicate to family, friends, and partner during the day. Managing the critical path in projects has helped me create travel plans and complete personal projects more efficiently.  Situational leadership has been valuable in my personal life as I feel better prepared to coach younger family members and understand their needs.

As a Latino man, are there challenges you’ve faced that are unique to your ethnicity?
For sure, the way we ran the business and led teams in Latin America was different than the US; how you interact with Latino leaders and motivate Latino employees leveraged and assumed specific cultural affinities, and had to be "reprogrammed" when I moved to the US.  It is important to mention that regardless of being a Latino, the fact of being a man in tech comes with privileges, and actively recognizing this is a key step to becoming better allies to Women in Tech.

Outside of work, what are your hobbies?
Food (Cooking/Restaurants), Aviation, Art and Architecture.

How do you prioritize work and life?

I try to stick to a work schedule, start and leave early to beat the rush hour, make sure the days where I have to work extra are the exception, and compensate later.  Vacation time is also sacred.  I also add "personal time" blocks to my calendar and stick to them.

What is your morning routine?
"I'm from Colombia, of course I have to drink good coffee every morning before doing anything else" 🙂… then stretch, make breakfast, catch up with silly memes from friends abroad, and read the news.