Today marks a very special day for all of us. International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to reflect on our long fight for equality and inclusion, and celebrate all that has been achieved. March 8 marks a day when we remember that our voices, dreams, plans and hopes matter, and when we listen to ourselves, wonderful things can happen. Oftentimes our cultural, political, scientific or economic achievements are overlooked, but now more than ever, we know that highlighting and supporting what we do as women is the key to advance and transform our societies.
As we showed in our previous blog about women in the traveling industry, no matter how advanced we think we are, there’s still plenty to do and to change. Nonetheless, today we want to focus on the bright side! We’re going to have special conversations with our collaborators and see how they perceive the industry, what their experiences working with Lokafy have been like and how they feel being a woman has made an impact. Keep reading to dive deeper into Lokafy’s heart and soul and understand more about our company.
Modester Okeke:
Modester is our leader at the Operations team, and has worked with Lokafy for 7 months. For her, the greatest highlight about her working experience has been to be able to discover and know more about cities and countries that she didn’t really know. Even though a few travelers or lokafyers might be confused about her nationality in regards to where the company is based, it only takes Modester to explain our team’s diversity in order for them to understand that no matter where you are or where you’re from, you can always be part of our team! Thankfully, her work at Lokafy has been very rewarding and it has allowed her to discover that she’s more than she gives herself credit for, as she has seen her creativity and resourcefulness flourish in order to solve unique problems.
Modester feels that being a woman has impacted her work positively because it has given her a holistic view of things and a unique perspective that helps her manage her team. Additionally, she has developed a leadership style that is based on relationship building and collaboration, and as such, she has had the opportunity to foster teamwork and improve the communication skills among her team.
As for us women, during this International Women’s Day, Modester has a message: “Well, I'll say as a woman, never limit yourself, push yourself to be more and the sky would only be your starting point”.
“Helping people to create a lifetime memory in different parts of the world without being physically present, that's like having super powers!”
Chiamaka Egunnaya:
We also talked with Chiamaka Egunnaya, who has been working at Lokafy for around 7 months, as a growth specialist in the Growth Team. For her, one of the main challenges has been finding innovative ways to reach and engage with the target audience when the digital landscape changes so rapidly. However, by working with a team of dedicated and passionate individuals, there’s nothing that they cannot do. Thus, for Chiamaka, her time working at Lokafy has been an incredible journey where she has partnered with experts in order to create exceptional travel experiences for people all around the world. Throughout this experience, she has learned a great deal about herself and the industry, as well as the importance of persistence, creativity and resilience.
And how being a woman has impacted her work? Chiamaka tells us there have been positive and negative aspects. For example, on the positive side, being a woman has given her a unique perspective and approach to problem-solving, something she considers valuable in a male-dominated industry. Additionally, she feels fortunate that she has many supportive and empowering male colleagues who have helped her to grow and succeed in her role.
In Chiamaka’s own words: “Overall, my experience at Lokafy has been a journey of personal and professional growth, and I am grateful for every challenge, every opportunity and every woman on the team”.
Catalina Sánchez:
Meet Catalina Sánchez, part of our LGS team, who has worked at Lokafy for almost one year. As her work is related with expanding and consolidating our international network of lokafyers, she has had the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding about human nature and the cultural diversity that exists. For her, it has been really interesting recognizing different ways in which people inhabit a city, and relate to its opportunities and history. It’s like each lokafyer brings a completely new perspective and a unique trajectory within a city to share with travelers. As for the challenges that she has faced, Catalina comments that Lokafy is a company that’s constantly redefining how to achieve its goals and how to expand to more places. Because of this, there’s a constant need to amplify the tools used to reach out to more people and be able to share the project, which she feels especially as a Growth Specialist.
Regarding how Catalina feels being a woman has impacted her work experience, she shares a very important reflection: for her, there are certain privileges that have allowed her to be part of Lokafy, such as the access to health and education, that other women around the world may not have, particularly in war, hunger or crisis contexts. Given her own reality, being a woman is not an impediment to growing economically or intellectually, although she knows that that’s not the case everywhere. Thus, Catalina wishes that all women and dissidencies of the world have the opportunity to grow and live freely, without the obstacles that discrimination and inequality puts in place.
“I find it interesting bringing people closer to Lokafy’s concept because it implies a different way of traveling, focusing in the daily life of cities, in the habits and cultural traits that oftentimes are so integrated that they become invisible”.
Well, thank you for joining us in this celebration of some of our wonderful Lokafy’s members. We hope that our chat with each one of them was insightful and allowed you to understand a bit more about our company, the industry and what being a woman in it feels like, through distinct lenses and perspectives. And remember, we are courageous, unique and strong, and each day we’re making this industry, and the world, a better place for all of us. Let’s join forces and remember all of the women that have come before us to transform our realities and create a just and equal future.
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