A message from Insider’s CEO to all women in tech

Hande Cilingir

Mar 8, 2017

Message from our CEO, Hande Cilingir to women in tech

For many years, men have dominated the world of inventions, gadgets, technology and lastly the Internet. However, somewhere along the way, digital technologies have started to work for women’s empowerment. Internet, rising to its peak in the 21st century, has missed the time when womanhood was still considered a secondary gender. Digital innovations like excessive access to information and democratization of data have provided women with equal rights as men, narrowing the gender gap across industries. What we now call digital fluency and visibility empowered women in various, brand new ways.

Insider is home to an extensive diversity of employees, especially women who flourished in the technology industry. 5 years ago, we started out with the mission of making an impact in the world, in multiple ways. One way we accomplish this is through our 1+1+1 program where we empower students, primarily female students who didn’t have equal access to opportunities. It’s an undeniable fact that young women in developing countries feel the adversities more than anyone else. As Insiders, we wanted to turn this around and offer them an equal space in the technology space. We’re working hard each day to support and mentor students, especially female students in developing countries.

I’m so proud to be a 32-year-old woman entrepreneur in tech, witnessing a new wave of women’s empowerment happen in the Internet world. The future will bring enhanced rights and empowerment to women. As Insiders we’re doing our part to the best of our abilities, to achieve this ultimate purpose. I believe the stigma around women in tech will disappear completely. On behalf of Insider’s women, I would like to celebrate the International Women’s Day of each and every women out there.


Co-founder and CEO at Insider, Hande Cilingir is one of the few women leaders to have found and led a B2B SaaS company to a one billion dollar valuation. Responsible for building the world’s most progressive technology company, with 1000+ team members, representing 51 different nationalities. Under Hande’s leadership, Insider has unlocked #1 leader status everywhere with a platform loved by analysts like Forrester, Gartner, and IDC, trusted by 1,200+ of the world’s leading brands and voted ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by G2 users. Insider recently unlocked unicorn status and NASDAQ congratulated the company for becoming one of the few woman-founded, women-led B2B SaaS unicorns worldwide. CrunchBase recently ranked Insider’s co-founder and CEO Hande Cilingir as one of the top women CEOs.