HERstory: Arianne Martin's Empowering Narrative
HERstory – Tech, Tenacity, and Transformation: Arianne Martin's Empowering Narrative
Arianne Martin’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and intellectual curiosity. Her journey into the tech world is marked by a unique blend of self-invention and deep commitment to advocating for women in tech.
Growing up in a military family, Arianne moved frequently, spending time all over North America, including a period near the Arctic Circle. Always the ‘new kid’, Arianne found it difficult to integrate with her peers, but seized each relocation as a fresh opportunity to reinvent herself. "I took all the pieces from the people I admired most and applied them to myself to try and be a better person," Arianne remembered.
In her early 20s, Arianne would learn that she had been diagnosed with ADHD and mild autism at an early age, but her parents had shielded her from that knowledge so that she would not feel labeled. Learning of her neurodiversity proved to be an aha moment that spurred greater self-understanding and deepened her commitment to the study of communications.
Decoding human behavior: From Communications to Tech
At the University of Toronto and Humber College, Arianne pursued studies in communications and took courses on psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
"I really wanted to understand why humans do things the way they do," Arianne recalled. "It’s been extremely useful in working in social media knowing how people think and what changes when they’re in a crowd."
Arianne kicked off her career working for a tech publication. On fire for the world of tech, she didn’t let the fact that her dream job wasn’t available stop her. "I said to myself ‘You know what? I’m just going to go in as an entry-level worker and work my way up," she recalled. And that’s just what she did, starting out in telemarketing and moving up to sales, then marketing, where she worked on press releases, podcast marketing, blogs, and more.
"I actually didn’t believe in social media," Arianne confessed, "I thought it was narcissistic." But when her first social media post for a client went viral and started creating business opportunities, she realized there was more to it. Further big successes gave her even more validation.
Today, Arianne’s newly launched agency, NarrativEdge Marketing, is focused on social media, specializing in LinkedIn branding and authentic strategic amplification for busy executives.
Unlocking motivation: An Unlikely Source
Another element from her childhood that went on to play a significant role in her career story was something deeply important to Arianne. Raised in a bilingual household, Arianne was a late reader. But at ten, the desire to decipher the Where’s Waldo clues (if you know, you know) finally provided the motivation needed to become proficient in reading. Shortly after, Arianne’s hunger for books led her parents to institute an 80-page-per day reading limit (a limit she creatively skirted by reading 80-pages per book per day, from as many as five different books)!
Arianne sees now how her love of story paired with neurodiversity provide a unique perspective that allow her to not only engage audiences through storytelling, but see patterns where others see gobbledygook. Inferencing on what she sees, she is constantly testing and iterating on ideas, finding the sweet spot between what your audience likes and the story you need to tell, she said.
Holding her own space in a cacophony of male voices
As she began her career, Arianne witnessed firsthand the challenges of being a woman in tech. "No matter how much training or education they have, it’s a common challenge for any woman when they first enter their field to be taken seriously," said Arianne, pointing to a UN Report published earlier this year which said that 9/10 people of all genders are biased against women.
To combat this, Arianne found a solution: preparing herself with facts. "Whenever I give an opinion, I always have data to back it up," she said. Preparing well-reasoned arguments backed by data gave Arianne the courage she needed to persist in being heard and respectfully disagree, even with senior colleagues or leadership. Over time, she began to receive recognition for her ideas, even if they differed from the group, and her tolerance for standing out increased.
Regardless of seniority, Arianne encourages women to speak up: "It not only garners respect, but also contributes to the overall growth and progress of the organization because by speaking up, you’re helping other people grow as well. It’s good for everyone."
Investing in inclusion: A simple solution for retaining women in tech
The reasons to have women in the room go beyond marketing strategy to the heart of the future of tech. Backed with a myriad of examples of how women are historically overlooked when it comes to technological innovation, Arianne questions what this could mean when it comes to world-changing technology like AI. "If we are creating AI to help people, it can’t be biased against half of the population," she said. "Women need to be in the room and involved in R&D for AI to make sure that it’s inclusive and representative."
This, according to Arianne, is going to become increasingly more challenging. "I read the other day that Microsoft expects there will be 149 million new jobs in software, data, AI, machine learning, and cyber by 2025," Arianne recalled, "but for that same period, UNESCO put out a figure that of the 5.8 million people graduating in 2025, only 20 percent will be women." This discrepancy suggests that the workplace will become even less diverse than it is now, with only one woman per 128 job openings.
While there’s little we can do in the short term to close the gap between job openings and the number of women entering the workforce, there is one thing we can do: retain the women already here.
Based on her own experience, Arianne had a novel suggestion for how organizations can do this: invest time. "If you’re talking to the men on your team, you should also be talking to the women on your team," she advises. "If you are investing in your men, you should be investing in your women – equally! I see all the time: companies will invest in their senior leaders’ social media presence, and its usually men. However, women often outperform their counterparts when it comes to social metrics. I really wish I had more women in tech clients, because they can go very far, and their stories resonate more on the human and business level."
It all comes down to equality: equal time and equal opportunities.
Pillars to success: Mentorship and Networking
Being given time, particularly by mentors, has had a profound impact on Arianne’s career.
After having moved into marketing at the tech publication, Arianne ran social media for the Canadian Channel Chiefs Council, where she met Corinne Sharp. "She was this person that could command the room, but always took the time to talk to me," Arianne said. From that point Corinne became a sponsor for Arianne and her career journey, providing inspiration, support, and key connections that led to further career opportunities, including running social for The WIT Network.
"I first met Arianne when she took over social for a not-for-profit I was President of," recalled Corinne. "Her confidence, poise, and social leadership was a wonderful combination. While Arianne may say I mentored her, she equally mentored me and still does to this day." Of Arianne’s work as the social media manager for The WIT Network, Corinne says, "she is instrumental to our team and our members around the globe. But most importantly, I am grounded with Arianne by my side as an advocate for women’s voices, a collaborative communications expert, and a fantastic human being!"
Given this powerful experience, it’s no surprise that Arianne’s top tip for women in tech is to NETWORK! "Your opportunity isn’t going to fall from the sky," she said, "It’s not going to come from competing against 2,000 resumes online – it’s going to come from within your network."
A final piece of advice Arianne shares is to be ready to share a win whenever you see your boss or client: "Knowing what your achievements are and explaining them to senior leadership makes an impression and helps validate trust in you."
Having achieved her goal of launching her own agency, NarrativEdge, Arianne says she will go where the road leads her. "The only thing that I’m truly passionate about and want to continue doing in one form or another is supporting women and furthering changes in this industry."
Feel free to connect with Arianne on LinkedIn.
HERstory is The WIT Network’s series where we share interesting and inspiring career journeys of women in our community. We welcome the opportunity to tell your story or someone you would like to nominate. Reach out to women@thewitnetwork.com if you have a great HERstory we should consider.