Why Helping Other Women Gain Critical Experiences Is Key: And Other Advice From a Tech Leader

Looking for a company to call home that prizes your creativity and individuality? One that will help you grow and support you — no matter what your professional journey looks like? Well, you’ll find just that at Invitation Homes, the nation's premier single-family home leasing company.

Just ask Virginia Suliman, Invitation Homes’ EVP/Chief Information & Digital Officer. Invitation Homes “is a great mix of people who have spent their whole careers in the real estate sector and those who bring a different industry perspective,” Suliman shares. “This allows for a great melting pot of ideas, energy, and stamina. You have the youth and energy of a startup with the stability and longevity of a public company.”

That’s why Suliman says that this young company (which just celebrated 11 years in business!) is “a perfect environment for growth and opportunity across various experience levels.” Want to learn more about why she — and countless other women across the country — love working at Invitation Homes? Read on…

An inside look at being a woman in STEM at Invitation Homes.

So, what role does STEM have in a home leasing company? Well, it turns out that the answer to that is a large role. “Technology at Invitation Homes is involved in all aspects of our business, from helping associates have a better experience at work, to improving the productivity of our maintenance technicians, to an industry-first digital experience for our residents,” explains Suliman. “Whether you want a career in product, engineering, project management, security, or design, we’ve got you covered!”

In her own role, Suliman gets to use technology and digital engagement to help create great resident and associate experiences. “I view my job as creating experiences that make people happy,” she tells us.

One of the aspects of this role that she finds most exciting is getting to see her team collaborate in order to find innovative solutions. “A favorite time of mine is our hackathon; seeing a team of people go from an introduction to working software in 48 hours is a ton of fun and inspiring,” she shares. Invitation Homes — and leaders like Suliman — truly encourages employees to have a rewarding STEM career.

Empowering other women at work.

Beyond her day-to-day work as a STEM leader, Suliman also builds time into her daily schedule to support and uplift the other women who work at Invitation Homes. One way she does this is through mentorship, which Suliman notes that she thinks about “a little differently.”

“I am constantly open to learning from women in all stages of career and life,” she shares. And, in mentorship, “there is no in front or behind, there is only beside.” For instance, when mentoring someone in their early career, Suliman makes sure to ask questions that will enable her to approach things differently or think about a problem in a different way.  

Suliman is also a proponent of providing necessary experiences. “To be successful, women need to help other women gain critical experiences, not just a hand up,” Suliman tells us. “Be the one who has the tough conversation so that learning can happen, invite someone into the meeting to observe and engage with various levels, or hand off the presentation to a capable peer who may need the experience more than you. If we are constantly looking for how we can help others gain experiences, we will have more and more women walking beside us over time.”

Why women love Invitation Homes.

Already, Invitation Homes has many women working together to make the company a great and supportive place. Due to the efforts of people like Suliman, the company has been recently named by Comparably as one of the Best Places to Work in Dallas, Best Company for Diversity, Best Company for Women, and Best Perks & Benefits as rated by their own associates.

An anonymous review of Invitation Homes. 

If you want to grow a tech career at a company that will support you, check out Invitation Homes today!