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I love this time of year.
The sun is shining (at least in Florida), flowers are blooming and my personal favourite, it’s time to celebrate International Women’s Day!
I consider myself extraordinarily lucky that day in and day out I get to work alongside the most incredibly inspiring women. It’s such a fact of (Cube) life, that I forget it hasn’t always been the case in the tech industry, and even still in some organisations. With women making up 38% of the agency, 50% in management roles, we still have a way to go but are making strides with every single new badass hire that we welcome aboard.
The future is female at 3 Sided Cube!
I remember a time (10 years ago to be exact) that I first ventured into the tech world, and while it came with a steep learning curve, I have loved every single bit of the challenge of taking on this male dominated industry. I appreciate it can still be a daunting prospect to seek out a job in this sector, but I promise it’s worth it! You don’t necessarily have to write code to be a woman in tech, there are so many incredible jobs across sales, marketing and production that could be your perfect jumping point into this fast paced sector.
We have all seen throughout the pandemic how pivotal technology has been in keeping people connected and business running as usual. That demand will only grow from here and it has been so important to me that as that innovation is happening, women are in the room so that they are represented in the final product.
I could bang on about this all day if you couldn’t tell, but for now, I’ll answer some burning questions on why I think it’s so important that more women consider a career in tech…
Why do you think it’s important for more women to join the tech industry?
Diversity in tech is crucial to get to the best possible outcome. You need diversity to boost performance internally, stay relevant and competitive.
Personally, I think it’s important more women join the tech industry because it can provide a wealth of benefits including flexibility around your personal life, but also provide the next generation with more role models to help inspire the next generation that women can work in the tech industry if they wish.
When I was growing up (yes, a long time ago) I wasn’t exposed to many female role models in tech….it was an emerging space so I had just written that off as a career path, I felt I wasn’t good enough to even look at it. But now that I’m in it, I can see how incredible the journey can be, and I think it’s so important to open the eyes of children to show them this is a credible, flexible career path.
How much do you think the industry has changed since you joined?
The industry is constantly changing.
In fact one of the constants is change, it’s just the speed in which the change occurs needs to increase around getting more diversity into tech. But it starts at such a young age. I have 2 daughters and the education system in The UK is fairly traditional and out of touch with industry (simply because of the speed at which technology is moving, and not all schools are able to keep up with that for so many different reasons) so it’s important we invest time, effort and energy linking industry with education to inspire the next generation what a great industry tech really is.
I think the industry is making progress around diversity but we won’t see the needle shift for a few more years yet, and for it to do so we need to invest that time! null
What advice would you give yourself just starting out?
Get a mentor!
Someone that believes in you and someone that can give you sound advice and perhaps a little boost when you need it. This has been invaluable to me these past few years, and I think I could have progressed quicker had I have had that earlier on.
Do you think enough is done to help women get into the tech industry?
Until the numbers are more balanced I’m going to say no. The focus around diversity in tech has definitely improved, and the numbers reflect that. But we’re still far away from where we need those numbers to be, so in my opinion there’s always more that can be done! And it starts at school!
What advice can you give to balancing motherhood and a career in this fast paced industry?
Being a Mum always comes first. The right employer/business will understand and support that. No matter the fire that needs putting out, anytime motherhood duties have cropped up, Cube respects and encourages me to handle that above all else.
My latest epiphany is not to apologise for motherhood. When the girls are ill or have something at school I would make sure to explain and reassure that I would be online later to make up for it. That isn’t necessary! I’m here to do my job and my colleagues trust that it will get done, so I need to enjoy the flexibility that comes with this new hybrid work structure and not apologise for my life happening around work!
Do you ever struggle with confidence? How do you overcome it?
Yes.
Daily.
But I’m honest and I’ll talk it out. When I was starting out this wasn’t always the case, I felt I had to be more confident. The “fake it ‘til you make it” motto doesn’t work for me and instead I like to really dig in and suss out what exactly has caused me to question myself. Transparency around this over the years has helped me work on this.
So there you have it! I could go on, but alas motherhood calls! Happy International Women’s Day, I hope you all feel celebrated and seen every day, but especially today! If you had any more questions about working in the tech world as a woman, you know I love an excuse to chat so shout me a holla.
Published on 8 March 2022, last updated on 8 March 2022