WOMEN ROCK.

Heya all,    Thanks for being here and welcome to Women Rock – a voice for diversity in tech!  I’m Alicia, founder of Women Rock, co-founder of SR2, founder of Technology Volunteers organiser of Codebar (phewwww) I’m a positive vibe advocate, lover of constant learning, mushrooms and anything pickled, dislikes pigeons, bad manners and baked beans! Outside of all of that, I’m probably best known for my handstand ability and my almost 10-year tenure as a Tech recruiter in the UK, born and bred in Bristol!    Over the last 10 years I have been a huge supporter of diversity in Tech but always felt I could do so much more, Women Rock is the start of my more. In the early part of my career, it was rare that I spoke or represented women in the industry. Technology wasn’t offered to me as a career when I was leaving school, and my family or friends weren’t interested in Tech so probably naively I didn’t know women were in tech and that makes me sad and we all know we still have so much more to do but not just for women, we’re talking about diversity as a whole.    I love to build relationships every day and in starting this blog, being supported by our awesome Women Rock ambassadors and some of the best companies who are committed to talking about and improving ED&I across our industry I really hope we can make the world a better place!  Women Rock isn’t just for women, we have, and will, continue to hear stories from folk from ethnic minorities, folk who have physical and hidden disabilities. We have incredible stories from trans and gender-diverse peeps and we have spoken to many allies who are committed to live, work and support diversity in their workplace, careers and lives.    Included are conversations about successes, people's struggles, frustrations and commitment from their perspective. We have seen so much improvement when it comes to ED&I but I just don’t think we are sharing and shouting about it enough so that others can follow suit.  I want to create an incredible community and Women Rock to be the place to go to that celebrates diversity.   I’ll leave you with my favourite quote ‘’No matter where you are in life, inspire and empower the women around you. Success is never reached alone. And wisdom and wealth are sweeter shared.’’  Be kind, get enough sleep and don’t change for anyone.  Smiles,  Alicia x 

“Confidence is a behaviour, not a personality type. It’s something you can learn!” Clare Young is a Director with DXW a leading employee-owned digital agency that works with the Public and Charity sectors. Clare shares her story, how she practices confidence and how that’s transformed her at work. On ED&I she explains how it’s everyone’s responsibility to understand the problem and take ownership. How recruitment can help address the balance (always happy to help!). Why it’s important that businesses and teams do everything to support diverse workforces, and what it means to offer genuine flexible working - whether that’s study support or going to the other side of the world to watch the cricket. She shares her journey and the importance of having the confidence to challenge people correctly. How DXW have achieved a 50:50 gender split including some practical tips on how you can improve things in your organisation. And that a business is the people that are in it and not the shareholders. PS how her skills as a Delivery Lead supported Comic Relief as they raised the small sum of £78 million. Interviewed by Ben Dennison

Meet Zara Weston, a Creative Producer with over 16 years of graphic design expertise. From the serene landscapes of Somerset to the bustling streets of London and back to the South-West, her journey reflects a passion for precision and creativity. With a childhood filled with art and creativity, led her to pursue graphic design at Bridgwater College and later at the University of the Arts London. Her love for detail and precision guided her towards a career in print design, where she flourished and eventually became a Creative Lead at Motability Operations. But Zara’s path wasn’t without its challenges. As a young woman navigating the corporate world, she learned the importance of self-belief and resilience. Now, as a mentor to young designers, she imparts the wisdom gained from her own journey, encouraging others to pursue their passions with determination and perseverance. Beyond her career, Zara finds solace in the great outdoors, indulging her love for running and CrossFit. With her two beloved dogs by her side, she embraces life’s challenges with a mantra that has guided her every step of the way: trust your instincts. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today, Zara, Can we start by you telling us about your background and what inspired you to start a career in Graphic Design? My name is Zara Weston. I am a Creative Producer and specialist with over 16 years industry experience. I trained in graphic design at Bridgwater College in Somerset as well as completing two degrees in graphic design at the University of the Arts London. I lived and developed my career in London for 14 years, then relocated back to the South-West to run a design agency in Bristol 5 years ago.  I have always been creative as far back as I can remember, as a child I loved art, painting, drawing you name it - at primary and secondary school I always excelled in this area. I was a very quiet and reserved individual when I was younger and I found I could truly express myself in art. I transitioned to Graphic Design at college when I had two paths to decide on: that on fine art and graphic design. My work has always been detailed orientated and neat, I felt more drawn to the opportunity of Graphic Design – I loved learning the Adobe programmes and experimenting with print. I quickly became passionate in print design and this was the path I took through to university.    What is your current role?  Creative Lead at Motability Operations.  You moved from a small town in Somerset to London at only 18 years old, big change, what did you learn from that life move at such a young age? When I think back now I think I must have been crazy! I have always been hugely ambitious – the sky is the limit in terms of what we can achieve in life. I had thought about moving to London as a teenager for a while, the life and spirit of the city very much appealed to me – there was a bus that used to go from my local Asda there and I would always go up to visit. When I applied for University, I went straight there for my interview and just thought: ‘this is it’.  Moving there fully was a scary and thrilling experience – I loved the freedom and the opportunity to discover who I was as a person. I learnt that if you don’t go after what you want, you will never have it – if you never ask the answer is always no. I grew in confidence and learnt to speak up for myself in what can be a harsh environment.  Moving home, working in London at such a young age, takes a lot of self-belief, what would you say to someone whose in a similar position to you in 2024? I would say that even against all odds if you want a career in any subject enough it will be yours. You must be true to yourself and belief in yourself because you are the only person that can do it.  As a female Designer, have you faced any unique challenges in your career? How have you overcome them?  I graduated at 21 and went head first into the industry, one challenge I had was that I was always the youngest and least experienced person in the room no matter the qualifications I had. I learnt to overcome that by reminding myself of where I was at, always asking questions and working hard to learn what I needed to learn to get to where I want to be. There is real value in hard work and graft, you could be the most gifted person but if you are unwilling to work hard you won’t progress.  You started your life working with cooperate clients, what did you learn from being a young female in those sorts of environments? The corporate world can be tough, especially in London. I have sat in many large board meetings being the only female in the room – I have learnt the importance of learning to stand on my own two feet, believe in myself and skillset along with trying not to worry about what people think of me. Being confident in my own skin has taken time, but I have always been extremely headstrong and have used this as a tool to get me to where I am today.   You have led design teams, How do you use your experience to support and guide people who may struggle with self belief? I am quite an emotional and passionate person, which I struggled with up against challenges early on in my career. But now I believe it makes me a good leader and able to connect with people on a deeper level – I am always interested to understand the person first, what do they want to achieve, what makes them tick – who are they as an individual. I understand from experience the struggle with self-belief, sometimes it’s about simply not giving up, putting one foot in front of the other and showing up for yourself.  You have helped teach young designers at colleges over the last 10 years, what advice would you give to someone first starting out in Graphic Design? To go for it! A career in graphic design is truly rewarding and you will never work another day in your life if you love what you do. The first five years in the industry can be tough, you have got to really want to be a designer to be successful – perseverance is critical.  What do you do outside of work? I am a keen runner and love the outdoors – I have run marathons in many different countries and raised thousands for charity from doing a million bake sales. Since I moved back to Somerset, I have been getting more into trial running – I love a challenge. I also took up CrossFit two years ago and not looked back, if I can manage to do a hand-stand at 5.30am in the morning then I can do anything.  Other than that, I have two gorgeous dogs (one golden retriever and one black lab) and you can often find me out in the country walking them.  Finally, do you have a mantra you live by? I would always say go with your gut feeling because it is usually right. Interviewed by George Booth 

"Authenticity is the courage to embrace our differences, and diversity is the celebration of those differences."  Anne-Lise joined us to share insights on a range of topics, including her remarkable journey to becoming a partner at one of the world’s leading management consultancies. She offers practical tips to support ED&I efforts, such as advocating for part-time opportunities, promoting shared leave for fathers, and partnering with external agencies for comprehensive D&I training.  She emphasizes the power of speaking up when witnessing injustice, the significance of allyship, and the importance of recognizing personal biases. Additionally, Anne-Lise underscores the critical role of refining hiring practices to attract a diverse talent pool.  She also touches on her experiences with imposter syndrome, stressing the value of finding one's voice and having relatable role models. And lastly, she ventures into the age-old debate: skiing vs. snowboarding.   Interviewed by Ben Dennison

“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” - Katharine Hepburn An English and Creative Writing Graduate turned agile coach extraordinaire and Delivery Director at Cprime as well as an active speaker on all things agile. She also started her life in recruitment showing there’s hope for us yet… After taking an uncommon route into tech she shares her journey and talks through the power of doing what you enjoy, and how a different approach brings new perspectives and can add real value to a team. She opens up about some of the challenges she’s faced and how she overcame them, shares some practical things we can all do eery day to create a more inclusive workplace, and shares some positives she’s seen from companies helping people return to work. Finally, she talks about the Power of a growth Mindset, and how we can stop viewing things as failures but instead lessons learnt.     Interviewed by Ben Dennison  

Meet Elisha, she joined Softcat in 2014 when the company’s revenue was at £500m and this year they achieved £2.56b. Initially joining their Manchester office on reception, quickly being highlighted as a future superstar for the business. Climbing the ranks over the last 10 years to lead the function that manages all Softcat’s recruitment across the UK, Ireland, and their international offices. Softcat has been an industry leader in terms of their diverse and inclusive culture that is truly unmatched in the IT channel. Elisha has played an instrumental part of that offering a truly unique requirements strategy that has led to their record-breaking year on year growth. During the conversation we discuss a variety of subjects and one thing that will shine through and in my opinion, is her superpower, is dropping her guard and showing complete vulnerability. If everyone in the technology could be a little bit more like Elisha, the world would be a better place – Enjoy! Congratulations on winning the CRN Outstanding Returner award! It's an incredible achievement to be recognized by a leading awards body in the industry. Was this the first time you have won the award? No, I think it's been going for a while now because I know we've had a few people go for it in previous years, so I think it's a long-standing award. I came back from maternity leave, and I flagged to my management team that it was something I wanted to go for. This is something I want to talk about at some point as well, I've had a lot of people come to me and have conversations with me about, how did you go about achieving what you've achieved since you returned from maternity leave? Has it been luck? Has it been the right people around you? What has it been? My answer is the same every time. I asked for everything I got. I asked to be nominated for CRN Outstanding Returner 2023 because I genuinely believed I deserved it. I asked to be put on our leadership development programme because I genuinely believed I warranted a place. I truly believe that unless you back yourself enough to say, I deserve this, I'm going to put myself on people's radar and say, I want to go for this. I want to be recognised in this way. The chances of those types of things happening organically are often much slimmer. Can you share your experience returning from maternity leave? It's a common yet rarely discussed challenge. What were the unique challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? So, I think the most important thing to start with is that everybody's experience is individual to them. Talking specifically about maternity leave and returning from having a baby, every woman will experience that differently, and I think that is the first thing managers, or people supporting those returners, need to communicate that there's no right or wrong. So many women leave to have a baby and want to disconnect from everything and have 12 months, 9 months, whatever they take to focus on the new part of their life, to give their all and don't want to be thinking about work and want to compartmentalize in that way, which works for so many. Then you get another subsection of women who are and want more of a balance, wanting to give focus to this new part of their life, but also want to stay connected to a piece of the “old” them. That's more where I fell. So, throughout the entirety of my maternity leave, don't get me wrong, I wasn't on team meetings or anything like that, but I kept in contact with my team, a big piece of this puzzle is I had a significant case postnatal depression after having my little boy Max. There was adjustment and life had changed, but I was okay. There was all of that, plus the fact that I was trying to wade my way through these postnatal mental health issues that I didn't know where to start with. I think all of that culminated by the time it came to me returning to work. That was around 11 or 12 months after having Max. I was excited to get back to a version of the “old me”. I knew it wasn't going to be exactly how things were because my entire life had changed, I was a mum now and things were different, and priorities were different, but the idea of getting a bit of me back, having time to have adult conversations and talk about things that weren't related to nappies, feeding or weaning, I was excited for. What advice can you offer, based on your experience at Softcat, on supporting individuals returning from extended leave? How can other businesses implement similar steps to ensure a smooth transition back into the workplace? So, I think some practicalities need to be considered, right? I think there are the basics, like having some kind of internal returner buddy system is important, because as much as a manager can be there in every way to listen and support, there's an argument for if you've not been through it, it's very difficult to empathise and understand on a real level what that person's experiencing. So, I think the practicalities of having an internal buddy system in place, so that every returner coming back into the business, has or will be connected with somebody who has gone through the same experience themselves and can connect authentically on what that person's going through and validate their experience, from a position of actually knowing what it's like is super important. Listening to somebody one-to-one and nodding and smiling, versus carving out the time of your day to specifically go and sit with somebody and ask how are you? Are you okay? Is there anything I can do? Do you have all the support you need? I am a massive believer in, actively listening to someone and this isn't just listening with your ears, it's listening with every part of you, the engagement, the eye contact, the nodding, all of that culminates into an experience that makes somebody feel genuinely seen, heard, and validated. After our conversations, I can see your superpower is your openness and willingness to show vulnerability. In a world where everyone faces challenges, how has embracing vulnerability benefited you, and do you believe it's made you a better leader? Yes, so firstly I agree with you, Mark. I am a true believer in the fact that vulnerability sits at the heart of effective leadership, not even just effective leadership, but impactful leadership, people you want to follow, people you want to listen to and want to be led by. If you go back 10 years or so, that was a pretty unheard of concept and very much against the grain. It's becoming more prevalent now. It's something that people are talking about, vulnerability and emotional intelligence in leadership. We can't talk about it enough; I think it is that important. My experience of vulnerability as a conscious concept, if I'm honest, I think was probably born out of pure desperation. I referenced earlier that I had postnatal depression off the back of having Max, but before that, if we go back to 2019, I had eight weeks or so off work just due to burnout. I drilled myself into the ground, which had exasperated my anxiety, and it had just gone from zero to 100 across a couple of months. I very much put my head in the sand and didn't acknowledge what was happening. Everybody around me started to notice, saying things such as You don't seem like yourself? What's happening? I just was adamant that I was fine until I wasn't, and that culminated in eight weeks off work, signed off officially by a doctor, sick leave, and all that kind of stuff. That was my first real experience, with mental health challenges and how to navigate them. That was the beginning of me starting to acknowledge the importance of being vulnerable and how that can connect you with others. I think it's important to acknowledge the power of somebody in leadership talking about those things very openly. Whether it be with your direct team or other people around you, it sets a tone, and the expectation isn't to be perfect, always at 150% contributor because none of us are that. As a manager or as a leader, I think it is truly irresponsible if you are consciously or subconsciously giving that expectation out to the people around you, or if you are portraying that you never really struggle and you're setting this expectation with your team and the people around you. Teaching that to progress and to get to your position, your level or move forward in their careers, they must be in a position where they know everything and nothing phases them and they never have a bad day, and that's just not reality for anybody. I think it should be non-negotiable to be an effective leader, you must have a certain level of emotional intelligence, and alongside that comes the ability to be vulnerable in an impactful way, I think this is worth mentioning, when I talk about vulnerability, I'm talking about you sharing a part of yourself that enables somebody else to see themselves reflected. Interviewed by Mark Reddy

Introducing Laura, with a bachelor’s in software engineering and being the only female to complete the course, she began her career within Software Engineering at Landmark information group. After having children her career took a turn; Laura developed a keen interest in AI Architecture and fast-forward 6 years, she is leading from the front as the Head of Data Engineering and Platform at Irwin Mitchell She describes her leadership style as nurturing and empowering, with a huge focus on inclusivity. Laura went through her school years, even up to university age with undiagnosed Dyslexia, and was only diagnosed whilst at university. This is her self-proclaimed superpower and testified that having Neurodiverse talent within a team adds a diverse approach on projects - which is invaluable! So, if you are Neurodiverse yourself, and seeking a role model within the Tech world, Laura is certainly that person! Be prepared for a fantastic story into the rise of a Female leader in tech! Hi Laura, thank you for being involved with Women Rock! Could you tell me a bit about how you first got started in Tech?  I have always like maths at school, so I ended up doing an Advanced GVNQ in Computing, so glad I did. I didn’t know it then, but that was the start of my journey. I loved the programming sections and found I was pretty good at those bits. This led me to do a BSc in Software Engineering, I was 1 of 3 females on the course, and the only female to finish. For my final project, I did a crude natural language solution, which I didn’t do a particularly good job on, but led me to pursue a MSc in Applied AI, this became a corner stone of my career since.  You are the Head of Data Engineering and Platform at Iwin Mitchell; we absolutely love to see a woman leading from the front within a company. How would you describe your leadership style and what do you enjoy most about the job?  I have a nurturing and inclusive style. I want the people in my team to feel comfortable to be themselves and feel part of a cohesive team. I also believe in empowering the team, ensuring they can take ownership. I want them to feel like they are backed and supported, but in exchange I want them to provide this to each of their teammates.  The thing I like most about my job is all the cool stuff we are building, this ranges from great architecture using cutting edge technologies for providing value to the business, to a building a wonderful team that is maturing and developing together.  As a woman in technology, what would you say is the best and worst thing you’ve encountered within the industry over the years, and what did this teach you?  I was in a room with 10 or so male colleagues as a relatively junior software engineer, I challenged someone’s point and the rebuke I received was attributing my challenge to “female hormones”. I was absolutely fuming, and embarrassed... thanks mate, he might as well have said “get back in the kitchen and make me some pie”. I think this is appalling, what a way to keep a woman in her box. Wouldn’t happen in my team!  The best bit is... “being in the kitchen making pies”. No Seriously, I think the best bit is how women can support each other, I love the movement to support women in tech as a whole. I used to see it as a badge of honour that I was one of so few females. I took a while to see that me being the only female was due to a systemic problem. Being from a farming community with a dad with only daughters I was always brought up to believe that I could do anything a man could do, so it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to follow a career in tech, or that other women weren’t able to follow this path, for whatever reason.  Quite a lot of women have felt they have had to make sacrifices with family to pursue their career choices, as a Mother yourself have you ever come up against any barriers like this and if so, how did you overcome them?  I have two children, I had as long off work as possible when I had them, around 14 months with each of the them. Until both were in school, I remained part time. For a few years this stunted my career however, with the support from a fabulous female boss I was able to power on through and make some huge leaps in my career. I did have to work really hard to achieve this. Toward the end of being part time, I was working a lot of extra hours, but hey it paid off in spades!! But should it have been that way?  Given that I took so much time off with the kids, I don’t feel like I sacrificed anything, I have been very careful because I don’t want to look back with regret, my career will still be there, but my kids will have grown up.  I know that you are passionate building a diverse team at Iwin Mitchell, and you’ve been successful with diverse hires in the past – How do you ensure your interview/recruitment process is inclusive and what advice would you give to other hiring managers around this?  Irwin Mitchell is very passionate about diversity and inclusion. It’s not just lip service, the company is very proud of it’s gender equality and have a good proportion of female senior leadership (which is very inspiring). The advice I would give, is "keep an open mind”, interviews are stressful for most people, but this can be on a whole other level for a neurodivergent person, the behaviours you see might not be quite what your used to, so you need to try not to put this person in a box by making a snap decision about them.  Why would you say that Iwin Mitchell is a great place to work for people from all different backgrounds and walks of life? Irwin Mitchell is a great place to due to its culture. We have a “flexible by choice” policy that is reflected in all areas of the business and is held core to IM’s values. This is something that the business is proud of, and the people.  We also have a high percentage of female employees, although we could do with evening it up a bit in Data! The culture is very inclusive and friendly, there is quite a long average tenure at IM, I think that is mostly down to people being happy and satisfied.  Let’s talk about your self-proclaimed superpower! We have talked previously about you growing up struggling with un-diagnosed Dyslexia and how later in life you sought out a diagnosis. Tell me more about that and the impact it’s made on your career?  I have been very open with work and colleagues about being dyslexic. I think this has had a positive impact on my career, I can often think about a problem or solution differently from peers and having that diversity is useful in a team. I noticed early on in my career, that neurodiversity is very common in the engineering space, possibly the abstract and logical nature of it as a craft, so I’m in good company. I see it an advantage to think different than others and I seem to excel in some other areas such as spotting patterns and spatial reasoning. I think it helps me to be an abstract thinker. It can be more stressful in meetings if I have to read a body of text, and I’m thinking “this is going to take me much longer that everyone else”.  On the topic of Neurodiversity, what advice would you personally give to hiring managers/employers who are trying to ensure their interview process is also attracting neurodiverse candidates?  I would make it clear in the job advert that neurodiversity is valued, not just accepted, but valued. I would put a short paragraph, maybe a couple of lines near the top of the advert. These is much more appealing that a statement at the bottom that sound a bit like an after statement, or token effort to be inclusive.  If you could go back to your 16 year old self, what advice would you give her?  Buy stocks in Google!!  But seriously I would say “You don’t have to be the cleverest person in the room to be successful and kind to yourself”. Accademia came easier to my sibling, so I always felt like the thick one, but I have gone on to make a great career that I’m proud of.  What do you think the biggest thing tech companies could do to attract more female talent? And I guess, if it was you looking – what would attract you to a company? Flexibilty, fair compensation, career progression, and interesting work. For me, it would be a combination of these things. I love working from home, I can relax and deliver, I can contact and access the people I need quickly and easily. Flexibility is important to me and was certainly a major consideration when I chose the role at Irwin Mitchell, not only as a mum, but also from a “manage your energy not your time” perspective.  Career progression and interesting work are also very attractive, most of us like to make a difference, add value, and feel appreciated. I like to see the potential in the domain and data, also working with a relevant tech stack that is going to keep skills on point with the industry.  Who is someone in your life that inspires you?  My parents are my biggest inspiration. I grew up in West Somerset, in the south of England, which is one the lowest social mobility areas in the England. My parents were tenant farmers on a Crown Estate farm on Exmoor, which for anyone who knows the area, would know that’s pretty tuff farming land. Lots of farmers weren’t coping in the area but Dad diversified, I watched him make a successful Ice-cream making business, even innovating, and making solar panelled ice-cream vans. Mum went back to study and become a solicitor; this had a huge impact on me for what it takes to succeed.  Finally, could you leave us with your favourite quote?  Just arrive! Interviewed by Adam Townsend

Meet the Incredible Hafsa, who fell into the wonderful world of tech unexpectedly, through trial and error throughout her career so far. Hafsa argues that "it's the journey that matters", using failures and critical feedback as her compass for growth, and proving that there are lots of opportunities and pathways for a successful career in tech that might not be expected. Hafsa is now leading the Salesforce Administration team at the FCA, and highlights her experience as a visible Muslim in the tech space, sharing the prejudices and challenges she has faced in her career, which has fueled her commitment to encourage more diversity in tech. This interview is a tribute to the women in Hafsa's life who have played a pivotal role in shaping her career and why finding your values and staying true to your beliefs is important. In a world driven by data and AI, diversity is not just a virtue; it's a strategic imperative, and Hafsa highlights the importance of investing in a diverse workforce, where diversity of thought from a workforce of individuals with differing experiences and backgrounds, will lead to real progression and development for organisations.  Hi Hafsa, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, please can you start by talking me through your position at the FCA?  I’ve been at the FCA for a record (for me) 5 years, I currently lead the Salesforce Administrator team, for those that know Salesforce would know we configure! The team works on a variety of support, change and processes in a highly complicated tech eco-system, as is the case in any large organisation. We are a relatively small team but hugely effective and the role has helped me learn so much more about technology than I had ever imagined. Tell me about your story so far. How did you get into the wonderful world of tech?  I landed in the world of tech accidentally. There was no planning, and I didn’t initially have the educational background for tech, but it somehow worked out… After finishing my Economics degree, I decided to continue my studies for an extra year and discovered Accounting wasn’t for me (good thing I discovered this early on), but I had some decent excel and data skills so landed in a Reporting and Data Role in the Financial sector. This was followed by a Data Analyst role where I was thrown in the deep end of Salesforce configuration and technology change.  Throughout my previous roles there has always been some level of technology change, from testing for a new software being launched, supporting the rollout of software, or configuring changes to user needs - and I took full advantage of these opportunities. I immersed myself in the tech change, learnt a huge amount and adapted to the tech world I was finding myself in, and built a career in technology.  You are a big fan of “trial and error”. Please can you tell me more about why you value critical feedback and why failing is important?  I think I learnt early on that unless you try something you won’t realise what you like or dislike, and unless you fail you cannot grow as an individual.  You hear a lot of people say, “it’s the journey that matters” and I truly believe that. When I look back at the memories I cherish from my journey, it’s not just what I achieved in the end, but the struggles I went through and overcame, and of course the people I met along the way. I realised early on: the more I failed at new things, the more I learnt. For me, learning is one of the most important aspects of job satisfaction – If I’m not learning I’m usually bored!    Alongside failing, feedback is hugely important to me, as to grow you need to be able to ask for and be willing to receive feedback, which is a skill in itself! It’s hard to hear what you need to change or improve on, but as with anything, to grow you must adapt. If you limit yourself and don’t take onboard feedback, it can be really hard to see your blind-spots. The things I love doing today are the things I was terrible at when I first started. Had I given up on them due to my failures or lack of expertise and not listened to those who were willing to advise and help, I would not be who I am today. You mentioned that your religion has influenced your career, choosing to work for companies where you can make a positive impact. Please can you tell me more about the role religion has played in your career so far, and how the prejudice you mentioned you have been met with has shaped your experience in the tech space.   My religion is the basis of my values, and this has been pivotal in me choosing what I do and who I work for. I ensure whatever role I am working in aligns with my values and I’m making a positive impact on society, and this all comes back to the values that my religion has helped instil in me: being a good person through kindness, charity, justice and respect. Most of all my roles and the organisations I work for had some level of positive impact to others, which limits my options but also makes my work all the more valuable to me. Being a visible Muslim (I wear a headscarf) has meant there has been a number of prejudices I have had to overcome, especially very early on in my career but as I gained confidence and my career expanded to technology I realised that those pre-judices helped me become more resilient and helped me gain the skills I needed to bring more diversity in the world of technology Why is it so important to have a diverse workforce and how can companies do better? Invest in people! I can’t stress enough how ensuring we have a diverse workforce means we have diversity of thought, ideas, and leadership, and to achieve this we need to be willing to invest the time and effort into people so they can progress within organisations and careers.   It takes a lot of time and effort, and we are now in a workforce where we are so stretched that’s it’s easy to just hire someone who can do the job today rather than invest the time and train people. But from my experience I have found it so rewarding to see individuals grow in skills, confidence, and so much more, to achieve not just their day job but add value with new ideas, concepts, and better ways of works! I do believe we risk our future by not investing in a diverse workforce – in a world where data and AI are the buzz words, technology change is pivotal for the survival of most organisations. Without the diversity of thought, which comes from diverse experiences and backgrounds, changes to the way we work and the way we can make the most of technology can be hard to achieve – for real progression and change for organisations diversity through investment is key!  Who have been/are the most influential people in your career? Women!  I don’t have a specific role or had even thought about it until recently but looking back a few of the key people that have influenced and inspired my career are women, they saw potential in me, believed in me, pushed me, and inspired me to do what I love.  For specifics I’ll start with the cliché and say my mother; her resilience, adaptability and unshakeable faith inspires me every day - she began her life in the UK in the 80’s from a rural village in India with limited education for women, and achieved more than most could imagine. She also pushed me to follow my dreams by studying courses that I loved and she had never heard of, and importantly she has also ensured happiness is a key part of my definition of success.  Another inspirational woman to me is a former manager of mine: ECP – an incredible woman and influence who inspired me to want to achieve more from my career and continue learning. Her exceptional management skills are something I strive for as part of my line-management journey all the time, including the ability to invest in people.  And lastly the amazing friends, colleagues and comrades in my life whose different life journeys, support and wisdom have helped me set and achieve some exceptional goals – had it not been for these wonderful women in my life I would not have even imagined being where I am today!  Any last words of inspiration?  Find what you value and stay true to it!   And remember everyone is on their own journey, there’s no need to compare yourself to others – do what you love, be willing to learn and achieve!  Interviewed by Bella Snell

Meet Holly, with a foundation in STEM A-levels, she delved into Materials Engineering, securing a Research Engineer role in Metrology post-Masters. Holly's journey took a turn into people management and leadership, guiding teams at ASOS and currently as Engineering Manager at Enable.   She defines her leadership style as "dynamic" and authentic, driving diverse team success. As the initiator of the UK Women in Engineering meetup at Enable, she champions a global community, fosters a sense of belonging and empowerment among female engineers, reflecting in a positive impact within just three months!  Holly's recruitment strategy involves decoding job descriptions, eliminating biases, and enhancing language for inclusivity.  Trust your gut, transparency, and diversity form the core of Holly's insightful career advice.  Inspired by luminaries like Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, and her empowering family, she embraces the mantra: "You can't be what you can't see." Hi Holly, thank you for being involved with Women Rock! Could you tell me a bit about how you first got started in Tech and a little bit about who you are outside of work. Absolutely, and thank you for having me! So I guess I started in Tech at the point of choosing my A-Level subjects which just happened to be very STEM based. Maths, science and problem solving was always something I was good at during school so at the time those type subjects felt like the obvious choice. After studying a Masters in Materials Engineers at University I got accepted onto a Graduate Scheme in the world of R&D (Research and Development) as a Research Engineer in the field of Metrology. After progressing my career technically, I took a sideways step into people management and leadership, managing a team of research engineers specializing in data engineering, data science and software engineering. This opened up opportunities at other organisations and I took a role at ASOS as an Engineering Manager, managing teams of software engineers and QA engineers in the fintech space. About 9 months ago I joined a SaaS startup, Enable as an Engineering Manager and since then I’ve been focusing heavily on growing our diversity within Engineering and building awareness around everything DEI. Outside of work you’ll find me either on a dog walk, having a pub lunch, or on a dog walk to a pub lunch! As the Engineering Manager at Enable and an advocate for diversity in the workplace. How would you describe your leadership style and what do you enjoy most about the job? I think my leadership style is “dynamic”. Everyone in my team is different right, so how I engage with and manage each of them also needs to be different to get the best out of them. I like the think my leadership style is authentic, empowering and adaptive. My favourite part my role is working with people. I really enjoy working with different people, coaching and supporting their development, as well as building collaborative and empowered teams of highly skilled engineers. I also really like the ever-changing landscape of the organisation and the scope to be able to involve myself in many different areas of the organisation as well as focusing my time on both technical and non-technical initiatives. As a woman in working in the technology sector, what would you say is the best and worst thing you’ve encountered within the industry over the years? I love this question! I think the best thing particularly as a woman is the network and community you can build. So often women are under-represented in this space, there’s a statistic that 32% of women in technical and engineering roles are often the only women in the room at work, which leads us to find that representation outside of our immediate team or organisation. I know I have benefited so much from finding and connecting with other female leaders and built that network and community of support around myself. That statistic can also be used as the worst thing too, women are so under-represented within the tech space, and having all forms of diversity brings diversity of thought, you can’t have innovation with the same people in the room. I was really inspired by your post on Enable’s UK Women in Engineering meetup, could you tell me a little bit about it, what your role is and the affect you feel it has? Absolutely, going back to my previous point around of the power and importance of a community this was something I really wanted to bring to Enable and share with other female engineers here. So, I’ve kicked off a UK and now Toronto community with the plan that we will also have a global meetup once a quarter. The purpose is to bring all our female engineers together to share our experiences, talk through some of the nuances of being a woman in the tech landscape we are in and how we can advocate for, support and celebrate each other. One of the most important things for me is that feeling of belonging and my hope is that by spending an hour a month with other technical women gives us the sense of belonging and representation we sometimes don’t have in our own teams. So my role is essentially facilitation, I want this community to be a safe space of empowerment so we talk through topics like mentoring, how to find a mentor, how to structure a conversation with a mentor etc. things like goal setting and how to articulate your goals in a way that feels empowered, achievable and authentic. I also take so much away from those sessions personally, so I’m grateful to all the amazing women that come along and share their thoughts, experiences and guidance. I actually did a quick anonymous survey before the first session and then following the 3rd session asking our female engineers how empowered they felt, how represented they felt and what their sense of belonging is and all three increased after just 3 months of the community so I’m hoping the numbers speak for themselves! I know that you are passionate about building a diverse team at Enable, – How do you ensure your interview process is inclusive and what advice would you give to other hiring managers around this? This is something I’ve been working closely with our Talent team on, there’s some really simple adjustments that can be made that can have a huge impact from an inclusivity point of view. Things like gender decoding job descriptions, changing some of the language around ‘non-negotiables’ so for example changing “Must have a computer science degree” to “Computer science degree desirable, other STEM degrees considered” hugely opens up the candidate pool and therefore the diversity you can bring to the organisation. There are now so many routes into tech, from apprenticeships and internships to bootcamps that even specifying needing a degree can be a limiting factor. Another thing I think is really important for minority groups is having representation on the interview panel, it’s important that this isn’t a tokenised approach but authentic and representative of the organisation current level of diversity. A really practical step for hiring managers around this is doing unconscious bias training, we all have biases we might be unaware of but being cognisant of them and bringing those biases into our conscious means as hiring managers we can be better aware of the impact and importance of biases in an interview process. If you could go back in time to when you first started your career in tech, what piece of advice would you give yourself? Trust your gut. I think it’s taken a long time for me to fully trust my own instincts and trust myself. Often as we are progressing through our careers we think everyone more senior than us knows so much more, and has so much more insight. As I’ve progressed in my own career I’ve realised that most people experience some form of imposter syndrome, that there is always more to learn and that everyone is (mostly) just doing their best. Trust that your experience and skillset has got you to where you are and be willing to continuously learn. What do you think the biggest thing tech companies could do to attract more female talent? And I guess if it was you looking – what would attract you to a company? Transparency! I’m not talking about the little blurb at the bottom of job adverts, I mean being transparent throughout the recruitment process and being intentional with your transparency. Share your family friendly policies with candidates, share your flexible working policies, share information on your ERGs, share the accountable actions the company is taking to build their inclusive culture and most importantly be honest. No one is perfect, and we can’t expect companies to be perfect either. So be honest about where you have room to grow and what’s next from a business commitment, you might even find that a candidate has experience bringing that to life in another organisation! Who is someone in your life that inspires you? There are so many people that inspire me, and it feels unfair to name just one person! Obviously, there are the classic choices like Michelle Obama, how she balanced life as a mother, a wife, the First Lady, and a trailblazer. People like Taylor Swift and how she has built such an authentic and passionate fan base, how she celebrates other women and uses her voice to champion marginalised groups, but inspiration can come from everywhere. I’m really lucky to have quite a large family and be surrounded by so many empowering women in my mother and my (MANY!) aunts, how each of them have balanced family life with their careers, and the ceilings they have smashed inspire me to continue to push myself outside of my comfort zone. Finally, my cheerleaders, I have a handful of incredibly inspiring women around me, from doctors to teachers to private chefs to “head of’s” in a corporate world, each one of those women continue to inspire me, shape my life bring endless amounts of support and laughter to my life. Finally, could you leave us with your favourite quote? “You can’t be what you can’t see”. This is something I resonate with a lot as a woman in tech. Being able to see highly ambitious and technical women makes that path seem so much more possible, and if those women don’t exist in your current organisation they absolutely exist outside of your organisation, so go find them, build your own network of people that inspire you, that encourage you and advocate for you!   Interviewed by Rob Marsh