WOMEN ROCK.

‘Culture’ is a word thrown around a lot by companies at the moment to try and attract new talent. However, culture is more than a early finish and free coffee as Elle Chappell from Best Energy explains.Elle is one of the most passionate people I have met when it comes to ED&I. She leads from the front, always learning about best practices, has a heart of gold and here shares some valuable insights on what companies should be doing when attracting underrepresented talent to their teams…HEY ELLE, WE’RE REALLY EXCITED TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT ALL THINGS PEOPLE AND CULTURE AND YOUR PASSION FOR ED&I.CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR JOB AND WHAT YOUR DAY USUALLY LOOKS LIKE?I’m in a stand alone People & Culture role and have a responsibility for talent acquisition, day to day people operations, L&D, supporting line managers and the senior team, benefits…the list is quite endless actually! There often isn’t a typical day but I could go from interviewing to training to preparing to onboard new joiners, for example. When I joined the business, there was no People function so I’ve pretty much built everything from scratch including implementing 2 x pieces of people ops and hiring software, introducing Annual Talent Reviews, creating hiring processes, rolled out engagement surveys etc.PEOPLE AND CULTURE IS A RELATIVELY NEW ROLE WITHIN COMPANIES. WHAT DOES A GREAT CULTURE LOOK LIKE TO YOU?Personally, I think a great culture is somewhere people can show up as themselves and not feel they have to hide their true selves away. Somewhere people feel trusted and empowered to do the right thing (otherwise why have you hired them?), and somewhere that values and supports people as individuals, as people that have lives and families. Trust, autonomy and respect.WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD OWN CULTURE WITHIN AN ORGANISATION?100% every single person within a business from the person who vacuums the offices to the CEO. It’s not up to one person, or a group of directors, it’s got to be people owned and driven. I use the phrase ‘moments that matter’ a lot. The moments that you have with your colleagues, suppliers, partners, customers, the behaviours you exhibit on a daily basis. The interactions, the behaviours – these all working together and occurring each day result in your culture.YOU SHARE THE SAME PASSION AS US FOR ED&I – WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO COMPANIES WHEN ATTRACTING UNDERREPRESENTED TALENT TO THEIR TEAMS?Assess your job descriptions: when we write job specs, language has a huge impact on the end reader. For example, women are much less likely to apply for a role if they don’t hit all the listed criteria than men are. Instead, take a look internally at people who are performing and consider things that matter the most. Do you really need someone to have a Masters, for example? It’s also really important to ensure candidates can see into your business. A job description is a bunch of words, it’s not your culture. People need to be able to see into your business (your careers page/LinkedIn/social media and see that they would be supported to thrive in your community. For example, if your company is predominately white, how do you ensure any new joiners who are black or Asian for example, are supported, or people with a disability? If they can’t see you supporting them, they’re less likely to apply. Have a great hiring process in place and ensure your teams are trained properly when it comes to interviewing too are really key.WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR CAREER BOTH BEING SELF-EMPLOYED AND AN EMPLOYEE?Wow, good question. Being employed was tough, I just wanted to deliver, I didn’t want to be a finance manager and a sales manager and a marketing manager too. I think in hindsight, I might have liked it better if I started something with friends or someone else in my field, who knows.WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT TO DATE, BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?Proudest moment professionally on reflection, is making the decision to close my business. It turned out having a business isn’t what I wanted and taking that decision changed my life but it wasn’t an easy one to make. At the time, I was worried about the word ‘fail’ and what people would think, which I still haven’t figured out why that was even an issue for me. I remember being sat on a boat near the Isle of Arran and just said to my husband ‘I’m closing the business when we get home and I’ve decided on the role I want.’ His face was a picture! I didn’t even know if the role was out there, and it had to be in sustainability or something similar. A month later, I had an offer so it all worked out in the end. Personally, my 250km ultra marathon in the Wadi Rum desert, Jordan. I completed the race, flew home and the day after I landed started my new job! 2021 was an interesting year…IT’S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY THIS MONTH AND SOMETHING WE SHOULD CELEBRATE EVERYDAY. WHO ARE THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN YOU FOLLOW AND INSPIRED BY?Blimey, my friend Andreea Wilmott is up there for so many reasons, she’s a power house of a woman. Jane Goodall, Dr Jess French (someone I know personally again), Leena Nair, Malala Yousafzai, Jacinda Ardern…the list goes on!WORKING MUMS AND SUPPORTING THEM IS ALSO SOMETHING YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT, WHAT CAN COMPANIES DO FOR EXPECTING PARENTS AND THEN MUMS OR DADS RETURNING TO WORK?First of all, enhanced maternity/paternity pay and/or shared parental leave. If having a baby isn’t stressful enough with the physical, mental and emotional changes a woman goes through, the financial pressure of being on statutory MAT leave must be unbearable. Don’t get me started on this! Flexible hours, childcare vouchers, understand that new parents are going to be sleep deprived, offer mental health support (many men don’t disclose to their employers that they’re suffering with perinatal mental health issues as they think it will harm their career), create new parents meet ups/groups within the business to share stories and experiences, celebrate family. So many women have to sacrifice their career when they have a baby after years of hard work. The best businesses will embrace multiple ways to truly support parents and they will reap the rewards for doing so.IF YOU WE’RE A SONG WHAT SONG WOULD YOU BE?Probably Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.WHAT IS THE SAYING OR MANTRA YOU LIVE BY?Don’t be a dick! Am I allowed to say that?!Course you are – sterling advice!Thanks so much for speaking to us Elle.You rock! #womenrockAn interview by Alicia TeagleA voice for diversity in Tech and Engineering

Women Rock founder, Alicia chats to Marina Traversari who recently joined Spherics as COO.The insights that Marina shares are testament to her amazing accomplishments in the tech industry, including representing Oracle at House of Lords events, fireside chats and chairing panels at local and international events to drive cultural change through thought leadership and most recently her role as COO at Spherics where ED&I are top of her priorities as she scales the team.She also lists Chaka Khan as her song, displaying impeccable taste in music.But we could sit and fangirl over Marina all day 💙Probably best if you hear it from her! So without further ado…MARINA, THANKS SO MUCH FOR SPEAKING TO US. KICKING US OFF, YOU HAVE RECENTLY JOINED SPHERICS AS COO, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR DAY TO DAY?We are preparing for Series A, so there are lots to do in preparation for that! Ensuring we are on point for due diligence, keeping on top of finances-P&L, working with CFO & CEO, preparing for scaling the team – interviewing, looking at premises, ensuring we are compliant and legal, HR, whilst also looking after the team we already have. We are a people first organisation, and we truly believe in creating the right culture for everyone to thrive.SPHERICS SOUNDS AWESOME, WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THE BUSINESS THIS YEAR?We are scaling and fast! As I mentioned we are raising a Series A this year, currently we are a team of 15. Priority now is scaling our tech and customer services teams to meet the additional priorities from our customers, but we are also recruiting a variety of other roles, so if anyone is interested, please get in touch! By the end of the year, we forecast to be a team of 50.HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ENSURE YOU BUILD AN INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSE TEAM FROM THE START?This is very important to the founders and myself, we have equal parity of male female in our team, and the majority of our dev team are women, which I am incredibly proud of.However, we have to ensure our team is representative of our city region. We are using software to ensure our job descriptions are not biased in terms of language, and we also protect against unconscious bias influencing our recruitment process by conducting blind selections.We are also working with D&I specialists and organisations across the city region to maximise reach into diverse communities.YOU SHARE THE SAME PASSION AS US FOR ED&I – WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO COMPANIES TO ATTRACT UNDERREPRESENTED TALENT TO THEIR TEAMS?There are various ways to tackle Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in terms of blind selections and unconscious bias, working with female coding orgs to reach talent that is underrepresented. I don’t think we have it cracked yet unfortunately, which is why we have started working with other local organisations to identify individuals with protected characteristics that have a passion for working with us.We have also just completed our B Corp assessment thanks to the tenacity of Rebecca Burgess, our former Chief Engagement Officer, which we will hopefully hear from this month, fingers crossed! B Corp Certification is a great process to fully understand how you implement the passion to be a ‘people first’ organisation.HOW WOULD YOU MEASURE SUCCESS WHEN IT COMES TO ED&I?Great question! Measuring inclusion is vital, we measure and make it a priority for the company, and it is driven by our Board – what is valued is measured, and those measurements drive action. We are tailoring our business goals to be both meaningful and truly effective within our organisational strategy.We are a remote first team but our beating heart is in Bristol, and I want our team to scale and reflect the city we live in. We also have quarterly pulse surveys/360 reviews and team away days to ensure we are hearing from all our team, as we want our team to feel confident and empowered to offer different opinions, to bring innovation and meaningful change.WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR CAREER?There have been a few! I was a single mother when I moved to Bristol, this made completing my degree more challenging and commence my career however I had incredible support from UWE and this assisted my development.I worked for an awesome organisation straight out of university, Calling the Shots, who were fully supportive and inclusive and shared their knowledge which has stayed with me as I have developed.I have had male managers remove my name from Board reports and add theirs, if this ever happens to you my advice is to challenge immediately! Be assertive and direct, whilst remaining calm and professional.GROWING UP YOU TOLD ME YOU WENT TO A SCHOOL WHERE YOU WE’RE DIFFERENT AND DIDN’T FIT INTO THE NORM OF OTHER CHILDREN AROUND YOU. I WOULD LOVE TO DO MORE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION ESPECIALLY IN TECH. WHAT DO YOU THINK SCHOOLS AND EVEN LOCAL COMPANIES CAN DO TO ENCOURAGE THE NEXT GENERATION INTO TECH AND DIGITAL CAREERS?Wow, I’d forgotten I’d told you this! Yes, we were a working class, immigrant family – Irish/Italian and I remember people crossing the street, so they didn’t have to speak to my mum – that was hard but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right!In all seriousness, I would advise the next generation to speak to as many people as possible, take on as much work experience as you can, go to career events, network. Schools and Local Authorities are working together to ensure initiatives, such as the one led by the Career Enterprise Company – advisors work with schools on curriculum planning and bringing in companies to deliver talks.Roles are changing with such a pace, there are jobs now that didn’t exist when I was leaving school. If young people are not aware of the scope of employment, then they can’t apply themselves and their skills.I would also advise young people to take risks, be brave and push themselves out of their comfort zone-it’s ok to fail as a lot of learning stems from failure.Look at alternative routes other than university, as it’s not for everyone. Apprenticeships, for example are a great way to earn and learn through hands on experience. I feel there is too much focus put on uni degrees, which leaves young adults feeling they are substandard if they don’t have one and I want to see this change.WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT TO DATE, BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?Personally, there have been a few – no 1 is my amazing son, Leon who is now 22 and a wonderfully caring and considerate young man, whom I am immensely proud of!In addition, completing my degree and exhibiting at BETT at ExCel, taking part in NESTA Futurelab Design Challenge and exhibiting my work at Submerge, an audio-visual tech/arts expo, with a 3-year-old at the time!Professionally, Representing Bristol, Facebook, Oracle and the West of England at International events and delivered keynotes, fireside chats and chairing panels at local and international conferences/events to drive cultural change through thought leadership.Seeing through as Chair of BoD for Gapsquare’s acquisition to FTSE 100 company and representing Oracle at House of Lords events due to Women in Tech advocacy.Winning the SW Mentoring Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award for demonstrable value to the UK SW Tech scene, and achieving #27 on the TT50 list!IT’S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY THIS MONTH AND SOMETHING WE SHOULD CELEBRATE EVERY DAY. HAVE YOU DRAWN INSPIRATION FROM OTHER WOMEN BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY AND WHO ARE THEY?Absolutely, personally of course my mother was such a source of inspiration, she taught me the importance of compassion and inclusion.My best friend Jodie aka wiffles, who is a kick arse Production Manager working in TV and has worked with the likes of Attenborough and Obama, she is the kindest and most inclusive individual and keeps me constantly in check.Professionally, there are a few however top of mind are Dr Zara Nanu and Mel Rodrigues, who are, and continue to be my vanguards. Their positivity and drive provide such inspiration, and professionally they are two of the most incredible, ambitious individuals I have ever met, and I am also honoured to call them friends.WE SPOKE ABOUT DISABILITIES IN THE WORKPLACE AND WHILST WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO ON ALL FRONTS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, I BELIEVE A LOT OF EMPLOYERS ARE THINKING ABOUT DISABILITIES BOTH PHYSICALLY OR HIDDEN. LIKE MYSELF FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE SEVERE DYSLEXIA AND IT WAS ONLY PICKED UP 5 YEARS AGO AND MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS DIDN’T SUPPORT ME WITH THIS OR OFFER ANY SUPPORT WHEN I FAILED TESTS FOR EXAMPLE. WHAT CAN WE ALL DO TO SUPPORT DISABILITIES IN THE WORKPLACE?It is so important to support disabilities in the workplace, both physical and psychological, however as you say sometimes neurodiversity can go undiagnosed, unnoticed, or mis-interpreted.Employee assistance programmes and building supportive company cultures helps, whilst also embedding accessibility into every part of your recruitment process.Make sure you spend time myth busting with managers, modify your working arrangements to support individuals, provide unconscious bias training for all employees and obviously pay workers with disabilities equally.I have had the pleasure to have had a career in TV, Film, and Technology, these industries tend to have a high percentage of neuro-diverse creatives/individuals – learning how to bring out the best in people is key, provide different software and hardware, be conscious of large team events as some people will struggle – take the time to get to know your team and how best to support everyone, as individuals.IF YOU WERE A SONG WHAT SONG WOULD YOU BE?Chaka Khan, Ain’t Nobody!WHAT IS THE SAYING OR MANTRA YOU LIVE BY?Work hard, play hard, be kind – always.Great note to end on – thanks so much Marina! Keep rocking #womenrockAn interview with Alicia Teagle I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

This week Ellen Cain brings you a WR interview with a twist, venturing out of the realms of Tech & Engineering, this interview dives into the healthcare world (on the other side of the world!) 🌏.Ellen recently spoke to a close friend of hers and an absolute wonder woman, Cat Houlihan. Their conversation covered everything and inbetween moving to Australia, being a new mum and setting up the first of its kind, a residential treatment centre for people with eating disorders 💙.“I believe we are all humans with a range of experiences on offer to us. For whatever reason some of us respond to the world’s challenges in this way or that.”So here it is, take 5 and immerse yourself in this incredibly insightful and refreshing interview with Cat Houlihan, Clinical Director and Clinical Psychologist at Wandi Nerida.Thank you for letting us pick your brains Cat, you are such an inspiration 🙌.PLEASE CAN YOU SUMMARISE WANDI NERIDA FOR ME?Wandi Nerida is Australia’s first residential treatment centre for people with eating disorders. Wandi Nerida means “gather together to blossom” and is a name gifted to us by the local Aboriginal community.TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR JOB AND WHAT A DAY IN THE LIFE LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU AND YOUR SON, THE GORGEOUS REX?Wandi Nerida was built to be a home-like setting on 25 acres of beautiful bushland on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. As the Clinical Director I am responsible for the clinical program, the groups and therapies that our “participants” (clients) will engage in as part of their recovery journey. I’m lucky that no two days look the same! Some days I’ll be busy with meetings, talking to families and other services around Australia, other days I’ll be running groups, eating meals with participants and supervising staff. Sometimes I’ll be taking a mindful 5 minutes by the dam or walking down by the horses. Other times I’ll be in the office having a cry because I’m feeling overwhelmed by the intense nature of the job and balancing work and life responsibilities. On the odd occasion I have barricaded myself in the office because I’ve heard that Stan the carpet Python who lives under the staff building is on the loose!A day in the life with Rex is go, go, go, from breakfast to bedtime. We eat, play, go for walks, to the park and to the beach and that can sometimes be before lunchtime! Rex is lots of fun, a very busy bee, and once he has fully figured out what we’re doing he’s ready for the next thing. It’s enjoyable and energising and exhausting and challenging all at the same time.THE BUSINESS YOU WORK FOR IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN AUSTRALIA, WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR CHALLENGES FOR YOU?Moving to Australia has been quite a big culture shift, especially working in healthcare. I didn’t understand how different it would be until I was in it, and it can feel quite lonely working in a team with different training backgrounds and ways of thinking. It’s been good learning too, but some days I find myself missing my old teams and the good old NHS! Having a baby and then taking on such a big role after maternity leave has been as challenging as you’d expect and doing this without my usual support network of friends and family around me has made the tough times extra tough. Being a new service with a new team meant the first few months were extremely busy and chaotic with unexpected problems that were my responsibility to solve. I’d often have to stay late, miss nursery pick up or seeing Rex at all that night – which still happens sometimes – and I feel incredibly guilty for.MUM GUILT IS THE WORST AND YOU ARE JUGGLING SO MUCH MORE THAN A NORMAL 9-5 AND BEING A PARENT. KUDOS TO YOU! BAR THE SOUNDS OF A TODDLER CRYING, WHAT GETS YOU UP IN THE MORNING?Haha, that’s pretty much it! I’ve just started walking once or twice per week in the mornings when I can which I love. I used to jog on the beach and trying to build this back up after a couple of years off. I also strangely enjoy my drive to work, it’s just under an hour and if I have a good coffee and podcast, it’s a nice peaceful moment in my day.HOW HAVE YOU FOUND BEING A FEMALE LEADER IN YOUR INDUSTRY?Working in healthcare in an eating disorders service means that I work with mainly females including other leaders which I’ve found helpful especially when coming into the role from maternity leave and having other mothers supporting me. Due to the nature of eating disorder treatment around 90% of our participants are female too, so as a leader I have felt quite comfortable in that sense. I still feel like an imposter most days, but that’s because I have an underlying sense that someone’s made a mistake hiring me generally, not because I’m female!I AM SURE YOU ARE MORE THAN QUALIFIED TO DO YOUR JOB! I GUESS WE ALL FEEL LIKE WE’RE FAKING IT AT TIMES. DO YOU OR HAVE YOU FACED ANY STIGMAS OR MALE/FEMALE INEQUALITY IN YOUR ROLE OR PREVIOUS ROLES?I can’t say that I’ve faced any stigmas beyond the typical cultural norms relating to gender stereotypes that can also be expressed in the workplace. There is inequality in my workplace with a larger female-male ratio of colleagues which means valuable experience and perspectives can be lost in the service development and decision-making. That said, the males we do have typically occupy more senior roles.YOU’VE HAD SOME MAJOR LIFE CHANGES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS; MOVE TO AUSTRALIA, HAD A BABY, OFFERED A CHUNKY JOB AND ALL WITHOUT YOUR FRIENDS OR FAMILY. WHAT HAS REALITY BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?I’ve tried to give a real perspective in previous answers and not paint a fantasy picture of Australian life. I miss home every day, especially in winter (yes, I love the cold!) Covid has of course made things harder, though I’m very excited to be returning home with the family for Christmas 2022.Otherwise, life really has its ups and downs! Being a mum is one area that can feel both wonderful and challenging, so is being a clinical director, so is being in a relationship. I’m proud of how many challenges I have overcome and try to remember this when I feel the inner critic piping up. I’ve always been drawn to excitement and chaos to a certain extent, despite longing for predictability and order once I’m in it. I have high expectations for myself which have been both a blessing and a curse. My reality is probably quite ‘normal’ in that I am a typical human being with complex emotions and thoughts that I can’t always make sense of, and it doesn’t matter where you are or what you do when you have these experiences.YOU HAVE SO MUCH ON YOUR PLATE, I IMAGINE BEING OVERWHELMED IS JUST PART OF YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER NOW. ARE YOU ABLE TO SELF SOOTHE YOURSELF BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE AS A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST OR DOES YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, AND THE MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUR PATIENTS FALL IN TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLDS?It definitely improved through my clinical training. Learning about psychology and mental health helped me understand myself much more, the suffering I’d experienced and how it was expressing itself in my daily life. I’ve learnt strategies for self-soothing but can’t always apply them effectively! It’s a lot easier for me to provide support to others but I don’t see myself as different in any way. Like I was saying before, I believe we are all humans with a range of experiences on offer to us. For whatever reason some of us respond to the world’s challenges in this way or that, I am lucky that I’ve had the training, therapy, and support for personal growth, but I’ve also definitely experienced mental health issues particularly anxiety and depression which I was not able to easily recover from without help.HOW DID YOU FIND THE FIRST YEAR OF MOTHERHOOD AND WHAT ARE THE BEST THINGS ABOUT YOUR LIFE DOWN UNDER?The first year of motherhood was really hard! Looking back, I recognise postnatal anxiety and depression but didn’t seek support for this at the time. The early months are a bit of a blur to be honest, I felt lonely and stressed and exhausted. I’m glad to see the back of it haha! You helped me get through the really tough times and helped me learn it’s ok not to look back. I’m happy to say I’m enjoying the toddler stage a lot more now, but I was really unprepared for the physical and emotional demands of motherhood especially in those first few months.The best thing about life down under is the exposure to nature, I live in a beach town with nice beaches and walks in the National Park. It’s a slower pace, early to rise and early to bed which suits me, and less of the daily stressors that come with city life (like traffic!). It’s normal to see dolphins in the sea and parrots in the back garden, and it’s so vast there’s lots of exploring left to do.SOUNDS DREAMY! HOPEFULLY THIS YEAR YOU WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO BRING YOUR BABE HOME TO MEET YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS. HAVE YOU GOOGLED ‘HOW TO SURVIVE A 12-HOUR FLIGHT WITH A 2-YEAR-OLD?’ YET?Yes I have. There were some good tips but also many parenting blog posts simply saying, “don’t do it!”I’ll never forget the conversation we had about the flight, you managed to convince me that it was only a day and would all be worth it, and then when we were hanging up you said “but yeah I’d never do it with my toddler”. Haha thanks for the words of encouragement! And thanks for inviting me to this interview, its been an honour and a pleasure and I think you’re doing a wonderful thingThank you so much Cat! Keep rocking #womenrockAn interview by Ellen Cain.A voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

Jamie first connected with Jessica on LinkedIn just before Christmas and was blown away by quite how much work one person was able to be involved in – #iamremarkable mentor, Strategic Advisory Board member for Cardiff Uni, a fundraiser for MIND, STEM mentor, shortlisted for ‘Role Model of the year’ and winner of the highly commended ‘Rising star of the year’ at the 2021 Women in Tech Excellence awards. This doesn’t even include the day job! Jessica is super passionate about improving diversity, inclusion, and mental and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to my first Women Rock interview with. We cover everything from her journey from working in Starbucks to becoming the Global Program Manager at AWS, the power of networking, dealing with rejection, removing bias from the interview processes, and advice for young people starting out in the world of tech. This is educational and inspiring in equal measures so grab yourself a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy!JESSICA, WE’D LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR STORY SO FAR?Where did it all start?! So I was born and raised in Newport, South Wales. I originally studied Social Sciences at the University of Southampton where I went on to realise that the social sciences wasn’t for me after realising my passion for tech after landing a job at one of the coolest tech companies in the world. I then had to find a way to transition over to the tech world with barely any experience which was pretty tough, but it was worth the journey and I love to sharing my learnings with others these days to help people in the same situation. I faced a lot of rejection but ruthlessly changed my approach each time to follow my passion. I’ve worked for some awesome companies like Apple, Capgemini, Dyson and now I’m leading two programs (Cloud Migration, Digital Innovation) for the Business Development and Strategic Industries (BDSI) function at Amazon Web Services (AWS). I am extremely passionate improving diversity, inclusion and mental health, where my personal blog will be released very soon. I also do a lot of STEM mentoring on the side and also spend my spare time outside of work contributing to a Strategic Advisory Board for Cardiff University and other organisations across Wales (Universities, Welsh Government, NGO’s).HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE WORLD OF TECH?What a great question! I can’t deny my journey had a bit of a tough start. After starting fresh with a blank sheet of paper after deciding to change industries with barely any experience in tech, I had to do something to set myself apart. I probably applied for about 60 tech jobs and only got interviewed for about 8. I changed up my CV design, matched my content to the job application and started to take more care with each application whilst trying to do relevant online courses to put on my CV as a starting point. I was then offered a job in Cyber Security Sales in London which I thought would be an amazing in-between role for me to get into more of a technical role in future. Every decision I made from that moment on was to soak up all the information I could, deliver high quality results and help others who are also struggling with that transition into the tech industry to reach their career goals.TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE COACHING YOU DO OUTSIDE OF WORK TO HELP WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS FIND EMPLOYMENT?I started mentoring people in STEM two years ago now and its flown by and I absolutely love it. It is so gratifying helping others find their dream roles, increasing their confidence, improving their mental health and teaching people how to bring their full authentic selves to work. As well as 121 coaching, I also lead a group workshop for people around Diversity & Inclusion called #IAMREMARKABLE. This is a Google program that aims to 1. Increase self-confidence in others. 2. Teach others around unconscious bias. 3. Help others own their own achievements to help them thrive in their careers.HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN CHANGE THE NARRATIVE OF COMPANIES USING EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AS THE MAIN PART OF THEIR HIRING REQUIREMENTS?I think that organisations internally and externally should be focusing their energy on changing the narrative by 1/Gathering data around success in roles with educational background VS non-educational background (Qualitative and Quantitative). 2/Once you have the data, create a way of verbalising in the form of stories you can promote and highlight to companies and their benefits to change the dialogue. 3/Verbalise and promote this change across all organisations to make recruiting more diverse and inclusive.DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS ON HOW COMPANIES CAN REMOVE BIAS FROM AN INTERVIEW PROCESS TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?I have loads of ideas, which are actually most from my learnings and experience from Amazon who set the bar SO high with diverse recruitment.Rework job descriptions: This provides the first point of contact with a company’s culture, make sure that job descriptions and the interview process is removing gendered wording and reviewed by multiple people.Blind CV reviewing: You need a level playing field where you don’t know their age, gender and other demographics. Just the best person for the job!Having standardised and mixed gender interview panels: Ensuring an inclusive environment and all feedback collected is based on facts and data, not opinions.Non-Bias Bar Raiser: Have an objective third party who facilitates the interview process. More information HEREWHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR CAREER?Getting a 2.2 at university and no graduate schemes being prepared to take on talent based on grade and not passion and experience.Lack of female role models in tech to inspire me to be authentic, be different at work. I’ve learned this a lot later in life than I hoped and also the reason why I’m trying to be an advocate for others.Discrimination based on gender and age. As much as companies will never admit it, these things happen and we need to be the advocates for change. There is so much un-tapped talent out there who you need to enrich!WHAT ARE YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS (PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL)?I think talking about your own achievements is always a difficult one! However, I’m particularly proud of generally helping others achieve their goals but also improving their mental health (I have coached about 25 men and women now). Winning “Rising Star of the Year” 2021 in the Women in Tech Excellence awards. Landing a role at Amazon was genuinely one to be proud of, one of the rigorous processes I’ve ever endured. Finally, I was asked to join the External Advisory Board for Cardiff University and now building an Innovation Ecosystem across Wales which I’m so proud of.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE WOMEN STARTING OUT IN TECH?“Own your insecurities, embrace the fear of the unknown, have the courage to get stuck in, continually change things up, NEVER give up, own the stage, ruthlessly ask for feedback and change your approach until you succeed”PLEASE PROVIDE A MANTRA OR QUOTE THAT YOU LIVE BY OR JUST LIKE?“Don’t dwell on the past, soak up every moment of the present and always be excited for the future”WHO HAVE BEEN/ARE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN YOUR CAREER?Who were the most influential people in my career? Well, let’s start with my first manager when I was working as an SAP security consultant at Capgemini, Rob. He taught me that you can be a nice person, you can bring empathy to work and you can absolutely rock what you do and deliver results all in one. Another really influential person in my career who fully embraced me bringing my full, crazy and authentic self to work was David. At the age of 24, I had built trust with a senior VP at Capgemini when I was leading Innovation for the UK. He believed in me and my talent regardless of my age, letting me fly around the world building Innovation teams across EMEA and US and delivering design thinking workshops for incredible customers like Burberry and Lamborghini. My manager at Dyson, Morna. She taught me real hardcore operational rigor and resilience at work but also that it doesn’t matter about age, gender, sexual orientation when it comes to recruitment it should be about delivering value with the best person for the job. Finally, my current manager Leanne. She’s an incredible lady, so intelligent and articulate but has an incredible backbone too (has taught me to say no to more things and stand up for what I believe in) but most importantly she cares about people and their wellbeing so much. One of the best managers I’ve worked for. These are my role models and people who have shaped me over the years. I’m so thankful and grateful for everything they taught me, I wouldn’t be the person I am today without their support.Thank you so much Jessica! Keep rocking #womenrockAn interview by Jamie ForganA voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

Happy New year everyone. Firstly thank you for all the support with Women Rock throughout 2021, we really enjoyed interviewing some great folk across the industry and also running the Little Girl is Me campaign and also What Rocked You feature.This year we will continue to promote ED&I across the industry, sharing stories, career highs, and lows and also speaking with companies about what they are doing to attract, retain and promote diverse talent within their teams. If we work together we can really make a change.I am buzzing to kick start 2022 with the awesome Theodora Costley-White We talked about her successful career and her current role as Technical Director at Edit. Her journey and advice as a working mum, being a black woman in technology, her new group – The Women in Tech Coterie and how girls just wanna have fun!Have a read, it’s great, and remember ‘you won’t know if you don’t try’Hey Theodora, thank you so much for taking part in Women Rock and sharing your story and journey in the hope it provides inspiration for other folks in the tech industry.YOU HAVE TOLD US THAT FOR MOST OF YOUR CAREER YOU HAVE BEEN THE ONLY FEMALE IN YOUR TEAM OR EVEN COMPANY. HOW HAS THIS AFFECTED YOU? HAS IT MADE YOU STRONGER AND MORE DETERMINED TO CHANGE THE INDUSTRY?In most part it has made me stronger but has been wearing. It has meant I have had to be extremely comfortable in my opinions, my voice, my perspective, and being alone when doing so because you will stand out. It has also made me say enough is enough, there is no excuses for why women are so underrepresented in Tech, we can change this…. We must.YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL WOMEN IN TECH, IN LEADERSHIP BUT ALSO FOR BLACK WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY. IN YOUR OPINION HOW CAN COMPANIES ENCOURAGE BETTER DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACROSS THEIR BUSINESSES?I don’t know about being an inspiration, but I do hope to change the situation however I can. For starters employers need to stop assuming that there isn’t a diverse talent pool out there simply because their adverts are not attracting the talent, there is.Their recruitment campaigns need to be more targeted and intentional. Women after all go through more changes in their careers than men do, and so there are many considerations to be made when trying to attract women into Tech.I FIND THAT THERE ARE SO MANY WOMEN WHO FEEL AS THOUGH THEY MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN THEIR ROLE AS A MOTHER OR THEIR TECH CAREER – WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS? YOU HAVE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS WELL AS BEING A MUM, I’D LOVE TO HEAR MORE ON WHAT ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE A BUSY WORKING MUM?My personal experience of being a mother in the Tech industry is that because it’s an evolutionary industry. There is the perception that women who take time away from the job will fall behind in capabilities and this is simply untrue, we have so many mediums for continued development nowadays. It’s like saying you will forget how to read if you stop reading. What is true is that technologies evolve, but so do the women during that phase, becoming a mother does not stagnate your intellectual development, I would argue it enhances it. You learn so many skills that go on to serve you well in the workplace, and in leadership particularly.Parenting does not come with a manual; it takes emotional intelligence, agility, adaptability, compromise, time management, and resilience to parent and the same characteristics needed in the workplace. It has been proven that we hire better when we seek transferable skills and attitudes, and not just capabilities.The best workers are those who can understand our clients’ problems and then apply the tech to solve it. That skill comes from life experience and the ability to put yourself in the shoes of another. I have a friend who has returned to working as a Software Developer focusing on Accessibility for a FTSE 100 after nearly 10 years of staying home to raise her children, and she is doing great!My one advice to working mums is to make special time to invest in yourself, professionally and personally because you are still YOU, the individual before you are an employee, mum, wife, sister, etc.I AM SO EXCITED TO BE SUPPORTING YOU ON YOUR NEW PROJECT ‘WOMEN IN TECH COTERIE’ I THINK MORE THAN EVER WE NEED A NEW WOMEN IN TECH GROUP IN BRISTOL. CAN YOU TELL US ALL ABOUT IT AND THE PLANS?We plan to have fun in-person and virtual networking events – Black Tie events, Meetups and Socials. Also we will be running technology capability training sessions, offering coaching, mentoring and peer pairing work. It will also include blogs and thought leader speaker events as well as awards ceremonies recognising up and coming talent. We are especially excited to be working with the next generation of women in Tech – Schools and Universities, to help young women along with their career progression into Tech and increase diversity for the future.WE SHARE THE SAME PASSION FOR ENCOURAGING THE NEXT GENERATION AND SUPPORTING THEM INTO THE TECH WORLD. IF YOU HAD 60 SECONDS TO ADVISE ALL YOUNG WOMEN ACROSS THE GLOBE TO FOLLOW A CAREER IN TECHNOLOGY – WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?Don’t knock it before you have tried it – Technology as an industry is very broad and its more interesting and diverse than you realise. It’s not just about IT Helpdesks though they are the lifeline of every company, there is so much more than what is portrayed in the media. Speak to people in the industry, do some work experience you will be amazed at the wide range of fun job types available. Yes, I said fun jobs!IF YOU WE’RE A SONG, WHAT SONG WOULD YOU BE?You’re going to find this one funny, when I was a kid, I was a huge fan of ‘Girls just want to have fun by Cyndi Lauper and still am, it’s on my ‘Get up and go’ playlist. I made my mum make me a poker dot tutu just like in her video and I would roller-skate on my driveway draped in plastic bead necklace, singing the song at the top of my lungs. It just made me feel fearless like I could be anything I wanted to be, and I’d have fun doing it!WHAT IS THE SAYING OR MANTRA YOU LIVE BYYou won’t know if you don’t try. I’d rather live knowing I tried and failed than never having tried, wondering for the rest of my life. Thank you so much Theodora! Keep rocking #womenrockAn interview by Alicia Teagle.A voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

She was born and raised in Bristol with her father, mother, and older sister. She had a wonderful upbringing with her father being an Inspector in the Police Force and mother working around fathers shifts in the hospital. She never wanted for anything and was privileged to have a lovely childhood.She made friends at school easily and was bubbly and outgoing. Teachers said she talked too much 😊She wasn’t the most academic but tried her best and took extra tuition from her teacher in Maths. This was the subject she wanted to improve.She was very athletic and took up Irish dancing from the age of 4 – 16 she had a great career gaining multiple titles with her team at the world championships & got to travel the world.At 16 her working life started in retail at 48 hours a week – long days, working weekends and bank holidays.At 25 she decided enough was enough. Retail life isn’t for her and went back to college to study AAT. Got a part time job at a small family run business as their financial controller and never looked back. That company sadly went into liquidation, so she embarked on the start of her finance career in recruitment.She desperately wanted a family of her own, 3 years of trying followed, doctor appointments, 2 miscarriages 👼👼.Being diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and chances to conceive very slim, she came to terms with adopting.At the age of 30 she had a little bit of a melt down that she hadn’t started a family 👨‍👩‍👦2018 Her miracle boy was born completely naturally! 👶 This little girl learnt that sometimes great things happen when you relax.2018 her dad took a turn for the worst with his health and it seemed that he had a stroke and everyone was very worried that we could lose him – turned out to be sepsis and he was extremely ill.Her father has thankfully recovered.2018 affected her in a big way – she was diagnosed with post-natal depression. The once bubbly outgoing girl now struggled with anxiety, not feeling good enough and struggled with her own emotions.Mental health still affects her 3 years on.People asked her:“when she will have another baby? – before she gets too old!”“Ohhh won’t your son be lonely”“You are a part time mum as you work full time”“You can’t have a good career with flexibility of being a mother”2021 After being made redundant (without a redundancy package) earlier this year, things looked like they would take a downward spiral. I knew a lot of people were losing their jobs due to the Corona Virus pandemic.How wrong ‘this little girl’ was…She is now the Finance Manager of a very successful recruitment agency SR2 | Socially Responsible Recruitment | Certified B Corporation™ which has phenomenal growth and goals for next year alone.People say things happen for a reason and she certainly does believe this.This little girl is:A working motherA career womanA warriorA survivorA Never give up-er#Thislittlegirlisme WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?Because 70% of girls feel more confident about their futures after hearing from women role models. I’m happy to be part of the #thislittlegirlisme campaign for female empowerment initiated by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez of Inspiring Girls International to mark International Day of the Girl 2021.A VOICE FOR DIVERSITY IN TECH & ENGINEERING ❤️I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

This little girl grew up in Cornwall & then Bath. Her dad was a pilot and her mum looked after her and her brother. She was lucky in life, she had very loving parents and family. She loved animals, reading Enid Blyton and spent her days dreaming of becoming a vet. Her life revolved around horses, her pets and at just 8 years old she was selling her toys on the side of the road raising money for animal charities. She did well at school and got a scholarship to secondary school (rewarded with a kitten of course). Then, one teacher at school changed the whole direction of her life. A personality clash with her science teacher made her rethink her career choices, made her lose her passion for wanting to do the Science A Levels needed to study Veterinary Science. She changed schools, decided to do different subjects and went to a high performing academic school for her A Levels where she felt constant pressure to keep up and where she felt out totally of her depth. She felt like she didn’t fit in, wasn’t good enough, intellectual enough and was never going to do as well as everyone else. But, with her family's support she picked herself up and took control of her life. She got good results and went to University and studied Geography. Following graduation and with no idea of what she wanted to do, she decided to apply to recruitment roles. Recruitment was, and still is a tough industry . At the time it was very much male dominated and she was told she was too fluffy, too nice, not tough enough. But, she was stronger now, she wasn’t going to let anyone make her feel like she wasn’t good enough and couldn’t do it. She found her own style, and showed others that you didn’t need to be the stereotypical salesy, cut throat person that the industry thought made a good recruiter. 13 years later and she is still going, stronger than ever, in a company full of people whose approach to recruitment is just like hers, where she is no longer the odd one out. Does she still wish she had become a vet? Yes, every day, but life is for living and not regrets, she found a job she loves, where she can make a difference to people’s lives. Now a wife and mum to 2 gorgeous girls (and many animals) the one thing she wants to do is encourage her kids and others to believe and follow their dreams. Have confidence in themselves and not to let anyone stand in their way or make them think they aren’t good enough. You are in charge of your own destiny and as Walt Disney said if you can dream it, you can do it 💗.   #Thislittlegirlisme  WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS? Because 70% of girls feel more confident about their futures after hearing from women role models. I’m happy to be part of the #thislittlegirlisme campaign for female empowerment initiated by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez of Inspiring Girls International to mark International Day of the Girl 2021. A VOICE FOR DIVERSITY IN TECH & ENGINEERING ❤️ I: @womenrockbristol T: @womenrockbrstl  

This little girl is me.She was from a little seaside town in the South and had a privileged upbringing. She had a father who was a lawyer and a mother who retired at an early age to look after her and her big sister.Life was good. She was put into an all-girls private school at the age of 8. Her teachers would say “if she put her mind to it, she would do well”. She was the captain of the netball team and has lots of friends. She was labeled as independent and never wanted for much. She started working at 16 and loved having her freedom.Then everything changed.She was 16 when her father was taken to hospital for a problem with his hand. 3 weeks later, he had a tracheotomy and was put on life support for reasons we still don’t understand or know.She’d lost her father, the breadwinner, the glue that held their family together. He’d left her mother in debt she didn’t know about. Her mother was struggling mentally and financially but she didn’t know how to help.After that, she found everything hard to understand. She was lost. She lived with her boss and ran away from her problems.She soon realised if she wanted to succeed in life it was only up to her. She moved to Bristol on her own and decided to pursue a career in recruitment. It was a tricky start but the founders ofSR2 | Socially Responsible Recruitment | Certified B Corporation™ saw something in her. She’s now a Senior, and working for an organisation that is changing the industry. She couldn’t be more proud.These experiences have fuelled her to work hard, be a good human and live life to the fullest.<#Thislittlegirlisme WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?Because 70% of girls feel more confident about their futures after hearing from women role models. I’m happy to be part of the #thislittlegirlisme campaign for female empowerment initiated by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez of Inspiring Girls International to mark International Day of the Girl 2021.A VOICE FOR DIVERSITY IN TECH & ENGINEERING ❤️I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

This little girl grew up in a small town. She was the type of child who would never stop talking. 🤐She constantly asked ‘why’- she wanted to know EVERYTHING. She’d prance up to people to introduce herself in her then thick Scottish accent “I’m GINA!!!” (With her parents in tow) and she wanted to be everyone’s best friend.Fast forward a few years and starting school, she randomly lost all her confidence and would sob, refusing to leave her Mum behind at the school gate. her parents were regularly called back in with “she won’t stop crying but she won’t tell us what’s wrong”.(I genuinely remember this, when the teachers would ask what was wrong, I’d sob “I don’t know.” and I genuinely didn’t know. I just felt panic and worry for no particular reason, and this went on for MONTHS.)At a bit of a loss, her parents decided to enrol her into Stagecoach, a weekly school of singing dance and drama lessons to try and get a bit of her confidence back. She ended up staying there for 10 years and it was probably the best decision her parents ever made. (Eternally grateful to Mum and Dad, even to this day!)She never became a singer, definitely not a dancer, or an actress, but it brought back the spark she had lost and gave her the tools she needed to go out into the real world and become the woman she is today.Since growing up she’s moved to 2 new cities alone, and she packed her bags and got on a one way flight to Australia to fulfil her dream of living and working on the other side of the world.Fast forward to today, and to be honest I’m still deep down the same little girl who never stops talking, wants to be everyone’s best friend, and constantly asks ‘why’. I’m just a bit older and have rent and bills to pay now 🤣I certainly am not perfect, and I make mistakes, but I feel like I’m on a path in life which I’m proud to be on. I’m proud to be a Tech Recruiter, and I’m even more proud to work for a company like SR2 | Socially Responsible Recruitment | Certified B Corporation™The tools I learned throughout my childhood have been instrumental to becoming who I am today – and being a woman working in tech myself, I am so grateful that we have got blogs like Women Rock – A Voice For Diversity In Tech. which is there to give more of a voice for underrepresented humans in the technology space.#Thislittlegirlisme WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?Because 70% of girls feel more confident about their futures after hearing from women role models. I’m happy to be part of the #thislittlegirlisme campaign for female empowerment initiated by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez of Inspiring Girls International to mark International Day of the Girl 2021.A VOICE FOR DIVERSITY IN TECH & ENGINEERING ❤️I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl