WOMEN ROCK.

Once upon a time there was a little girl that was so shy she used to pretend she was a cat! I’m not joking …. it got to such a stage, that when her mum went to the parent’s evening (year one I will add) all the teacher had to report was ”well she isn’t meowing as much in class”. She struggled in school without the confidence to join in or ask questions, eventually finding herself in all the bottom sets.At the age of ten, she joined a circus school, where she trained three days a week practicing for a total of 8 hours, not your normal hobby I know but something fascinated her and before you knew it she was hooked. A few years down the line it was time to start performing her new acts amongst the other kids of Gerry Cottles Circus. As you can imagine this was terrifying and I can’t lie mistakes were made and embarrassment was felt, but that’s the point I’m trying to make.It wasn’t easy but as her skills grew so did her confidence and this started to show in all areas of her life, school got easier and she went on to graduate university with a first.I can’t pretend she has everything figured out yet (just yesterday she got a parking ticket) but what she has learned is, confidence is something that is worked on every day, in every area of life, by everyone! Although now her circus days are behind her the self-confidence she gained remains and she hopes what she learned was passed on to the new generation of children at the school.Now she is on a new adventure at SR2 | Socially Responsible Recruitment | Certified B Corporation™ where they have tools such as the Women’s rock platform, created to share stories and journeys to educate and inspire.It’s not easy but do what you are passionate about, and you will find it for yourself. Just remember when you have found it, share and encourage it in others around you.photo: Glastonbury festival 2011#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 an only child on the outskirts of Bristol with a caring mum and dad struggling with alcoholism. At 4 years old her mum left her dad to find stability in the countryside with her grandparents. She would occasionally see her dad when he would take her to The Rising Sun for the day and she would play pool with the locals (and beat them) to pass the time until her mum came and rescued her. She felt neglected and learned that her needs were not important. She was not good enough.Over the years she saw her dad less, growing up with a single mum who worked long hours to provide for them. This little girl found escape in sport. She played County Hockey, won the league with Bristol Ladies FC and Captained Somerset Girls Cricket Team through an unbeaten season. Things were going well. This girl grew in confidence. She was happy. She had found her purpose.Unfortunately during school, she started to get bullied for being “big” and “butch” and she lost her confidence and enjoyment in sport. Once again she felt not good enough. She didn’t want to be the things people were calling her so she went out to change it. After a while people had stopped calling her “big” and “butch”. She was too thin. She had an eating disorder. She was unable to carry on playing the sport she loved as she no longer had the energy.She struggled with her eating disorder for a couple of years and instead of socialising she spent her time studying to get good A Levels. She managed to get AAB and got into Cardiff Uni.A year into her degree she was sold the recruitment dream… “100K OTE+ first year” was the promise. The reality was very different. She started on 15K, was told to rent in Bristol and worked her a** off each day from 7:00AM to 8:00PM. This continued for over a year until one day, without any pre-warning she was fired for underperforming on a dead market.She’d hit rock bottom.But like with most rock bottoms it was actually the biggest blessing in disguise.This girl who felt burnt out and depressed would have never left. She still believed that her needs were not important and that she was not “good enough”.Despite this, she decided to continue her career in recruitment. This girl has now gone on to hit lunch clubs and holiday incentives. This girl started to believe that maybe she could be good at recruitment. She overcame her eating disorder, she now looks after her body, and also the importance of looking after her mental health.Now this little girl isn’t so little she is able to look after that little girl and she tells that little girl that her needs are important and that she is good enough every single day.#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 didn’t have your typical childhood… it started amazing, a lovely little family in a beautiful home in Bristol. However, when she turned 6 everything changed. She was told her father had terminal cancer, and before she knew it, she had lost him. She went through immense pain and couldn’t even fathom what her mother was going through.The years following this were difficult for her – she was sad, numb, and wondered how she would live without him. She then had to tackle secondary school, which was particularly difficult. Her friends were able to talk about their dads and go on the school holidays, but this girl couldn’t as her incredible mum was working ridiculous hours just to support her and her sister 💙. She built some amazing friendships, but for the most part, she felt shy, inferior, and lacked confidence both personally and academically.She received below-average GCSEs for her school and had to move for the sixth form, as her father’s inheritance money could no longer cover the cost of that school. She knew things had to change. She put herself out there, worked smarter, and harder, and got herself into university.She went on to be the first to graduate in her family. She received a 1st class degree. What’s even crazier is that during this time she gained a stepsister… her best friend from school! These girls bonded through their hardship at a young age, which brought their parents together and in 2017 they got married 💕.Fast forward 3 years and a whole load of recruitment later, this girl has just moved to London and started a master’s degree with a scholarship. Her sister has her own business, and her stepsister is a doctor. She (and her sisters) may have been dealt a strange hand in life, but she is grateful for every card!Where you start in life doesn’t define where you will end up – aim high!#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

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

As an addition to our Women Rock platform, and as a socially responsible business, one of our focuses this year is to break down stigmas and to be more open and honest, so we asked our wonderful team to share stories of times in their lives where they have been ‘Rocked’.Any subject. Any content. No barriers.Every month we will post a feature in the hope to reach out to others in similar or challenging situations to let them know that they are not alone, we all have difficulties in our lives and our stories will tell you how we dealt with and overcame them or simply learned to live with them.We all struggle. We all hurt. You are not alone.WHAT’S ROCKED YOU?Moving to England with my mum still living in South Africa rocked me! I lived with my Mum, as well as Stepdad and little brother up until I was 18. I then took an opportunity and moved to England when I was 18 years old. Although I do not regret the decision, as a young adult I didn’t take into account the fact that I would be leaving my mother and family on the other side of the world!HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH IT?I visit my family there when I can. This is also a good reason to travel to sunny South Africa! I also speak to my mum now on a regular basis, even if this is just a phone call whilst I am working home from work.WHAT DID YOU LEARN?When I lived with my Mum growing up I took her for granted. I think back to the pointless squabbles we had as any mum and teenager would and can’t believe it now. Whenever I see my mum now I cherish the time with her, and see her as a best friend and a mum, telling her everything and hiding no secrets!WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION?Don’t take your relationship with your family for granted and stay in touch however possible.A voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

Steve Dalley recently spoke with some of the incredible team at Jetstack, a Cloud Native technology services company, to chat about their beginnings, struggles and successes. Oana Garnett, Akvile Marciukaityte, Maria R and Irbe Krumina all had very inspiring, and insightful stories and ideas when it came to increasing diversity in technology.It was also incredibly interesting to hear how they all got into the wonderful world of IT, proving that there is no right or wrong way to go about securing a career in our industry.This is certainly worth a read/watch and we’re sure it will inspire others to pursue a career in tech or make that professional jump to enhance their current career!Thank you Oana, Akvile, Maria and Irbe for your time and sharing your thoughts and strories with us ?.TELL US ABOUT YOUR JETSTACK JOURNEY SO FAR?Akvile – I joined Jetstack just under 2 years ago as a Scrum Master then transitioned into the Culture and Operation Lead overseeing employee experience from the moment a new Jetstacker joins us to the moment they leave.Maria – I joined Jetstack just over 18 months ago and work directly on various Kubernetes projects.Oana – I joined Jetstack just over 3 years ago starting out as Head of Support, in charge of shaping our Kubernetes subscription offering. As of October 2020, I have become Head of Service taking over all of our customer delivery team, working towards improving our customer services, operational performance and our ability to scale as Jetstack grows.Irbe – I joined Jetstack around 6 months ago and work on our opensource projects as a Software Engineer.HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE WORLD OF IT AND TECHNOLOGY?Oana – I actually got into IT purely by accident. Having done Politics at University I was looking at doing an internship at NATO which I unfortunately didn’t get. A friend of mine mentioned they had a role at Rackspace which was an introduction into IT and thought I would give it a go. To be honest, I had no idea what it was about originally but once I got there, I loved it. I first started in service delivery and then moved my way into tech management.Akvile – Mine too was a bit accidental. I started a consulting program with a focus on IT and completed various projects. I ended up getting into Agile and Scrum and I just loved the environment and the openness of the environment. I ended up working my way up and now currently at Jetstack.DO YOU THINK DEGREES ARE ESSENTIAL OR EVEN HELP YOU GET INTO IT?Maria – I think Oana is a good example to prove you don’t really need a specific degree to get into IT. I know a number of people who are brilliant and don’t have specific IT related degrees. I think you are able to take a course in a specific subject and rom there you can start to learn and practice to develop further. Personally, I don’t think you need a degree. Universities help develop skills and start people off but the main learnings happen from experiences.Irbe – IT was a big career change having done Arts previously. I don’t think it’s necessary to study and IT degree to get into the industry but I do think it is good to study as it gives you a lot of transferable skills and allows you to develop you work and communication, for example.What do you think that can be done to attract and more diverse demographic into tech?Irbe – I think companies that get involved with inclusion events, as well as diversity outreach programs and accepting students are good ways to attract a more diverse pool of individuals.Akvile – I think it is important to understand the ecosystem you are in the communities you need to tap into. I have been working closely with our third party agencies for instance to understand those smaller, less known communities and how can we leverage platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn to rely on our own networks a little more. One of the main strategies we have is to be a bit more open and how we hire new talent and how we talk about ourselves in forums and how are founders represent the company on podcasts or articles. I really feel like it’s having that mix of small actions that we can take as a collective that can impact this the most. It’s all about coming up with those strategies together and coming up with how each person can influence how we become more diverse as a company.WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED DURING YOUR CAREER?Oana – Avoiding Labels. Throughout my career, I have been keen to not be labelled as a woman in technology. When I first moved into tech management at Rackspace, someone came up to me to congratulate me and said “It’s great to have more women in management”. At that point, I realised that I have potentially been picked to tick off that diversity box. After this I was keen to avoid stereotypes and for me to get appreciated and recognised for my work without my gender playing a apart of this. Overall though, I have been very lucky to work with very good companies and teams where I haven’t felt discriminated and have avoided companies that I felt like that was a possibility.Irbe – I completely agree with Oana on that. I think labels is a big thing to avoid but similarly, have been very lucky with the companies and teams I have worked in along the way. When you join a company, I think it is important that you are seen as an engineer, for example, they have a place for you and can see the potential for your growth and not just hitting specific diversity metrics.WHAT ARE YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?Akvile – One of my proudest professional achievements is actually currently at Jetstack and while building the culture, we were recognised by the Great Place to Work and making sure the work we have done together continues. I would also say not being afraid to learn and throw yourself into new things and being curious.Maria – When I first moved to London, I thought it would be hard to find a job due to the language barrier and my experience. I feel like I have been presented a lot of opportunities and especially at Jetstack, I have learnt a lot.Oana – Moving into tech management was one of the scariest things in have done but now, I love it and really happy that I took the plunge and also management to overcome the imposter syndrome you feel when you change role. Personally, very similar to Maria, building a life in another country has a lot of challenges. I originally came to London for University and being very naive at the time, it has been nice to build that life that I am really proud of.Irbe – I don’t have one single achievement necessarily. However, when I moved to Jetstack, I did change my tech stack slightly which has given me a lot of satisfaction being able to do it and transfer some of my previous skills which I feel has given me a wider perspective of the whole technology landscape.WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPIEST IN YOUR FREE TIME?Irbe – I do code in my free time but I would say I am happiest when I am outside in nature, hiking and enjoying the outdoorsAkvile – Similar to Irbe, I love spending time in nature, I enjoy running, art, architecture, wondering around new places, taking pictures and reading.Maria – I love to listen to music, play tennis and swim but particularly I enjoy cooking. I am big foodie.Oana – Similar to Maria, I am a big foodie and really enjoy cooking. I also like going to new restaurants and trying new things as well as travelling, which hasn’t happened for quite a while now. Luckily, I managed to do quite a bit before lockdown and Covid so I’m hoping to resume when I can.IN ONE SENTENCE, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP YOUR CAREER SO FAR?Oana – Unexpected, challenging, but incredibly rewarding to work with people and see people grow the potential in peopleIrbe – Interesting journey, fast but also very expected and rewarding along the way.Akvile – A lot of change trying different things, fast paced and feeling comfortable with ambiguity.Maria – Challenging, enjoyable but rewarding.WHAT ONE BIT OF ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR PEOPLE STARTING OFF IN TECH?Akvile – Don’t be afraid to gain experience at different companies. I think it’s good to get a good mix of small and larger companies and exposing yourself to different environments to find out where you work best. Don’t be put off my lesser-known names and just go for the big brands and names.Maria – Trust yourself. I you feel like you can do it, you can and don’t be afraid of anything.Oana – Don’t get hung up on labels or being a woman in tech. You want to make the most out of doing your job so don’t get discouraged by that in any way. Another big thing is find people to learn from, whether it be colleagues, friends, managers, whoever it might be, ask for advice and grow.Irbe – Find something that is interesting for you. There is a wide range of jobs in tech and you have an opportunity to find something that really motivates you and when you do, just got for it.FAVOURITE QUOTE?Oana – “’People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates”, by Thomas SzaszAkvile – “People support what they create”An interview by Steve DalleyA voice for diversity in tech <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

As an addition to our Women Rock platform, and as a socially responsible business, one of our focuses this year is to break down stigmas and to be more open and honest, so we asked our wonderful team to share stories of times in their lives where they have been ‘Rocked’.Any subject. Any content. No barriers.Every month we will post a story in the hope to reach out to others in similar or challenging situations to let them know that they are not alone, we all have difficulties in our lives and our stories will tell you how we dealt with and overcame them or simply learned to live with them.We all struggle. We all hurt. You are not alone. WHAT’S ROCKED YOU?This may be cringey and super blatant, but also relevant for so many. The craziest thing that’s happened to me, possibly in my life, has been covid; starting a new job and then lockdown straight away, seeing friends less, breaking up with my partner of 5+ years and generally changing my whole way of living.HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH IT?There were lots of ways which helped through this. I was probably one of few people who managed to cut down drinking a lot and got around 5-10 workouts a week done, this really helped me in the initial stages of lockdown. I was also fortunate enough to have a very amicable breakup which, although it wasn’t great, it could’ve been much worse and I had supportive friends around me to help. (for the record I gave up on that healthy lifestyle and I’m back to playing squash 2/3 times per week) but still very much doing my bit to keep pubs alive across Bristol.WHAT DID YOU LEARN?It’s good to take a step back sometimes and analyse a situation before jumping into either drinking too much or other destructive behaviour. Covid was/is no one’s fault (although there is controversy around that subject) so you need to try your very best to adapt to situations as best you can and to learn from them. If you have the right mindset you can find positives in any negative situation.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION?Speak to friends/ family about your feelings on certain topics. I know it can be the hardest thing to do sometimes but being open is great and although ‘people’ get a bad reputation sometimes, there are loads of people out there who love to help and spread joy in the world. Lean on those people ❤ A voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

As an addition to our Women Rock platform, and as a socially responsible business, one of our focuses this year is to break down stigmas and to be more open and honest, so we asked our wonderful team to share stories of times in their lives where they have been ‘Rocked’.Any subject. Any content. No barriers.Every month we will post a story in the hope to reach out to others in similar or challenging situations to let them know that they are not alone, we all have difficulties in our lives and our stories will tell you how we dealt with and overcame them or simply learned to live with them.We all struggle. We all hurt. You are not alone. WHAT’S ROCKED YOU?From the age of about 6 till I was 14 my mum was very poorly with bowel cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. I had 4 older brothers, a dad who was at uni in London 4 days a week and my mum was primarily in hospitals which meant a lot of the time I spent with her growing up was in hospital.HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH IT?I was lucky enough that my mum was never a quitter! Regardless of her health she always stayed incredibly positive and confident she would get better and get home. This resonated with my brothers and myself massively and at times it was almost like we knew she would get better. I also had two teachers at primary school who were also wonder women for helping me to process emotions, understanding why I used to get so angry and upset and why I could be so disruptive and dealing with this behaviour in a supportive way. My brothers also played a huge role in looking after me when my dad was away, and mum was in hospital which I will always be grateful for!WHAT DID YOU LEARN?It sounds weird but in a way, I learned life isn’t easy. I also learned that life isn’t easy for everyone and that every single person wakes up with their own problems and their own stresses. It taught me to be grateful for all the good things I have in my life and to never focus on the negatives because that will only ever get you down! If you tackle a day by saying I will stop and recognise all the good things that happen to me today and not dwell on the bad things I have no control over, eventually you will find yourself going through every day in the most positive mindset possible. If in life you feel unlucky and hard done by you will spend every day only recognising those things you associate with your luck but if you force positive thoughts the power of the mind will surprise you.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE PEOPLE IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS?I would say the best advice is to exude positivity at every turn and appreciate where you are lucky in life. I was very bad for feeling like all these things were only happening to me and I was completely alone in it all amongst my friends until I met someone who is one of my closest friends to this day. The friend I am talking abouts’ mum was also ill with bowel cancer at the same time as my mum but unfortunately wasn’t so lucky to win her fight. Over the years I have learnt that you are never alone, there is always someone out there who is going through more and you can either feel like the world is against you and be negative in life or you can appreciate all the good around you and believe in better days! If you believe they will come, they will ? A voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl