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

#thislittlegirl grew up in Bristol, loving to sing, perform & make people laugh. Her parents were great, loving her to bits, supporting her in everything she wanted to do and achieve. Her dream was to be a popstar one day & could sing the alphabet before she could speak. She hated school, feeling she was never good at anything, especially the difficult subjects and struggled to pay attention in class. She daydreamed about singing most of the time!Fast-forward to completing her A-levels, following her passion of singing by starting a course in music, but she didn’t enjoy it and realised that any type of ‘school’ environment just didn’t float her boat so left all that behind & went out into the working world… Now she was really starting to learn about life, firstly working in a preschool, doing 50 hours a week on a low wage, but it taught her about hard work. Little did she know, this was only the beginning of a very exciting path in life. It allowed her to get a spot at a children’s summer camp in California for the summer, then she travelled across America.She caught the ‘travel bug’, got a one way ticket to Oz all by herself. Now she was all alone in a new country, trying to make friends & earn money to afford hostels and food – she discovered a hidden talent for sales, worked for Hello Fresh, knocking doors all around Sydney and selling it to people. She worked on 100% commission with no stable salary – but she did great, loved it and was able to travel more!She met incredible people on her travels, who left imprints on her heart and they’re now her friends for life. They went on to travel around South East Asia together! Lots happened whilst travelling, one huge life changing experience where she discovered about her purpose and found faith in God. After this she knew it was time to come home, but she felt complete now and wasn’t searching for herself anymore.Fast forward 4 years later, she knows the meaning behind it all and that it was part of a plan. If it wasn’t for the preschool, she wouldn’t have gone to America… if it wasn’t for the Summer camp, she wouldn’t have gone to Australia and got the experience that little did she know, was going to help her to excel in a recruitment career.She bought her first house last year. She’s a Principal Consultant at SR2 | Socially Responsible Recruitment | Certified B Corporation™ & couldn’t be prouder of the person she’s become through her adventures & the people she’s met along the way. She strives to be her best self everyday & wants to help others to know they can achieve the same. She’s learned there’s a reason for everything in life, and that she should always trust the process ❤.#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  

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

As part of pride month we look back at some of our favourite Women Rock interviews and share the thoughts and advice from the incredible the ED&I entrepreneurs, founders and advocates that we have had the pleasure of meeting in our journey so far.Here’s what they have to say about what ED&I means to them, tips on how to build an inclusive workplace and why diversity is so important!❤️???????? ERIOL FOXhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/non-binaryrock/Turns out there are a whole lot of us non-binary folk and trans-gender folk in tech and we really need a platform to help cis-gendered people understand how to interact with us (hint: like you would any other person, with respect and kindness) just don’t ask us what genitals we have or who we’re attracted to and we’ll get along fine.Blind CV’s and hiring people for diversity of thought and experience are the way forward.Let’s remove the name, education & the origin and focus on the life experience, dedication and attitude that people can bring to the table!BRUCE HUGHEShttps://sr2rec.co.uk/bruce/Accountability: you need it. Someone or something has to be accountable for the goals, and there needs to be a clear and transparent plan for reaching them. We came up with some definitions for diversity and inclusion, made sure that everyone was onboard with the reasons it’s important and understood that D&I benefits everyone, and then we built the roadmap together.FRANCES BURTONhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/francesjisc/We’re taking steps to cast our net more widely to attract talent from the widest possible pool. That means, for example, placing job ads in different media, wording them differently and being less prescriptive about the skills we’re looking for. Technical skills can always be taught to promising candidates who have aptitude and a range of other useful skills that transfer into this environment. Their different perspectives may well give us fresh ways of looking at problems.SIMONE BARTLEYhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/jisc/Diversity is not about quotas, it is exciting. Gaining true representation creates more rounded, innovative, dynamic and impactful products, actions and solutions. That benefits everyone.PAUL FORSTERhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/paulforster/The most challenging part of any EDI work is patience. It’s not necessarily challenging to bring people round to understanding why more inclusive teams good business sense are, however it’s a continuous long term process and nothing happens overnight.LISA MATTHEWShttps://sr2rec.co.uk/lisamatthews/We need to fix the inherent structural reasons that make the landscape of opportunity disproportionately favourable or difficult to one gender or another. We need to fix decision making. We need to fix bias, conscious or otherwise, in systems and processes. And for me this comes down to better diversity right from the top down.LEESA KINGMANhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/leesa/If companies understand that D&I has a positive impact on the bottom line rather than it just being a tick box exercise. Diverse teams come up with the best solutions.SUSAN BARNEhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/susanbarne/Companies need to be aware of the diverse needs of all their employees and adapt their Company culture and work environment to ensure the longevity of the employee-employer relationship.KATIE ANDREWShttps://sr2rec.co.uk/katie-a/In an ideal world, a truly diverse and inclusive workplace should be a melting pot of cultures, ethnicity, socio-economic backgrounds, religion, language, gender, orientation, age. Everything that makes humans unique, under one accessible roof. So far in my career, I’ve never really worked anywhere truly like that, but some places have been better than others. There will always be work to do.TIFF DAWSONhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/tiffdawson/If we can get more people working in different industries to visit schools and tell them about what their days look like, school aged humans will be better equipped to decide amongst a wider range of jobs. The problem with STEM jobs is that it’s so hard for children to imagine what their future would be like, as opposed to doctors, teachers and other professions they’ve interacted with first hand.SARAH BEHARRYhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/sarahbeharry/Workplaces should make it clear that all of the ways people can be different are expected and accepted. They can do this by demonstrating quietly, but constantly, that people are accommodated for what they need without it being a big deal. Things like flexible working, and varied social groups can help, but there are lots of things (big and small) that can be doneGILL LOVEhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/gilllove/I don’t think any of this is easy, it is extremely hard for anyone not to have some degree of unconscious bias, but this is where we need to be really honest with ourselves and ensure that we question ourselves when dealing with others.CARLY BRITTONhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/carlybritton1/Look at the pictures and language that you use on your website, jobs ads and social media. Would working for you be attractive to all candidates? If I am applying for a job at your organisation, I want to see diversity represented; different genders, race, sexualities, ages and disabilities. Avoid using masculine-oriented words like Ambitious, Dominant, Ninja and Rock Star.OLLIE SHARPEhttps://sr2rec.co.uk/olliesharpe/We want a diverse team because that breeds good results, it’s about taking the best person for the job, but also realising that the best person isn’t always the one that looks, thinks, or behaves like you. 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?Having a baby. I wasn’t prepared for the emotional and physical toll it would have on me. I struggled massively in the first year, especially in the first 6 months. I was terrified that I was getting PND and the guilt was unbearable as I had this gorgeous little boy but I felt so unhappy for chunks of time.HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH IT?I was lucky to have a big support network around me. I was very open with my NCT group and kept speaking to people about it. I enjoyed the small wins like getting out for a walk, seeing a friend, eating a meal in peace and that cute smile ?.WHAT DID YOU LEARN?I wasn’t alone and it was better to be open and cry if I needed to cry. I learned that I need a break sometimes, to re-charge however I still struggle to follow that lesson.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION?Reach out to other parents, it’s not spoken about enough but if you are open then others will be open with the problems that they are experiencing. Ask for help, there is a lot about. It WILL pass, one day you will just realise that you feel happy and content in your crazy new world. A voice for diversity in Tech & Engineering <3I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl