As we come to the end of 2019 and it’s almost Women Rock’s 2nd Birthday, we will be sharing our success on what we have achieved this year and how much closer we are to our mission in Jan. We have had unbelievable success this year, hiring diverse talent in technology. The idea has never been to hire women just because they’re women. We find and help women & non-binary people that are amazing at their jobs. We have been committed and responsible of actually getting the word out to the widest pool of candidates possible which has in short led to our success and we bloody love it!To round up the year we wanted to share some jobs we are looking for at the mo for our clients we are very proud to work with and how truly support Women Rock.Software Tester Bristol £30,000They have a team of 6 developers and 2 QA’s and are now looking to expand the team. You will be involved in the testing of their web based platform used by a range of clients. You will also have the opportunity to get trained up in automation (Selenium) as they currently build new frameworks from the ground up so it is a great opportunity to be able to develop skills in this area too. Work in a Agile/SCRUM environment and are looking for someone with great communications skills and eye for detail.They are flexible on the level they take on and are happy to consider anyone from Grads with an interest in testing up to more experienced testers.They offer a salary of between £20,000-£30,000 depending on experience, flexible hours , bonus, 25 days holiday (plus bank holiday), Pension, Income Protection, Death in Service and a casual dress work environment. The have just refurbished the office and have a pool table and offer free fruit sweets, biscuits and snacks.Java Developer – Bath £50,000Multiple opportunities to work with a global media company based in central Bath, they have recently acquired some new brands to add to their impressive and exciting repertoire of clients.This is an opportunity to work on a brand-new product for their sales team, which is going to involve leveraging customer data to use as leads and migrating them into the tech stack.A great fit if you are into building tech + solving problems, you’ll be joining a fun vibrant engineering team. They have a big open plan office, based centrally within Bath and just a few minutes’ walk away from the train station so easily accessible if you’re coming from Bristol or somewhere else in the South west.They have very much a work hard, play hard culture. It’s the sort of place where people enjoy going to work and taking advantage of their great company benefits! If you’re wanting to work for a business who offer career progression, their CTO recently started to provide structured career path plans for each employee so they will support you with that.The technologies’ they are working with include: Java 8, Spring, Docker, AWS, REST API’s. Their tech stack also includes another tech such as PHP, JavaScript, AngularJS, jQuery, AJAX.Requirements:2+ years commercially working with JavaExperience working with SQLBachelor’s Degree in engineering, computer science, or another software related fieldThe desire to work within a teamOh and, they offer unlimited holiday and want their employees to have a great work/life balance.The company have a huge ambition and are looking for a 3 more Java engineers to join them on that journey!Front End Developer Bristol £35,000If you like the sound of working for a well established digital product company based in Bristol with the option of working fully remote alongside a group of extremely talented individuals, this could be the one for you.They have helped over 10,000 businesses across the planet increase their efficiency and success with no plans of stopping anytime soon. In fact, they are planning to more than double in size by the end of 2020.With a number of the team working on a fully remote basis, you may wonder what the culture is like. Everyone shares the same ambition for the company, united by enthusiasm for creating great products by taking advantage of all available tools to make remote working as enjoyable as possible.They now need another Front End Developer with solid Javascript experience to join the team. You’ll be a key part of the growing front-end team, helping to develop digital products, and forming part of the product team on new products, helping shape their development from conception to launch..NET Engineer, Health Tech start-up Bristol £60,000Would you like to be part of a heath-tech start-up with big plans to help change peoples lives? They are a fast-moving start-up currently planning their next stage of growth!They are looking for a passionate engineer to work alongside a Head of Engineer, Python Developer and Data Engineer where you will help build cutting edge mobile apps which are meaningful.They move fast and ship fast and you’ll have to be comfortable working at this kind of pace, but also serious about working on something which can help everyone with any health problems.The team may be small in stature, but, they’re big on creativity. They are looking for someone who can commit to working with ambiguity and are happy to learn and adapt on the fly. This is not your average 9-5, they offer the chance to learn and grow, have impact on the world and work with flexibility.PHP Software Engineer – Remote working options, Bristol £45,000A bespoke software company whose life started over 20 years ago when two skilled software engineers spotted a gap in the market, are expanding into Bristol!! They effectively produce high quality, often complex solutions for a niche sector and are dominant within it!They have recently won a tender that will result in some growth within the team (4-5 devs over the next few months) so naturally its an exciting time to be joining.You’ll be a great fit if:You value a trusting, adult working environmentYou like some remote working flexibility but turning into the office occasionally isn’t something you’re averse toFollowing proper software engineering practices keeps you happyChallenge is a friend not a foeWant to work on interesting projects with a diverse teamYou like the occasional social!The salary on this one is up to £45,000 + benefits experience dependant. The office is in Central Bristol within easy reach of Temple Meads (10 mins).Python Developers Bristol – £30,000 – £65,000They are looking for a mid-level developers with experience from 2-5 years.The teams are split into 4, all of which are working on different projects. Once projects are completed or even during the projects, they welcome the idea of a developer switching teams to learn new skills and tech that the other team might be working with whilst generating new ideas.The tech team was formed in January 2018 and since then has developed and delivered 4 greenfield projects.You will be developing greenfield products for their end clients and will be working with data-rich applications. These products are mainly applications that are designed to improve the business value and shortened the current process that inevitably will be saving money and time.In 2020, they will be driving towards machine learning development so now is a very exciting time to be joining them. Plus they are LUSH!Junior UX Designer – Bristol £28,000We’re currently working with a green energy company who’re going above and beyond to protect and save our planet one customer at a time.This is perfect for a recent grad or someone who’s done 1-2 years’ commercial experience who’s looking to become a part of something exciting and make your mark – as well as growing your own UX knowledge.The team are welcoming someone who is super passionate about creating great user experiences across a special brand. You’ll be working closely with the other designers and product owners to create a sleek user experience on their website and mobile app. This would be done by understanding user needs, carrying out your own research, interviews, workshops and testing. (You may need to travel to their other site which is local.)If you are looking for a new job for 2020 please get in touch, we promise you’ll be in safe hands and we’ll have a laugh and make sure you are fully supported throughout the whole process.All the love xWomen Rock – A voice for diversity in tech <3An interview by Alicia Teagle I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

Hannah is an experienced agency and in-house technical recruiter, she’s pretty cool too! She is also currently working through Free Code Camp, learning HTML, CSS & JavaScript and taking a product management course in September – superwoman! She is dedicated and passionate to represent women within tech and has had huge success already with some brilliant female hires within OVO! I wanted to speak to Hannah both about the industry and if being a female helps when hiring female talent.OVO are hosting Bristol Girl Geek Dinners on the 20th June – Please click here for tickets.Hannah is also a volunteer at Bristol’s first Algorave for more info and tickets please see EventbriteYOU ARE ALSO A WOMAN IN TECH ALBEIT IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY BEING TECH RECRUITMENT. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A TIME WHERE A MALE DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN INTIMIDATING?Of course! When I first started out in tech recruitment I was 22 years old and 5 ft 2. When you are walking into a room which is made up of only men at a senior level (who are also incredibly smart and towering over you), you feel very aware of how seriously you will be taken as a young woman. I worked extremely hard to understand the ins and outs of tech, including learning how to code myself, in order to prove myself as a good recruiter.HOW DO YOU ATTRACT WOMEN TO APPLY-JOIN OVO?We try and make our adverts as gender neutral as possible, and stress that we believe the key to a brilliant, progressive workforce is having teams made up of people from all backgrounds, genders & ethnicity. We also hold meetups (we have our next Women in Tech meetup on the 20th June) and try to be as active as possible in the amazing Women in Tech community in the South West & London.WITH SO MANY COMPANIES LOOKING TO HIRE FEMALE TALENT. HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT RETAINING YOUR FEMALE STAFF?We create a very open and collaborative environment in which women are given the opportunities to achieve their career goals. We are firm believers of giving our employees the tools to progress into new opportunities in the business and will always look internally first for any new roles. If we have someone who is an QA Engineer and they want to get into Software Engineering, we will try our best to make that happen!WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN RECRUITING INTO BRISTOL?Competition is fierce in Bristol, which is a challenge but also a blessing. We now have so many great tech companies in Bristol that it’s attracting more talent here from London and other areas of the UK & Europe.WHAT ARE THE COOLEST THINGS OVO ARE WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?We are working on a brilliant Energy Platform which our engineering teams are building from scratch. We have recently launched our Vehicle-to-Grid Charger which works by pumping Electric Vehicle battery power back into the grid at peak times. We also have our Smart Storage Heaters and more recently our Home Energy Storage which is essentially a battery for your home! We focus on our customers and on clean, green energy so most of what we work on revolves around those two things.ARE YOU HIRING AT THE MOMENT?Yes! We are hiring Software Engineers across Bristol & London (we aren’t fussy on the current tech, as long as they have an interest in Functional Programming). We are also hiring for Software Engineering Managers across Bristol & London (this could be a great step up for someone currently in a Team Lead role). We also have many other roles across other areas of the business including Product & UI/UX.WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO WOMEN WHO ARE LOOKING TO GET BACK INTO THE INDUSTRY?Attend meetups and make the most of the great, supportive community we have here in Bristol. Take online courses and read up on the latest tech. Also get in touch directly with businesses about coming into the office and working alongside some of the teams to get yourself back into the swing of things again.DO YOU THINK BEING A FEMALE RECRUITER HELPS WITH HIRING FEMALE TALENT?Honestly, I do think it helps. I think women trust women and the support is definitely there. I believe that as a female recruiter, I resonate more with what’s important to women as I have either been through it or will go through it (having children etc).WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS BOTH AGENCY AND INHOUSE WHEN IT COMES TO HIRING WOMEN INTO TECHNICAL POSITIONS?Please do not underestimate technical women – they are awesome. If you are worried about them not fitting into teams because they are male dominated, please remember they can bring a whole new dynamic, offering a different aspect and view on things which is always a good thing! (Also don’t ask a woman ‘is she planning on being pregnant anytime soon” during an interview – true story!)WHAT DO OVO DO TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG GIRLS INTO TECH?We do kids coding club which is brilliant. We go into schools and encourage young girls as much as possible that this is very much a female industry and not just for boys! If you have any questions or want to talk to Hannah about recruitment, OVO or Women in Tech please email – hannah.biggs@ovoenergy.comThanks Hannah#yourock #womenrock 

Meet Katie, a WebOps engineer who has been working for 7Digital and is just about to start a new journey with SkyScanner! She is a keen baker and is extremely passionate about Diversity. In this interview, Katie shares her backstory with us and how she got into technology. She also gives us some food for thought around discrimination, pasta and reducing bias in tech.SO KATIE, YOU’RE A WEBOPS ENGINEER AT 7DIGITAL… TELL ME A BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO! 7digital are a B2B music and radio streaming platform. I was a member of the Systems team for just over two and a half years, helping manage the infrastructure. I’ve actually just finished up there and am about to start a new role at Skyscanner which I’m really excited about.CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU GOT INTO WEBOPS? WAS THIS A CAREER YOU KNEW YOU WANTED OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT CAME ABOUT SUDDENLY?This career is a total accident! When I left sixth form I got a job at a supermarket as a Christmas temp and once that was over, landed a helpdesk support job at a software company. That was nearly twelve years ago now. I suppose I had something of an aptitude for it, so I stuck with it.DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IS A HOT TOPIC AT THE MOMENT IN THE TECHNOLOGY MARKET. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?This is a difficult answer to condense into a paragraph but 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.HAVE YOU EVER COME ACROSS ANY DISCRIMINATION WHILST BEING AT WORK?Yes, and sadly I suspect everyone who isn’t a white CIS man has. The difficulty I have found is that it always seems to be left to the people being discriminated against to fight for what’s right, and more often than not, we lose. It’s a battle between survival and progress.DO YOU THINK THERE IS ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE BIAS AND INCREASE DIVERSITY IN TECH?The barriers for entry need to be adjusted. A candidate with potential and willingness to learn shouldn’t be ruled out over someone considered more senior in knowledge. How do companies expect to hire experienced engineers if the same companies aren’t willing to give people the chance to become them? How are more females going to reach leadership roles if our ideas are overruled or ignored? How are we to overcome the gender pay gap if organisations continue to perpetuate this problem? There is only so much each individual in the lower ranks of an organisation can do to improve things if the workplace culture is toxic from the top down.WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT WORKING FOR 7DIGITAL?The tech team are a great bunch and are truly collaborative. There’s not a culture of blame when things go wrong, as I have seen in other companies.DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?I’m a keen cook and baker and when I’m not working I can definitely be found roaming Borough Market or reading restaurant menus. I’ll also be volunteering with Crisis again this Christmas, cooking up a few thousand meals for guests over the festive period.IF YOU HAD TO EAT ONE FOOD FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  Genuinely the question I had to think about the longest but I reckon I could happily eat pasta and garlic bread every day.#womenrockAn interview by Sophie Edensora voice of diversity in tech.I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

I am obsessed by this interview from the awesome Alice McNeil, who is a Front-End Developer at our good friends at RocketMakers – she’s definitely one to watch! Alice came into the industry through the Mayden Academy bootcamp. If you are interested in a bootcamp, mayden is a great one and Alice explains why in this interview.I loveeee Alice’s answer to ”Being a young female working in tech, what is something you would say has surprised you the most about the industry?” Have a read, support the next generation and eat all the cake!FIRSTLY CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW ROLE WITH ROCKETMAKERS, COULD YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?I am a front-end software developer. I design and build websites and apps as part of my team here at Rocketmakers. I write code to tell an application how to look and how to work. I am also doing some graphic design and branding for apps.I KNOW YOU DID AN INTERNSHIP WITH THEM AND COVERED MARKETING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT, WHERE DID YOUR PASSION FOR TECHNOLOGY COME FROM?I wouldn’t consider myself as having a passion for technology in particular, I have a passion for creating things. I fell in love with coding because its a limitless tool that would help me create digital applications that looked and worked exactly how I had envisioned them. I’ve grown up surrounded by the evolution of technology, it is such an integral part of my lifestyle – creating it just makes sense to me.When I left school to start my internship I only knew that I liked graphic design and event management, I knew more about the kind of place and people I wanted to work with than any definitive job role. I found Rocketmakers first and after curiously looking over the developers’ shoulders for 6 months I decided the career I wanted to pursue.YOU HAVEN’T FOLLOWED THE TYPICAL CAREER PATH INTO TECH BUT COMPLETED A BOOTCAMP WITH MAYDEN, HOW WAS THAT?When I was looking at my options for learning to become a software developer I knew exactly what I wanted to get out of it. I knew that:I needed a relatively short term course so that I could get on to creating ‘real’ applications that are used by real people as quickly as possibleGoing back to a heavily academic place, like university, for 3+ years wouldn’t suit meI needed to have enough knowledge to be able to start contributing to projects when I came back to Rocketmakers.I wouldn’t have the motivation, time or focus to teach myselfMayden Academy, as a 16 week intensive course ticked all these boxes. I graduated on Friday and came back to Rocketmakers on Monday and could get straight into some project work. Mayden gave me a great across-the-board understanding of software development. Of course I still have so much more to learn but completing the bootcamp course has given me a head start.WOULD YOU RECOMMEND A BOOTCAMP FOR SOMEONE WANTING TO GET INTO TECHNOLOGY?Absolutely, it worked so well as a boost for my career as a developer. The apprenticeship scheme I am on was a lifesaver, it means I was assured a job when I left Mayden Academy, I get a qualification at the end of it and it was much more financially viable!BEING A YOUNG FEMALE WORKING IN TECH, WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD SAY HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT THE INDUSTRY?The thing that has surprised me most is how little judgment I’ve experienced being only 19 and a woman working in technology sector. I haven’t felt I’ve been treated any differently and frankly I wouldn’t have it, I want to be judged on my contributions, my ideas, my conversations with the people I work with, not by insignificant factors like my age and/or appearance. Initially I was a little worried, as most women working in a majority male workplace have had some experience with inequality, I consider myself extremely lucky to work in a progressive and equal workplace.ALTHOUGH STILL RELATIVELY NEW TO YOU, AND I AM SURE YOU ARE STILL LEARNING SO MUCH AT RM BUT WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT CODING SO FAR?I love seeing a project come together. I am an impatient developer, I want to see the application take shape, to look good and be usable as quickly as possible.WHAT IS ONE BIT OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS LOOKING TO GET A ROLE IN TECH?Why not? Like really why not get into tech? This time last year I had no experience in development, very little knowledge about working in a tech team and no nerdy passion that I thought was necessary. I like creating, that’s my focus, code was just another tool for me to keep creating.WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?I don’t have just one favourite quote so here are a few:Know the difference between the zone and the hole, keep moving and keep making moves and celebrate every little victory and most importantly, don’t get lost in the sauce.WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION?My mum, she was an inspirational woman. She is still the voice in my head that tells me to take a break, and to ‘eat another slice of chocolate cake’.  Thank you for taking part xWomen Rock – A voice for diversity in tech <3An interview by Alicia Teagle I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

I am very excited to introduce you to Tiff Dawson, who is going to be partnering with us as of the New Year on some really inspiring work for women in STEM. Tiff has recently moved to Bristol all the way from Australia with her Husband (who also works in tech and a huge advocate for D&I too) Tiff has a degree in mechanical engineering and has worked for several global engineering consultancies for almost 8 years. The part she loved most about her job was getting to know colleagues on a personal level and guiding them through career and life challenges. During that time, she coached a number of colleagues to excel in their careers by helping them see things in a new light. She has now launched Tiffany Dawson Coaching to empower women with the tools and knowledge to blaze their own trails, and work with STEM companies to create work environments that are more inviting to women. Her long-term goal is to set up a social enterprise that provides aid to females who wouldn’t usually have the means to study or work in STEM.Last week we invited Tiff to come along to PHPSW and speak about her coaching sessions and workshops, the feedback was amazing! We are really excited to be working with Tiff throughout 2020, running workshops and coaching sessions both for individuals/groups and companies around the South West. She is working with some great companies and folk already to help them take control of their careers and set themselves free from the challenges holding them back. We are super lucky to be working with Tiff and can’t wait to see what we can achieve.Here is her story, which is a fab one.YOU HAVE RECENTLY MOVED TO BRISTOL, WELCOME, AND HAVE LAUNCHED TIFFANY DAWSON COACHING, COULD YOU TELL US ALL ABOUT IT?Thank you! I’ve loved exploring Bristol since I moved here from Australia earlier this year.My mission with Tiffany Dawson Coaching is to coach and inspire women in STEM (science, tech, engineering & maths) to unleash themselves from career advancement blockers.I do this via individual coaching, running group workshops and speaking at events – all in the aim of working towards gender equality in STEM. YOU WERE AN ENGINEER PRIOR TO LAUNCHING YOUR COACHING COMPANY, WHERE HAS YOUR PASSION FOR ENGINEERING COME FROM?I was lucky enough to grow up with an engineer role model, my dad. He always encouraged me to solve problems in a curious way. Nothing was ever too hard to fix!At school, I loved maths and physics so I ended up studying mechanical engineering at university. My degree allowed me to work at several global engineering companies across Australia and the UK which I feel so grateful for.My passion for helping women in STEM to achieve fulfilling work and home lives increased over my 8 years in the construction engineering industry. That’s why I’ve launched my business which is my true heart’s calling.HAVE YOU HAD ANY CHALLENGES IN YOUR OWN CAREER WHICH HAVE HELD YOU BACK?Absolutely! So many – and if you went through them all, you’d find a common theme. It was my own mindset that held me back time and time again.The one that springs to mind is, at the age of 27 and just 5 years into my career, I lead a team of 30 engineers and project managers to work for my company’s largest client. My biggest challenge wasn’t the actual role itself, but the constant battle with my inner critic. You see, my team was full of engineers who had worked in the field for 25+ years. Here was little old me, afraid to provide them with clear direction.I spent way too much time being fearful of what they might think of me, when all I really needed to do was fulfill the role I’d been trusted by my managers to do. Once I learned to let go of that fear, I became much more effective at my job.WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR TIFFANY DAWSON COACHING?My current plans are to tackle gender inequality in STEM from both sides. That is, to empower women with the tools and knowledge to blaze their own trails, and work with STEM companies to create work environments that are more inviting to women.My long term goal is to set up a social enterprise that provides aid to females who wouldn’t usually have the means to study or work in STEM.BEING A YOUNG FEMALE WORKING IN ENGINEERING, WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD SAY HAS SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT THE INDUSTRY?That so many people, including females, don’t understand why there is a gender diversity issue. If I’m perfectly honest, it took me about 6 years working in the engineering industry to start to understand the issues and I’m learning more about it every day. Not knowing ‘the why’ is going to hold back so many companies from figuring out ‘the how’ of solving the problem.I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO HELP SCHOOLS TO PROMOTE STEM CAREERS, HOW CAN SCHOOLS RAISE MORE AWARENESS IN THIS?When I was in year 10, an amazing young female lawyer came to speak to us at school about a career in law. Guess what. Fast forward 6 years, a disproportionate amount of my school peers graduated in law!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.HAVE YOU EVER SUFFERED FROM THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME?Oh yes. Hasn’t everyone? I still do from time to time and truly believe that everybody experiences this sort of fear. The key is to not let it stop you from achieving your goals. Fear is there to protect you but sometimes it gets the level of danger a little wrong.There are some fabulous tools and strategies that anyone can learn for hearing the fear, but not letting it get in the way.WHAT IS ONE BIT OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS LOOKING TO PROGRESS THEIR CAREER?Invest in yourself! I’m going to drop a truth bomb – no one else will care about you as much as you do. Be clear on what your career goals are and why you’ve set those goals. Is it because you think it will impress your boss? If so, start again! Career goals should have personal benefits that will serve you. Investing in yourself also means setting boundaries so nothing gets in the way of you achieving those goals.If you’re having trouble tapping into your deepest desires, find someone who will help uncover them. This is one of the most rewarding parts of my job so I’m always here to help!HOW CAN PEOPLE SIGN UP WITH YOU?If you’re a woman working in STEM who’d like some one-on-one coaching, just fill out the questionnaire on my webpage below and book in a time for a complimentary Discovery Call with me. This is a 45 minute coaching experience where we get to know each other, discuss your goal and come away with a clear next step to achieving it. Sometimes our conversation ends here because you might have found the clarity you need. Most times though, if we’re both as excited as each other, we’ll work together for the next 3 months!https://www.tiffanydawson.co/discovery-callI also run group workshops for women in STEM. These can be in-house at a company’s office, or for events run by organisations. These workshops are always so much fun and participants often walk away with a new lease on work life and stronger bonds with their colleagues. If you’re interested in signing up, shoot me an email at tiffany@tiffanydawson.co .Part of my mission is also to raise awareness of the gender inequality issues we face in our industries. I love to rile people up by speaking at events so if you’d like to collaborate, get in touch!WHO IS YOUR NUMBER 1 ROLE MODEL OR INSPIRATION?This might sound cheesy but it’s got to be my mum. She doesn’t agree, but she’s one of the strongest women I know. My mum holds everyone up around her and is incredibly resilient. When she moved to Australia with an 8 month old baby (me!) she didn’t know a word of English and still managed to find a full time job and navigate a foreign country.It was at the age of 30 that she first learned how to swim and only a couple of years after that, she became a swimming coach at a club that trained Olympic athletes! She really showed me that anything’s possible if you consistently work towards it.WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor RooseveltWomen Rock – A voice for diversity in tech <3An interview by Alicia Teagle I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

You may have read Carly’s story on here earlier in the year and we had to get her on here again as she has an update. After knowing Carly for a little while, we are so happy and excited that she is changing direction and has been given the opportunity to develop her technical skills a bit more by attending a 12 week intensive technical academy through her employer – the brilliant Nationwide Building Society, a company where every single person supports and encourages diversity in every sense of the word.Carly is keen to share her journey, in an honest, open and non-corporate-y way, with the aim of showing people what these things are really like, and hopefully encourage people to consider starting/moving to a career in tech.From Carly:I genuinely care about getting people from different backgrounds into tech, and understand that it can sometimes appear a closed off, intimidating and often confusing community. I want to try and remove a layer or two (or more!) of the mystery, and show how interesting, challenging, (and fun!) tech can be. Be the change you want to see and all that…I work for Nationwide Building Society in the UK (we’re like a bank but better)*. And like most financial institutions, we’re having to totally re-evaluate the technology we’re using, to make sure it’s fit for the future. And establish new ways of working, to help us keep up with the pace of change. One of the things Nationwide has done as part of this process is create a 12 week intensive technical academy, in partnership with the training provider QA, aimed at people just starting out their careers in tech (including career changers) and those that might already work in tech, but want an introduction to some of the newer technologies, or want to gain a more hands on understanding.I fall in to the latter category – I’ve been working in a technical environment for the past 7 years**. I’ve had various roles including Computer Operator, IT Operations Manager, Performance Test Lead, and Senior Tech Specialist (Payments). The one thing they’ve all had in common is that I was working predominantly with legacy technology, and I ended up working with quite a high level view, and with a focus on governance. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the legacy stuff, things are rarely as easy as they seem and every day is a challenge, but times are changing, and that tech isn’t going to be around for ever. And governance is really REALLY important, but it doesn’t set my heart on fire. So, here I am.Assuming you want to stick around and follow my journey, I’ll introduce myself a bit more. When I’m not at work I enjoy DIY, gardening (landscaping, we’ve just built a patio – I’m rubbish at the flowers and plants bit), cars, makeup, clothes, sewing, shoes, Studio Ghibli, I’m trying to practice taking more (and better!) pictures, and I collect guidebooks from all the museums that I visit. I’m really interested in the tech industry, particularly when it’s focused on social good, or environmental concerns, but I don’t tend to code/do tech work in my spare time very often. I’m also a Governor at a regional Further Education college that has a strong focus on technology. A pretty random and eclectic mix, but to be fair I think that’s how my friends would describe me.In a bid to not just aimlessly move from one role to the next, I’ve had a think about the areas that I really enjoy and any specific skillset I can utilise to focus my direction. I’ve realised that I really enjoy the area of IT Operations and Security, and work really well in typically stressful situations (i.e. incident response), so over the next 12 months, I’ve set myself the following goals (in addition to completing the Technical Academy obvs):Attempt the Google Capture The Flag event 2020Speak at a conferenceVolunteer at Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF) camp 2020Investigate roles in DevOps and SecurityFinish watching all of the Studio Ghibli collection (because taking a break is important too)If you’re interested in following how I get on, I’ll be blogging, vlogging, tweeting and ‘gramming using the handles below. Questions, messages of support, and cute animal pics are always welcome!Twitter: @CarlyInTech https://twitter.com/carlyintechInstagram: @CarlyInTech https://www.instagram.com/carlyintech/?hl=enYoutube: Carly In Tech https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjp9hsqGmM9uldVF9OAVSgBlog: https://carlyintech.wordpress.com/*Opinions are totally 100% my own.**It’s worth noting that I didn’t start out working in tech, in fact I hated it in school (but that’s back when it was taught as ICT – Microsoft Publisher anyone?!). I did my Bachelors in International Politics, and then after a few years of working in research, I did my Masters in Environmental Health, specialising in infectious disease control and epidemiology (it’s a very long story). And all of the above is why we created Women Rock to share peoples journeys, their careers (and not the typical ‘tech’ career path) the challenges, I’m sure Carly will agree probably the stresses but most importantly the successes.We will be following and supporting you on your journey, thank you for sharing and hopefully others who have a similar interest will follow in your footsteps.#womenrocka voice of diversity in tech.@womenrockbristol

I first met Sian Richards when she came along to help out as a coach at Codebar. We sat for hours discussing her passion for technology and how it came about, Sian also helps our students learn the crazy world of Javascript and is a great advocate at showing our students you don’t have to follow the typical career path into Tech. Sian did a degree in Philosophy and she had heard a lot of people say Software Development doesn’t seem an obvious path for a Philosophy grad. But they’re not too different. Sian decided to complete at intense 12 week boot camp to welcome her to the tech world, she is now a Software Developer in Test at Bud Systems.YOU DID YOUR DEGREE IN PHILOSOPHY AND NOW YOU ARE WORKING AS A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER IN TEST… HOW WAS THAT AS A TRANSITION?I’ve heard a lot of people say Software Development doesn’t seem an obvious path for a Philosophy grad. But they’re not too different. In Philosophy, you have to think analytically about philosophical arguments – both when constructing and deconstructing arguments. At university, I did Logic which was a Philosophy module and we had to do proofs which is essentially a practice in “clean coding” (making your code churn out the same result in fewer lines). I’d say the greatest difference between Philosophy and programming is the fact that Philosophy trains you to think about things abstractly – which is of course still useful in programming – but it doesn’t prepare you for the practical aspect of actually writing code. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that just describes the jump from most academic degrees to the real world.YOU WENT THROUGH AN INTENSIVE COURSE WITH _NOLOGY, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS ROUTE FOR SOMEONE WANTING TO GET INTO TECHNOLOGY? AND COULD YOU TALK ME THROUGH THE COURSE?I would recommend a coding camp for sure. What attracted me to _nology in particular was the fact they pushed diversity so I could be confident I wouldn’t be the only women in the room (lol), and I also liked how we spent a solid amount of the course working on a real-life client project so it wasn’t just a case of cramming us full of programming knowledge without offering any experience of the other aspects of working as a developer (which are equally as important). It should be noted though, I was in the privileged position of being able to invest my time and money into a coding course. Therefore, if you are considering doing a coding boot camp and are concerned about money, I’d recommend opting for one that allows you to pay once you start earning (like _nology, I swear I’m not trying to plug them, or for a list of online courses with deferred payment, try https://igtechnologies.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/free-or-tuition-deferred-coding-boot-camps/).In terms of technologies: in the first few weeks, we covered the basics of HTML 5, CSS, SCSS and worked on creating our own CVs online. We then hit JavaScript week which involved lots of mini challenges (and hitting your head against the wall when you thought you solved it but didn’t quite). Then we moved onto TypeScript (more challenges and head hitting), then React where we began our client project and finally, we finished with Redux.In terms of soft skills: at the end of every week, we presented either individually or within a group to external clients, focusing on what we’d produced that week. Week five was dedicated solely to soft skills, where we gave a TED-style talk at the end of the week. Then we had our ongoing client project and finally, we finished with mock interviews.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FELLOW FEMALES WHO ARE LOOKING TO GET INTO TECHNOLOGY?If you haven’t tried coding at all, I’d highly recommend giving it a go – it’s essentially like learning another language but rather than the reward being “Your German is good for an English person” or the listener not switching to English as soon as they detect an English accent, the reward is seeing magic happen on a screen through essentially telling a computer what to do with a given input. I’d say don’t be motivated to code by wanting to signal to people that you’re technically adept as that’s less fun and that motivation will fade quickly. Instead, do coding for yourself: before you even touch code, do some research and find something you want to build. Then just analyse the app you want to build by looking at syntax* (if this were a newspaper article, how would it be organised?), styling (what shape is this element? Where is it positioned?) and functionality (when I click on this element, what happens?). Then focus on the syntax and look at how to build it (YouTube is a great resource!) and once you’ve nailed that, move onto styling and finally functionality.*I trained in front-end development so I’m looking at breaking an app down into front-end languages.YOU ARE A COACH AT CODEBAR, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE WORKSHOP?I thoroughly enjoy coaching at CodeBar workshops. I was struck by imposter syndrome during my first session because I had only started learning to code March 2019 and here I was, months later teaching someone about JavaScript functions. But my confidence grew and I realised “Ah wait, I do know what I’m talking about”. It was so much fun, and it’s such a good way to assess your knowledge. I like CodeBar in particular because it’s very chilled – “What would you like to learn?” “I’d like to learn Python” “Oh great, I’ll teach you Python”, or in my case “Oh great, I’ll swiftly direct you to someone who knows Python” Plus, there was pizza on hand, so…WHAT DO YOU THINK COMPANIES CAN DO TO ATTRACT A MORE DIVERSE RANGE OF PEOPLE?This is a difficult question to answer as the lack of representation of diverse individuals in the tech sector stems from societal expectations of roles for specific people. If you fit the archetype of a programmer in terms of gender, race, class and so on, it would be less daunting and more welcoming for you to enter that field in comparison to someone who doesn’t fit that archetype.However, focusing on what I think companies, in particular, can do, I think the biggest thing would be to reconsider filtering out applicants (particularly fresh graduates) based on whether they studied a STEM subject at university or not. I don’t quite understand the rationale behind this: either it’s because companies believe that individuals from STEM backgrounds would have the greatest pre-exposure to coding as part of their course OR companies believe that individuals from STEM backgrounds have had their minds moulded into the desired shape of a web developer through a focus on maths and general analytical thinking during their course OR, it’s down to laziness.The first option doesn’t make a huge amount of sense given most computer languages are taught on the job and neither does the second point considering degrees like Music and Foreign Languages involve a hell-of-a-lot of analysis. For example, does my approach to learning how to code through breaking a page down syntactically play to the strengths of someone with an English Literature degree or a Chemistry degree? Furthermore, coding doesn’t necessarily have to involve any maths at all. It greatly depends on the requirements of the functionality of the application you’re creating. I guess that leaves the last option: laziness. And this is a poor reason to filter individuals out: the candidate misses out on becoming part of one of the fastest growing employment sectors worldwide and companies miss out on new approaches to solving problems and a wealth of analytical minds. It seems like we’re in a big lose-lose situation for not a very good reason. Therefore, I believe companies should at least give it a try rather than resting on unverified assumptions. Thank you Sian for this brilliant interview and also for your continued support at Codebar.An interview by Alicia Teagle#womenrocka voice of diversity in tech.@womenrockbristol

Check out this great interview with Sarah Cronk, who is a graduate software developer working with CACI here in Bristol. CACI saw huge potential in Sarah and offered her a position with them whilst she was still completing her degree in Maths! In this interview, Sarah shares her thoughts on having the imposter syndrome, her passion for Rugby and gives advice on how tech companies can attract a more diverse mix of people. Also, her quote is probably one of the best so far!HI SARAH, YOU JOINED CACI’S ENGINEERING TEAM IN BRISTOL NOT TOO LONG AGO – HOW HAVE YOU BEEN FINDING IT SO FAR?I’m really enjoying it! I didn’t have much experience with coding before joining so I was a little nervous, but they’ve given me great training and support and I’ve been able to get stuck in quickly.BEING A YOUNG FEMALE WORKING IN TECHNOLOGY, WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD SAY HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT THE INDUSTRY?It’s not quite a nerdy as people make out! I think TV gives people who work in tech a reputation of being socially awkward but really, it’s as much of spectrum of people as any other industry when it comes to social skills.WHERE DID YOUR LOVE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND CODING COME FROM?During school I loved maths and science and I studied maths at university, so I’ve always been really interested in STEM however my first experience with coding wasn’t a good one. In first year, we were thrown in the deep end with a computer science module and I really struggled, I would’ve been shocked to find out what my graduate job would eventually be. It wasn’t until modules later in my course that more gradually introduced code (albeit from a statistical perspective) that I realised I enjoyed it and was good at it.LOTS OF SCHOOL PUPILS DON’T SEE THE BENEFIT OF WHERE MATHEMATICS CAN TAKE THEM, A COMMON THOUGHT AND MISCONCEPTION COULD BE ‘WELL WHAT AM I GOING TO USE THIS FOR IN THE FUTURE’. HOW DO YOU THINK SCHOOLS CAN RAISE MORE AWARENESS TO THE CAREER OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR CHOOSING STEM SUBJECTS?Maths is in basically everything we do so maybe finding a way of demonstrating that to students as opposed to learning for the sake of learning. For example, learning how taxes work would be exceptionally useful and specifically with regards to tech and coding, technology is so advanced now that if the curriculum doesn’t keep up with it then students are going to become more and more disillusioned with it. Why wait until university to start introducing coding to students?ALTHOUGH IT’S STILL RELATIVELY NEW TO YOU, AND I’M SURE YOU’RE LEARNING SO MUCH AT CACI EVERYDAY BUT WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT CODING SO FAR?I enjoy problem solving so, contrary to what people expect, I like it when things go a little bit wrong and I get to root around trying to solve it. It is incredibly satisfying when it all works in the end but the work it takes to get there is the fun bit.SOMETHING I LOVE, IS YOUR PASSION FOR BOTH RUGBY AND TECHNOLOGY (SO AWESOME!) – I’M SURE YOU MIGHT AGREE THAT STEREOTYPICALLY IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD THAT THESE ARE BOTH ‘MALE LED’ INDUSTRIES WHICH WOMEN COULD BE UNDERESTIMATED IN. HOW DID BEING IN A WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM PREPARE YOU FOR BEING A WOMAN IN TECH?I had never noticed my interests were both aligned that way, but I agree that they are male-dominated industries. Playing rugby has given me a lot of confidence over the years, both in my own physical ability and my decision making – sometimes you have a split second to decide what you’re going to do before someone is running into you – and this has definitely bled into my day to day life and therefore my attitude at work. What helps me more at work however is the experience I gained being on rugby committee where we’d have meetings in which I was the only woman in the room and having to fight my corner. Thankfully I work with such a great team that I don’t feel the need to do that at CACI but knowing that I can gives me more confidence.HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A VICTIM OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME AND WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU?Definitely. I was offered a job at CACI before I had even started my final year of university due to a successful referral from a friend and I was shocked. I remember thinking back to my interview and looking over my CV and wondering if I had said something that wasn’t true or lead them to believe that I had more experience than I did. I’d like to thank the friend who referred me for putting up with me asking ‘I really don’t know anything, is that ok? Are you sure?’ a lot, but the reason I asked it was because I felt unqualified. I then finally started and realised that I wasn’t. I’ll admit that even with this interview I asked another friend whether I had an interesting enough story that it would be worth your time, so it’s clearly something that can pervade your attitude to everything. I think the best solution to imposter syndrome is take whatever is making you feel like a fraud and do it anyway because that’s the only way to prove to yourself that you’re not a fraud.IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND HANG OUT WITH YOUR 13-YEAR OLD SELF, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE HER?First and foremost, please chill out, take deep breaths, it will all be ok. If you’re not immediately good at something then that is alright, just take your time with it. Don’t be afraid to embrace the things you enjoy regardless of what other people think about them.IN YOUR OPINION, HOW DO YOU THINK TECH COMPANIES CAN ATTRACT A MORE DIVERSE MIX OF PEOPLE?By using companies like Socially Responsible Recruitment! Making a conscious effort to recruit people who otherwise wouldn’t put themselves forward roles in tech. I think work towards greater diversity in tech can even start in schools, they’ve shown that girls as young as six are less likely to attribute brilliance to their own gender (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-01/aaft-ygl012317.php). If an effort is made with young children, then that will ripple through and we’ll start to see a greater mix of people in the industry. An example of this is CACI currently volunteer at a local primary school, where around 80% of the children that attend the coding club are female. Obviously, gender isn’t the only marker of diversity and programmes like these are also needed in low-socioeconomic areas for example. Areas where schools might not have enough funding to introduce students to tech and coding.WHO IS YOUR NO.1 ROLE MODEL OR INSPIRATION?This is going to sound cheesy but my mum – she’s intelligent, she works incredibly hard, she’s great at her job and doesn’t take any nonsense. I’d be lucky to be like her.WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?I’m really not a quotes person but something I find myself saying a lot – “Pub? Pub” #womenrockAn interview by Steph Jacksona voice of diversity in tech.I: @womenrockbristolT: @womenrockbrstl

Jacqueline Rodríguez-Pérez is a software engineer working with Brightpearl in Bristol, originally from the beautiful Canary Islands in Spain. She shares her backstory with us and how she got into technology. It all started with an IBM 4.86 computer her parents bought her when she was just 8 years old! Jacqueline and I have been in touch since the beginning of the year, her passion and enthusiasm never goes unnoticed. She shares a raw and honest outlook on the barriers women face in the industry as well as her honest opinion on Jamie Oliver’s Paella recipe!TELL US HOW AND WHY YOU CHOSE A CAREER IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT?It all started when I was a kid I suppose. At that time my uncle Carlos worked fixing computers and introduced me to this world. My father and I used to learn together how computers worked using components from my uncle’s lab.When I was 8 my parents bought me my first computer, an IBM 4.86, and subscribed me to MS-DOS course that I loved. I kept “playing” with my own computer, adding new hardware components, connecting it to other computers, installing new software.By this time the only user friendly OS I had was Windows 3.11 that came with a very old fashion WordPerfect. This text editor allowed you to see and edit all the hidden tags that transform the text appearance. That was the first time I saw some sort of coding and started digging into how those applications worked.When the time came, the choice was very clear. I went to university and study a Computer Science degree.JACQUELINE, YOU WORK AS A SOFTWARE ENGINEER WITH BRIGHTPEARL – WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING THERE DAY TO DAY?8:45 First cup of teaWell I joined Brightpearl in mid May and have to say it has been a non-stop learning process.I was just a Java developer when I joined and in these four months I have been able to work also with PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Docker, Kubernetes, etc. For me the key to achieve this in such a short time is their very skilled engineering team and their extensive documentation.10:15 Time to ask Product teamFrom a non-technical perspective Brightpearl has a very good team of business analysts. This makes developer’s lives much easier in daily basis as they gather the requirements from the customers and are able to pass them in a detailed way to the engineering team.16:00 Fifth cup of teaThere is also life outside of engineering! There is always something going on in Brightpearl. From a Greek cold coffee master class to board games nights or chair massages to mention just a few.IF THERE WAS ONE THING YOU COULD CHANGE ABOUT THE INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?Obviously I would like to see more women in this industry. But not just women, also people from other genders and races. I think engineering teams could benefit from having people with different backgrounds offering different perspectives.If you are reading this interview you are probably aware of the current situation and the barriers women have to face in Tech, so I won’t bore you listing them here again. There are still many things to do to break down the barriers of gender equality, and I believe technologies are helping to do it. For instance, things like working from home to improve family and work conciliation, automated recruitment processes that ignore gender and of course internet access allowing women to hear other women and to be heard.YOU’RE ORIGINALLY FROM SPAIN, WHAT IS THING YOU MISS MOST ABOUT HOME?Probably the beach! I am from the Canary Islands and always lived near the coast so the beach was always close. I used to go not just for a sun bath but also to relax after work. I have visited a few beaches here in UK and have to say they are really nice, but they are a bit far away from Bristol!WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SPANISH DISH TO COOK?I am not a person that particularly enjoys cooking, but I reckon that cooking seafood paella gives me some kind of satisfaction if it ends it up well. It’s a dish that takes a long time to cook and it can go terrible wrong if you are not an experience cook like me. Also it’s a dish that I learnt from my mother so it makes me feel closer to home.Speaking of paella, dear Jamie Oliver, why chorizo? Why?!!HAVE YOU EVER FACED ANY CHALLENGES THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER BEING A WOMAN, AND WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE FACING THE SAME THING RIGHT NOW?Unfortunately the list is a long one and started when I was studying my degree. This industry has been in the hands of men for a long time and sometimes you have to deal with men from the old school. Sometimes they are your lectures, sometimes your colleagues, sometimes your boss or even your own family telling you are doing a man’s job. The problem I see is that even when you overcome these challenges day after day, eventually what you have learnt is that you are going to have to work harder than the rest. You have to show them that you are as capable as them and that you can do it alone, without mistakes, without any benefit from your gender. Over time, this might lead to a sort of paranoia, wondering if something, bad or good, that has happened to you is because you are woman. The only thing I could advise to those going through this is trust yourself, be confident but mainly be upbeat. You have the same right to fail than them.I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE TO LEARN NEW TECHNOLOGIES, WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T YET WORKED WITH THAT YOU WOULD TO WORK WITH?So far Brightpearl is keeping very busy learning new technologies and my plan for now is to be better at then. As you know, my biggie is Java and I still have many things to learn about it so I keep this as my main goal. At the top of my to-do list still have going deeper with Spring framework and do some UI work with ReactJS. But who knows, the list might vary while I learn.NAME WHO WOULD BE IN YOUR ‘DREAM TEAM’?I’ve never thought about it! Rather than tell you names, I can tell you which skills I would look for. I think I would build a team of trusted and talented people with good communication skills, curiosity and as, I mentioned earlier, people from different backgrounds. The dead ones probably would need to make an extra effort to catch up!There have been some famous ones that have impressed me. I would include names like Ada Lovelace, Katherine Johnson, Alan Turing, Elon Musk (sometimes not for good reasons), Col. Chris Hadfield and the Queen of shitty robots Simone Giertz.FINALLY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?“The important thing is not to stop questioning.”— Albert Einstein for “Old Man’s Advice to Youth: ‘Never Lose a Holy Curiosity'” LIFE Magazine (2 May 1955).This is just part of an interview where Einstein encourages to not losing curiosity. I believe this is not just a must do in this profession but something to keep in mind in your life too. Be curious, be brave, leave your comfort zone and try new things. Mistaking is part of the process to evolve. An interview by Steph Jackson#womenrocka voice of diversity in tech.@womenrockbristol