WOMEN ROCK.

In this episode of Women Rock, Alicia and Kelly discuss Kelly's recent bipolar disorder diagnosis and the need for more awareness and understanding of the condition 🫶 They explore the challenges of misdiagnosis, the importance of early intervention, and the coping strategies that have been helpful for Kelly. They also touch on the stigma and misconceptions surrounding bipolar disorder and the need for better support from employers and the healthcare system. Kelly shares her plans to create a well-being plan and a book to help others navigate their own journeys with bipolar disorder ✨ Some key takeaways ⭐ 💚 Early intervention and accurate diagnosis are crucial for individuals with bipolar disorder to receive the appropriate support and treatment. 💚 Coping strategies such as meditation, journaling, and exercise can be beneficial for managing symptoms and promoting well-being. 💚 There is still a stigma surrounding bipolar disorder and a lack of understanding, highlighting the need for more awareness and education. 💚 Employers can play a role in supporting employees with bipolar disorder by creating a supportive and inclusive work environment. 💚 Individuals should trust their instincts and seek further evaluation if they suspect they may have a neurodivergent condition. 💚 More resources and information are needed to help individuals navigate their journey with bipolar disorder and other neurodivergent conditions Thank you so much Kelly for sharing your story, we hope it reaches folk it needs to.

‘I joined Swift Strategies because of the people and their ambition to change the way things are.’ Meet Carolyn, the Head of Business Operations at Swift Strategies.  From her early days marketing in the music scene to online sales, Carolyn's journey has been nothing short of inspiring. She's not just about business; she's passionate about making a difference with everything she does. Passionate about equality, Carolyn founded The Reach Free School, an inclusive institution that recently earned the Equalities Gold Award. It's a place where diversity isn't just welcomed—it's celebrated. She's also a strongadvocate for breaking down gender stereotypes, pushing for inclusive uniforms that reflect today's realities. If you're pondering a career change, Carolyn would tell you  find what you love and don't settle.  With Swift Strategies focusing on social value and welcoming new team members, Leading the charge for more diversity in tech and beyond. Hi Carolyn, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, please can you start by talking me through your position at Swift Strategies? I’m Head of Business Operations – responsible for the back office functions at our very busy Tech and transformation consultancy. Ops should be the invisible scaffolding behind the business. If something’s annoying or time consuming, I want to make it better Please tell me about your story so far. How did you get into the world of Tech? I started my career in marketing, and had an amazing job with a music, video, games and book distributor organising new release activity and in store promotions for our retail clients. Release dates set the pace, and the industry was evolving fast towards being able to buy online. It seems so normal now, but it was a huge challenge to take orders for individual items and deliver to individual addresses when the industry was set up to fill shelves in high streets. We created a new way of working very quickly, and amending IT systems to meet our needs was a big part of the task. I took some time out to have a family, and stepped away from the glitz of premieres and award ceremonies. ‘Making things happen’ was always something I enjoyed, and business operations became a natural choice. I’m not very good at accepting the status quo, and know how important tech is to improving our lives. I joined Swift Strategies because of the people and their ambition to ‘change the way things are’. What advice would you give to anyone looking to make a career change? Think about what it is that you really enjoy, what makes you feel worthwhile, and don’t settle for less. If you feel passionate about an industry or a role, it shines through and others will support you.  You mentioned the importance of having a network of supporters around you. Please can you tell me more about this and is there anybody in particular who has inspired you/been the most significant influence in your network. There have been some amazing people who, I suspect unknowingly, have provided support and helped to dispel my inner imposter syndrome! Early in my career, I worked with a videogame buyer who had joined the company in a junior role, and was progressing in a very male environment to be a highly respected member of the commercial team. She taught me about not panicking, keeping things in perspective and taking the time to reflect when you are in danger of being overwhelmed. Others have supported my campaign to change the school situation in South West Hertfordshire – a topic I knew absolutely nothing about and was a political hot potato. The belief people had in me, regardless of my experience, was invaluable. You founded a school that has recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary and is an incredible achievement, making sure thousands of students have had access to a good education. Please can you tell me more about how this came about. I’ve mentioned already that I’m not very good at accepting the “way things are”. When I discovered the lack of local school places and how the council were effectively shrugging their shoulders in response, I joined a small group of local parents campaigning for changes to admissions criteria and the ability to open a new school. However, the introduction of the Free School programme in 2010 meant that if we wanted a new school, we had to roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. I had to learn about site allocations, the planning inspectorate, the process to open a school and how to prove we needed one. We rapidly discovered that we needed education experts, so joined forces with three local teachers who shared our ambition. We also needed pupils, so spent weekends persuading families to add our imaginary school to their application forms. Just over a year after receiving approval from the Department for Education, we opened The Reach Free School in a temporary home of an empty office block. It took another five years for us to move into our brand new purpose built school, but we were determined to negotiate our way through the planning, budget, design and build process to get the best possible school environment for our community. My biggest inspiration are my four fellow school founders. It was, and still is, a phenomenal journey, and one where we’ve shaped the lives of so many young people. You mentioned the importance of making sure that the school was “non-selective” to ensure everyone in your area had the ability to fulfil their potential. Please can you tell me more about this and the importance of making a welcoming space for everyone within education. Our community is surrounded by partially selective schools, where children at age 10 sit an exam and are ranked according to their test score. We believe this has a negative impact on many children and families, and wanted to establish a school where the test result was irrelevant. The ethos is ACE or “Achievement, Community and Enjoyment”, and recognises that if you do not enjoy school, you will not achieve, and you cannot have either of these without a strong community The school has also recently won the Equalities Gold Award which is amazing! Please tell me more about this. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is an important part of our Community ethos, and the Equalities Award enabled us to take another look at the school, its processes, policies and resources to ensure we were creating an environment where everyone was valued. Nothing was off-limits – library books, displays, uniform, curriculum design, policy wording and evidence of equality in every area. It’s amazing what you overlook, just because it has always been that way! We are one of the first secondary schools to be awarded the highest Gold standard, in recognition of the approach taken to ensure every pupil is valued – not just by staff and their classmates, but by themselves as well. We wanted to make sure pupils could see themselves reflected in the lessons, as “if you can’t see it, how can you be it?” Gender constructs are formed from an early age, and we spoke about how seemingly simple things like uniforms make a difference. How important is it that we make uniforms more inclusive and what difference does it make? Uniforms are excellent at removing social barriers at school and developing a sense of belonging. But it isn’t necessary to divide pupils into boys and girls for the majority of their time at school and differentiate pupils through clothing. The school should decide on appropriate uniform options for learning regardless of sex. For example, as an adult, I do not choose to wear a short pleated skirt to exercise in, I wear sports leggings or shorts. When I am sat at my desk working, I may be wearing a smart skirt, or I may be wearing trousers. My job is not impacted by my trousers vs skirt choice, and it’s crazy that we continue to teach young people that gender specific school uniforms are a valid identifier. We should step back and ask ourselves why we don’t send 4 year olds to school in jogging bottoms and a T-shirt, rather than pinafore dresses, tights or clothes with buttons and zips. I suspect we are abiding by tradition, and are inadvertently continuing to embed gender stereotypes into our classrooms.       What are your thoughts on the current IT courses students have access to and what do you think needs to change in the current education system to make courses better? Technology is hugely important to our school. We have been a Google Classroom school since opening in 2013, and all our pupils have their own Chromebook throughout their time at school. We offer Computer Science at GCSE and A Level, and ICT vocational qualifications, and it is always a popular subject. But it takes a long time to develop and introduce a GSCE or A level course, so they aren’t as up to date and inspiring as you’d hope. Children use tech all day, every day, and they are amazing at creating their own content. We need to tap into the joy they have from interacting with tech and match it with a course that shows them how to create and develop new applications. AI will change everything. Teachers and pupils are already using AI, and it’s important we learn how to best utilise the latest tech tool. It’s an exciting time. It’s clear the difference you have made so far, and the amazing work is never done! What challenge are you taking on next? Swift Strategies’ Social Value strategy is firmly within my sights. We’re all really keen to make sure our work, effort and impact is worthwhile. I’m looking forward to 3 new women joining our team this month, and it will be amazing to support the development of more women in tech!  Interviewed by Bella Snell 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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