This week Women Rock Ambassador Josie met Chloe Bishop: Software Engineer at Gresham Technologies, FDM Everywoman in Tech Award finalist and all-round amazing human being! Chloe is an advocate for young women wanting to get into the industry so here she shares some wonderful advice and inspiration – including the importance of experimentation when it comes to finding out what you’re passionate about…HEY CHLOE! THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY WITH US. LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING WITH WHEN YOU FIRST REALISED YOU WERE PASSIONATE ABOUT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT…I think my generation was one of the first to grow up surrounded by technology. We didn’t just know the basics of how to use a computer, we could pick up the latest smart phone and intuitively know how to use it. High-level programming languages were introduced to me right before I picked my GCSEs, and I was completely hooked. It was an insight into the technology I used every day that I had never had before. The idea that I would be able to fully understand and contribute to the creation of new, exciting technologies is what motivated me to study computer science.WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN THE INDUSTRY?My passion for learning made me think that technology was the perfect career for me. It is one of the fastest growing industries, and learning new things constantly is a big part of my job. That being said, it never occurred to me until I got into the industry that constantly having to learn also means never being fully in your comfort zone. This can sometimes make people feel like they aren’t qualified enough or don’t deserve to be in their current role. I have definitely had a few battles with Imposter Syndrome, but it is really common in the tech industry. The way I got past it was by hearing other developers talk about it openly and diving right back into learning.HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR?Definitely a highlight for me was being a finalist in the Apprentice Award category at the 2022 FDM Everywoman in Technology Awards. My goal for years in school was to become a software engineer, so to achieve that goal and simultaneously empower young women to follow their own passions was extremely important to me. Being recognised for that work and being able to make those that had given me those opportunities proud was such an honour. Not to mention being able to meet some of the most inspirational women in the tech sector and learn about their respective experiences in the industry.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO WANT TO GO INTO THE SAME CAREER?My advice would be to do work experience, internships, apprenticeships or just ask current developers about their experiences. There are so many different types of software engineer roles, and finding the right role for you is so important. I did work experience at a games studio and had an amazing time, but ultimately, I left knowing I didn’t want to program games. At the start of your career, experimenting to determine what kind of development you are most passionate about – as well as what you are least passionate about – is just as important as furthering your technical skills.DO YOU THINK ANYTHING MORE CAN BE DONE TO SUPPORT WOMEN IN TECH?I think programs that encourage young women to take STEM subjects are doing really well, although I think that equal work should be put into teaching young men that women belong in those industries as much as they do. Ultimately, we want women to find the confidence to follow the career path they are passionate about, and having peers who are supportive of their choices is a big part of that process.WHY WERE YOU NOMINATED FOR THE APPRENTICE AWARD AT THE 2022 FDM EVERYWOMAN IN TECHNOLOGY AWARDS?During my time at American Express I was nominated for being an advocate for women in technology, particularly for young women who have just come out of the education system. I used my own journey into tech and experiences within the industry to give advice to those interested in a career in technology. I also volunteered to help organise outreach events, spoke about how teams could improve the onboarding process for junior engineers, and was a ‘buddy’ for new apprentices and graduates.WHO DO YOU FIND THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMAN IN TECH?I can’t name just one woman as the most influential woman in tech, but I will say that women such as Joan Clark and Grace Hopper are great examples of what I think it means to be an influential woman in tech. They didn’t allow the male-dominated workplaces to prevent them from giving their contributions to the field in a time when it was a lot less common to see women in the industry. Their work has inspired millions of women to join the industry and campaign to end the stigma so that the next generation get an equal chance, regardless of gender.IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF WORK IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT THAT YOU FIND INSPIRING?At the Everywoman Awards, Eleanor Harry the CEO of HACE was announced as Woman of the Year. The work that she and her team do to fight child labour using artificial intelligence is absolutely amazing! It is so inspiring to see people using technology to solve problems they are passionate about, and I can only hope that in the future I will be able to make a similar impact.WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING OUTSIDE OF WORK?I do try to push myself out of my comfort zone a lot, so I am always trying new hobbies. Travelling is by far what I enjoy the most, as it allows me to experience different cultures, learn new languages, and meet new people.FAVOURITE MANTRA/QUOTE YOU LIVE BY?“It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”We couldn’t agree more! Thanks Chloe – you rock! 🤘

Aged 9 she organised and rolled out her own birthday party, project managing her own parents. Aged 10 she built an Olsen twins, fan website. As a student in Israel, she co-founded ‘QueenB’ – an organisation that teaches middle school girls how to code…Noga Mann is a force to be reckoned with and an absolute inspiration! Women Rock ambassador Naomi Douglass spoke to Noga about her incredible journey into the tech world and how she has been able to combine her artistic and scientific interests to carve out a career that she adores!HEY NOGA! SO GREAT TO MEET YOU AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR STORY WITH US. COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE US AN INTRODUCTION TO YOURSELF?My name is Noga, and I’m an engineering manager at Figma as well as a social entrepreneur.Growing up, I often had to choose between my artistic and scientific interests, but I was fortunate enough to be able to study both Computer Science and Design at university, as part of a combined program. I believe design is a powerful tool that can put people at ease with technology, and technology can enrich and expand the boundaries of design to new and exciting places. This is why I am so excited to work at Figma, where technology is used to empower teams and enable them to build better products.As a university student back in Israel, I co-founded QueenB, an organization that teaches middle school girls how to code. Since we started, we’ve been able to get thousands of girls interested in technology and consider it as a career. By connecting young women with tech companies, the organization also helps them land their first industry jobs.WHY DID YOU CHOOSE A CAREER IN TECH?When I was about 10, I built a fan website for the Olsen twins. This was my first coding experience, and what inspired me to try it out was the ability to create something that wasn’t there before and share it with the world. As I learned more about this discipline, I realized how creative and fulfilling it could be.YOU ARE A MANAGER AT FIGMA, COULD YOU TELL ME HOW YOU BECOME A LEADER AND YOUR MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THIS?From a young age, management was a natural interest of mine. At age nine, I organized my own birthday party – I loved putting together the schedule, thinking about the activities, making to-do lists, and assigning tasks to my parents. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I seated them down for a retro session after it was all over.I feel most impactful when creating processes – I enjoy solving problems not only ad hoc, but thinking about how we can learn from every issue, and find solutions that improve efficiency. It is one of the things I enjoy most about being a manager. As part of my role, I also assist my team in setting their own growth goals and building plans to achieve them. Seeing their accomplishments is very rewarding.FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE HOW IMPORTANT IS DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE?Companies that manage to create inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome, are more successful in building great products. Moreover, they are more likely to attract and retain top talent.Figma is a great example of this. The way we work is highly collaborative, not competitive, and as managers, we strive to foster psychological safety in our teams and build trust so people can be themselves.We also have our Engineering gender minorities group, which is an employee group that’s dedicated to building a welcoming and inclusive community for engineers at Figma who identify as gender minorities. This group serves as a safe space for engineers at all career stages to solicit advice, find mentorship, and celebrate each others’ wins.WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re probably in the wrong room.”There is a false assumption that a team’s manager should be its smartest member. In reality, different individuals have different strengths and skills that make them better suited to fill different roles in a team, and the manager is no different.Not only is being the smartest in the room not a requirement for being a good manager, but it might also mean that you’re not hiring the right people. Talented individuals on your team make your team stronger, as well as giving you more opportunities for personal growth as a manager.Leading a team of people who are smarter or more experienced than you might be daunting at first. However, by developing the ability to admit you might not know the answer to every question, I believe you actually become a better leader.WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT?Having founded QueenB and being able to introduce many young girls to coding, and helping women land their first engineering job. The fact that I am part of a much larger community that drives gender equality in the tech industry is something that I am extremely proud of.With my friend Daria Ackerman, I recently started recording a podcast in Hebrew called “The Impostors”, which provides advice for people early in their engineering careers.WHAT IS A BOOK THAT INFLUENCED YOU AS A MANAGER?“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. Through a five-part model of dysfunction, the book describes how teams fail to work cohesively together. The dysfunctions are: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Lack of Accountability, and Inattention to Results. The model resonated with both successful and unsuccessful teams I witnessed. In my view, a manager’s role is to create an environment in which a high-performing team can thrive. Finding the root dysfunction of the team and addressing it is a great tool for that.Even the most minor change in team structure, such as someone joining or leaving, can shake things up, so even high-performing teams have work to do to maintain their performance.Thanks Noga! you totally rock 🤘

There is so much talk around creating a diverse workforce and the importance of equality and inclusion which is great! However, as the saying goes “actions speak louder than words” more needs to be done to level the playing field – especially in the tech industry. It is one of the many reasons Alicia Teagle created the platform Women Rock – to champion underrepresented folk and give them a platform to help raise their voices. So when we come across A-MA-ZING initiatives like Black Valley we will shout about it from the roof tops! If you haven’t heard of Black valley within the tech community then you are now in for a treat. Women Rock ambassador Doug spoke with Software engineer/ mentor Gavin Kimpson about what Black Valley is doing for the black community in tech and the incredible success stories that come out of it!This is such a great read and we are so grateful for the opportunity to share Gavin and Black Valley’s incredible work…HI GAVIN! WHEN I READ ABOUT BLACK VALLEY I THOUGHT IT SOUNDED LIKE A FANTASTIC INITIATIVE! FOR PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT BEFORE, CAN YOU GIVE THEM AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORK BLACK VALLEY DO?The initiative started in 2020 by Leke Sholuade, the events of George Floyd was the catalyst for him and he wanted to help make a long-lasting positive change for the black community. Leke spoke to a number of people working in tech about ways to help bring more black people into the tech sphere, it wasn’t long before more mentors signed up and Black Valley was born!Black Valley provides free mentoring to anyone of black origin within a number of tech roles – these include UX Design, Software-engineering, Product Management, Customer Success and much more! We provide mentees with a dedicated mentor in their field and over the 8-week cohort, we look to accelerate their career by providing them the tools and know-how to level themselves up in their chosen career. We also have a network of recruiters that provide mentees with the information they need to nail those interviews and dreaded technical-tests!Along with the ever-growing community via tools like Slack, Black Valley is enhancing the careers for mentees all over the world. We now have over 200+ mentors from all sorts of companies like your traditional ‘one-man-band’ to multinational corporations such as Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon & Google.SO WHAT WOULD THIS SUPPORT LOOK LIKE TO INDIVIDUAL MENTEES?Each cohort lasts for 8 weeks – over this period we carefully select each mentee so that they are paired up with the best mentor possible to help them get the most from the 2-month programme. Due to the relative short-time frame, we don’t see ourselves in the same light as bootcamps (these tend to be much much longer & more technical by their nature) however we do provide mentees with the expertise from people in the industry that know what it takes to succeed. Each mentor provides a few hours each week to their mentee – this would generally be over video calls (I’ve mentored people as far as Canada and Nigeria!). The mentor would look to understand what their mentee goals are and help develop the 8-week programme around the mentee’s long and short-term objectives.We encourage mentees to work on new or existing projects, this allows them to build up their portfolio, which alongside ‘industry visibility’ weeks, allows them to market themselves better on LinkedIn. Additionally, CV & interview preparation, helps put them in good stead for when they are ready to jump into their next role.BLACK VALLEY SOUNDS LIKE AN AMAZING ORGANISATION TO BE A PART OF; HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED?I came across Black Valley via Facebook quite by chance – it was during the covid lockdown that I saw a post by Leke asking for mentors willing to help inspire the next generation of black people within technology. As someone who has been in the software engineering industry for some time and already mentored a few friends myself, I jumped at the chance to be part of something bigger. We had an initial phone call and Leke explained to me what his vision was and I never looked back. Having mentored a number of people I’ve also since got involved with some of the decisions with interviewing people for the following cohorts. Due to the numbers of people applying for each cohort we unfortunately have to be quite selective however we do ask anyone who is unsuccessful to keep applying! Many of our best mentees have had to apply two or even three times to get on the programme! But as we grow and add more and more mentors to our community, we’ll be able to provide more and more mentees with the opportunities.I CAN IMAGINE A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD BE INSPIRED TO BECOME A MENTOR FOR BLACK VALLEY. CAN YOU TELL US HOW PEOPLE CAN GET INVOLVED AND WHAT KIND OF COMMITMENT IS REQUIRED?Literally anyone could be a mentor, there aren’t any requirements from the mentor all we ask is a commitment of around 2 hours per week. This will involve your lesson prep & the actual video call with your mentee – personally as I’ve enjoyed it so much, 2 hours a week soon became 3-4 hours a week as I saw the great progress my mentees were making. A lot of our mentors have come through word of mouth. I myself have reached out to and managed to get another colleague of mine to also take part in mentoring. This organic method has worked well and we get new mentors joining each month.IT SOUNDS LIKE BLACK VALLEY HAVE HELPED A LOT OF PEOPLE DISCOVER A NEW CAREER PATH AND I’M SURE PEOPLE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR SOME OF THE POSITIVE STORIES TO HAVE COME OUT OF THEIR WORK – IS THERE ONE PARTICULAR EXAMPLE THAT STANDS OUT TO YOU FROM THE WORK YOU’VE DONE?On our ‘Good News’ slack channel we hear so many positive stories from both mentors and mentees that it would be impossible to mention them all, there are just so many 🙂 However personally I had the pleasure to mentor Dennis Musange. Dennis and I first met in 2021, he is a Canadian student just finishing his studies and applied to Black Valley to give him the know-how to get his first software engineering job out of University. Even with the massive time-difference, we soon clicked and really enjoyed talking every weekend. Being big football fans (or soccer as he calls it) we both have a love for our beloved Arsenal football team (even though Arsenal hasn’t been blessed with much success over the years!)We sat down and spoke about what he wanted to achieve, he told me from the off that he wanted ‘to get his hands dirty’ so we went straight into creating a project that we could both work on and contribute to and this would become his ‘signature’ portfolio piece for potential future employers. I really wanted to challenge and push him, so we even picked a programming language and framework he wasn’t familiar with to build a small MVP – each week I’d set him goals and every week he’d go above and beyond the expectations I set. At the end of the 8-week cohort all of the mentees come together for a final ‘graduation’ video call. I was so happy with the progress of Dennis I asked him if he would like to showcase his work (he jumped at the chance!). Even after the cohort was finished, we kept in contact and I coached him through with his job applications and interviews. It wasn’t long before he told me the good news and that he had been hired to join a large software engineering team! It is those moments that make it all worthwhile for me, he is doing well and enjoying the role, hopefully in time he will even mentor others too.MAYBE A STUPID QUESTION, BUT DO YOU NEED TO COME FROM A PARTICULAR BACKGROUND TO GET INVOLVED IN BLACK VALLEY AS A MENTOR?Noooo of course not :). A few people have asked me this question before & we don’t care if mentors are black, white, blue or green (well… you might need to see a Doctor if you were green!?). We have mentors from all walks of life, as long as you are willing to give the time and pass on your wealth of knowledge to the next generation, we are more than happy to bring you on board!FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO PURSUE A CAREER IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, BUT DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO GET STARTED?Lots of people think that you need to go to university to work in software engineering – this simply isn’t true. The explosion of the web in the last decade has brought so many options for people that don’t (or can’t) take the ‘traditional university approach’. Many developers are self-taught and come through learning their skills through bootcamps, online tutorials and even the tried and trusted ‘reading books’ (although books aren’t so popular in 2022!). The main thing to remember is to keep at it – software engineering keeps evolving all the time and it can be hard to keep up, so I tell anyone that it is impossible to know everything but keep learning – if you improve your skills by 1% every day by the end of the year, you’d have made a massive improvement!FINALLY IS THERE A QUOTE, MANTRA OR ATTITUDE THAT YOU LIVE BY EVERYDAY? (THIS IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL, SO DON’T WORRY IF YOU DON’T HAVE ONE THAT COMES TO MIND INSTANTLY)While this has nothing to do with software engineering – it is my motto that I live by, a not-so famous comedian by the name of Stephen K Amos mentioned it once on a show and it has stuck with me & it is certainly how I approach the world. In life you have to ‘Find the funnies’ no matter what troubles life brings you always try to see the funny side & try to see the good in people. Living this way keeps me smiling & hopefully will lead to a very long & happy life!Thanks again for sharing Black Valley’s incredible work Gavin – you all rock! 🤘

A feel good story from Alexandra Wood this week 🥰We love to hear about someone – especially a woman – who’s had a great journey into the tech industry – surrounded by incredible mentors and learning new skills on the job…enter Alex! It’s so important to share these feel good stories to prove it CAN happen that way!Women Rock ambassador Izzy chatted with Alex last week about her journey and there’s some sound advice here for anyone looking to get into tech, including the importance of taking a break! In this case – making plum jam! We’ll await for our jar in the post Alex…Enjoy 🥰HEY ALEX! CAN YOU START WITH GIVING US AN INSIGHT INTO YOUR STORY SO FAR PLEASE?Sure! I started by doing a Maths degree, well actually, although I had really enjoyed my Maths GCSE and A-Level I didn’t think I would be able to do Maths at university level so I applied to study Adult Nursing originally. It turns out I didn’t really have the right personality or skills for nursing and I wasn’t enjoying it so I quit after about 6 months and applied to do Maths instead, it’s hard to know what you should do when you are 18 but maybe trust your gut instinct and try and ignore the “I can’t do this” thoughts, if you enjoy it then you probably can do it with a bit of commitment and hard work.Anyway, I studied Mathematics, I had the option with my course to do a placement year – I highly recommend doing this – I wasn’t so keen about the statistics side of Maths so I looked for something a bit different (the careers department at my university helped with this) and applied for a placement position with an engineering company called Renishaw, they placed me in the software department and that’s how it started. After the placement year had finished they offered me a graduate place and I went from there! I had an amazing team who taught me so much, I owe a lot to them. I worked primarily with C# on desktop applications, after 5 years there I decided it was time for a change and worked for a company building websites in C# using ASP.NET and Blazor, I’ve been there over 2 years and its now time to start the next challenge, still doing web but using a slightly different tech stack and for a different type of product.AWESOME. IT’S SO ENCOURAGING TO HEAR WHAT A GREAT START YOU HAD IN THE INDUSTRY. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE WORD “DIVERSITY” MEANS TO YOU PLEASE?It means different.Applied to a single person I think it would mean keeping yourself varied having lots of interests… a career is important but make sure you have other hobbies outside of work, a relationship with one person can be nice but make sure you regularly see friends and family too. Too much of one thing can be bad.Applied to the context of a team I think it means having a group of individuals who have contrasting but complimentary personalities so that they can work together to achieve the best possible outcome.IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE BIT OF ADVICE TO SOMEONE WHO’S THINKING ABOUT FORGING A CAREER IN TECH – WHAT WOULD IT BE?You don’t need to be obsessed with coding to have a career doing it, I really enjoy my job but I don’t code in my spare time and I rarely look at my computer outside of work hours unless I’m trying to learn about something.Also, it’s worth noting that there are a whole range of roles that make up a software team, to name the ones I’m familiar with: Business Analyst, Product Owner, Product Manager, Software Developers, Quality Assurance – there is such a variety of roles that even if you don’t feel that you are naturally a ‘tech’ person there is probably still a place for you, as I mentioned in the previous answer, for me diversity means different and different is good.GREAT TIPS! AND WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD BE DONE TO PROMOTE THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALES AND DIVERSE HIRES IN TECH?It’s difficult. Personally, I’ve never had any problems with being in software because I’m a woman, the men and women (mostly men) that I’ve worked with have always treated me with the same respect as they have others and I’ve not had problems getting hired. I think it probably boils down to what pathways are taken at a younger age and what a person feels they are capable of. I hadn’t thought I would be capable of doing a Maths degree but luckily I eventually went for it anyway and it worked out really well for me in the end. Telling others of the success stories I think helps, SR2’s Women Rock initiative is a great way to do this, it inspires confidence.THIS IS SO REFRESHING TO HEAR! IS THERE ANY ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT THIS INDUSTRY?For me nothing, I’ve had a great experience working in the tech industry. Pretty much everything I’ve needed for my job has been learnt as I’ve gone along and I’ve had fantastic mentors. The people I’ve come across in the tech industry are great – please don’t be afraid!YOU’VE MENTIONED HAVING AN AMAZING TEAM AT RENSHAW, BUT WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE?Friends and family.Family – my parents worked really hard to bring me and my sisters up, my whole family is really supportive, I just want to make them proudFriends – those who are also in software know so many things, they’ve been doing it a bit longer but I want to be able to have the confidence and knowledge they have so I can do my job as well as themWHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME?Lots of things! I’m lucky to have a garden so I do enjoy doing some gardening – I planted a small plum tree last autumn and made plum jam this summer. I decided I wanted to be able to make my own clothes so I am learning how to sew – to date I’ve made 1 top, 2 skirts and 1 dress, I’m in the progress of making a 3rd skirt (this is over a period of about 3 years so its slow progress). I have a dog so I walk most days and I like to go on longer walks with friends and family on the weekend. I also like to read, and to do Pilates and I like to make and eat nice food and sometimes I like just sitting and doing nothing at all.WOW! WHAT A WHOLESOME LOAD OF HOBBIES! DO YOU HAVE A MANTRA YOU LIVE BY?Don’t compare yourself to others, only compare yourself to you.It really doesn’t matter what other people are doing and if you try to constantly compare yourself to others you are probably going to make yourself unhappy, enjoy your achievements.Expressed much more poetically in Haemin Sunim’s ‘The Thing You Can See Only When You Slow Down’:“My dear young friend, please don’t feel discouraged just because you are slightly behind.Life isn’t a hundred-meter race against your friends, but a lifelong marathon against yourself.Rather than focusing on getting ahead of your friends, first try to discover your unique colour.”Wonderful words Alex – you rock 🤘

The conversation around the gender pay gap continues as the government’s latest gender pay gap report has revealed that last year, women in the UK were paid 90p for every £1 earned by a man – there is still so much to be done. However, there are other gaps we should also definitely be minding – like the class gap. And that is exactly what Heather Lockley from DWP is here to talk to us about! Heather’s passion for social mobility and championing leaders from working class backgrounds is apparent in her chat with Women Rock Ambassador Matt Fullford as she describes her own journey through education and into a STEM role she NEVER thought she would be in!You can’t help but feel empowered to do something new after reading Heather’s story…so we would like to take this moment to apologise for any career plot twists this week!!HEY HEATHER! THANKS SO MUCH FOR GETTING INVOLVED WITH WOMEN ROCK, WE FEEL LIKE THIS ONE IS GOING TO RESONATE WITH SO MANY! SO CAN YOU START WITH TELLING US ABOUT YOUR STORY SO FAR?Unsure how far to go back, but my story and feelings start on reflection from my upbringing!I’m from a single parent family and was the first member to go to university, so my journey through education was an experience I went through without much first hand knowledge and experience from family. My journey through education was interesting as I was diagnosed late with dyslexia during my A-levels.I’m now in a STEM job which is strange to think as I still to this day don’t quite consider myself a techie. It wasn’t what I thought I’d be doing as back in school I wanted to be a barrister!I graduated with a degree in Philosophy which meant my career choices were quite open. I heard about the Civil Service fast stream programme, which was a way for graduates to train in several disciplines and was able to get on to that scheme.I essentially fell into a Business Analyst role after my first 9 months which really led me down the path to where I am now as a Product Manager working on the Universal Credit service in DWP.FOR THOSE OUT THERE THAT MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY FAMILIAR WITH THE ROLE OF A MODERN PRODUCT MANAGER, WHAT DOES YOUR DAY TO DAY LOOK LIKE?I think a Product Manager is someone who’s responsibility it is to figure out what the most valuable thing is for a user and a business. Then the rest of our job is bringing lots of people together to educate and inspire them to bring them on the journey.BEING SOMEONE WHO ENGAGES WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF THE TECHNOLOGY WORLD, HOW DO YOU FIND THE DIVERSITY SPLIT WITHIN CIVIL SERVICE?I’ve personally had a very good experience throughout DWP and HMRC. Generally, our make-up is a 50:50 split, however, the types of roles that women tend to hold in tech are on the business facing side of things such as BA’s, Product, Content, Design etc.Almost exclusively developers have been male with a couple of women front-end devs or QA’s.HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN CHANGE THE NARRATIVE TO ALLOW AN EASIER ENTRY FOR WOMEN INTO TECHNOLOGY?The challenge when talking about technical roles is that people don’t often have the ability to re-train once you’re in the workplace without taking a hit on your progression or pay. So you have to combat this is by capturing women before they enter the workplace and giving girls role models. There are fantastic organisations like “girls who code” that try to combat this, but I don’t think it’s systemic yet from a school curriculum standpoint.When I was at school, ICT classes weren’t about how to build software, it was all about how to use software which is the wrong strategy altogether. That wasn’t all that long ago (kind of!) so it feels like we’ve got some catching up to do in the UK on that front!WHAT COULD BE A MAJOR DIFFERENTIATOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE EDUCATED ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THIS IF NOT PRESENTED THROUGHOUT SCHOOL?I’m passionate about social mobility and I’m proud of being a woman in tech from a working class background. A big barrier for me when coming into the workplace was that I didn’t have many professional role models as my family were in different types of jobs. It wasn’t until I went to university and met some of my friends and their parents that I had my first civil service and tech role models.I’m most passionate about working-class children seeing themselves as leaders. In my opinion the class gap is far bigger than the gender gap now. For example, in the BBC it’s less than one fifth of employees are from a working-class background which is crazy to think about, given its influence on society. I would like to see more conversations about class diversity in organisations, and how we can encourage more working class people in professional environments. Diversity of thought, gender, class, race etc are all so important for building public services that properly represent the people we serve.WE’VE SPOKEN A LOT ABOUT ROLE MODELS AND WE KNOW THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT! DO YOU HAVE A STAND-OUT ROLE MODEL THAT HAS PLAYED A HUGE IMPACT IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?Yes. I have two, maybe three!I have such a great privilege through DWP. Their female leaders are truly exceptional. In my first universal credit piece of work, we had two outstanding leaders. Deborah Boore and Lara Sampson. Lara was what became our Head of Product and Deborah was our Head of Operations. I’ve worked with them both multiple times throughout my career and they’re the people that drastically improved my confidence and belief in myself. Deborah is now a Director at DWP, and Lara is a Partner at Public Digital.If there’s room for a 3rd one, I need to mention Nancy Kelley. She is now the CEO for Stonewall but we worked together for a short time in DWP and she had a huge influence on me. Her background and knowledge and the way she thought so inclusively about so many groups of people when building a public service was impactful and has influenced how I managed public services even now.WHAT ARE YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS (PROFESSIONAL OR PERSONAL)?Personal – raised just short of £5000 for ovarian cancer due to an impact in my family.Macro – I’m privileged to be in a position I never thought I’d be in as a child.Micro – nominated for young digital professional of the year, for my role in the Kickstart programme.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOMEN STARTING OUT IN TECH?“Take up space” – advice that Nancy Kelley gave to me early in my career and I always come back to it.WHAT QUOTE OR MANTRA DO YOU LIVE BY?Have the confidence to put yourself forward. It’s very rare people get plucked from obscurity so you have to put yourself forwards and advocate for yourself, even when it feels uncomfortable.Right, we’re off to get uncomfortable! Thanks Heather – you rock! 

We are all to aware of the struggles lots of women face when trying to juggle childcare with work, not just logistically but also mentally. There may not be a simple solution for everyone, but here at Women Rock we make it our mission to speak to like-minded women in tech that are navigating this very journey, in hope that these stories resonate and offer advice and inclusivity. Just like Charlotte Richmond’s story! Charlotte share’s her experience with Women Rock Ambassador Aoibheann and also talks about her journey from Mental Health Nursing to an internal recruiter and how understanding mental health is crucial when building teams and businesses…HEY CHAR! DELIGHTED TO BE SPEAKING WITH YOU AND SHARING A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR CAREER JOURNEY SO FAR. A GREAT PLACE TO START IS YOUR AWESOME “ORIGIN STORY”. SO, TELL ME HOW YOU WENT FROM STUDYING MENTAL HEALTH NURSING TO TECH RECRUITMENT TO YOUR CURRENT ROLE AS HEAD OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND WELLBEING IN A TECH & DATA COMPANY?When I left school, I had no idea what I wanted to do… I just knew that I wanted to work with people. I took some time out to travel and worked in a local recruitment agency before a friend told me about Mental Health Nursing. It sounded perfect for me so off I went to complete my training at the University of Hertfordshire.Life doesn’t always take us in the most direct of paths and I found myself on a bit of a zig zag journey after uni. I worked for a charity but was struggling financially to support myself, so ended up joining a consultancy in their in-house recruitment team.I spent 10 years working in internal recruitment, the skills I gained studying and working in mental health really came in handy for growing teams and businesses. I always worked with wellbeing at the forefront and last year the time felt right to move away from the recruitment element of my role and focus in on engagement and wellbeing.YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD A CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE ADJUSTING TO LIFE AS A WORKING PARENT IN TECH. HAS THAT EXPERIENCE SHAPED HOW YOU SUPPORT WORKING PARENTS IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT AIIMI?Most definitely. I have always used the phrase “it takes a village” when talking about raising my daughter, and Aiimi is a huge part of my village! I struggled with juggling childcare, a partner working shifts, commuting into the city 4 days a week… I could go on! Luna was 14 months old when I joined Aiimi and they gave me the space I needed to be both a mother and a employee. My approach to others in the company that are starting or growing their family has been led by that example. I take the time to understand what their specific needs are and then work with them to get the right support in place, adapting as needed as any working parent will know it is never a smooth ride!(Here is a blog I wrote about it for context if this helps 😊)A LOT OF WORKPLACES MAY SAY THAT THEY SUPPORT THEIR EMPLOYEES WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH, BUT IT’S ONE THING TO “TALK THE TALK” AND A WHOLE OTHER THING TO ACTUALLY CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY CAN BE OPEN AND ACTUALLY ASK FOR SUPPORT IF THEY NEED IT! HOW COULD SOMEONE GO ABOUT CREATING A SUPPORTIVE WORKPLACE?Openness and honesty is key to this, but it really needs to be driven from the top down. Seeing our CEO, Steve Salvin, talk about his own journey with their mental health in my first month at Aiimi was such an eye opener! From there, other people started opening up and soon I found myself standing up at a team meeting talking about counselling I was having via Aiimi and encouraging others to seek support if they needed it. Fostering a safe environment to talk about mental health isn’t easy and takes time, we are always working at getting this right, seeking feedback, adapting as needed. It should be seen as an ongoing process that needs to be nurtured.FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO PERHAPS DON’T HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON SPECIFIC MENTAL HEALTH POLICY IN THEIR WORKPLACE, WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO THEM TO SUPPORT THEIR OWN MENTAL WELLBEING AT WORK?If I were in this situation I would consider who might have the influence needed to impact change and speak to them. Rallying others who are similarly passionate about mental wellbeing in the workplace and seeing if as a collective you could be more impactful would be my advice. Setting up an internal initiative that focuses on finding ways to support both yourselves and each other can be a great starting point and is likely to open up ways of looking after your own mental health that you wouldn’t have come across otherwise.AS A CAREER CHANGER MYSELF, I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR HOW OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR OWN CAREER TRANSITIONS AND WHAT ADVICE THEY’D GIVE TO OTHERS. IF THERE’S SOMEONE READING THIS WHO WANTS TO BREAK INTO TECH BUT DOESN’T KNOW WHERE TO START, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM?Research, research, research! Really take the time to understand what it is you want to do in tech, where you want to do, the type of company you want to work for, the values they have and how the align to you. Once you narrow down the field, tech is a much less daunting place and you can then do a really focused search and find the right role, at the right company that will see you flourish in your new role in tech!FINALLY, ARE THERE ANY QUOTES/MANTRAS/WORDS OF WISDOM THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR WOMEN ROCKERS?Something I wish I had realised earlier on in my career is that you don’t always need to know everything about a job to be able to do it… sometimes having the passion and drive to gain the experience on the job is just as attractive to an employer!We couldn’t agree more! Thanks Char – you rock! 

Meet Tim. He’s an engineer, a technologist and a management consultant. Husband, a father and a brother and a runner, a woodworker and VW camper van enthusiast – maybe not in that order! He’s also been a huge advocate of Diversity and Inclusion for the whole of his career – our kind of guy! Women Rock Ambassador Ryan, chatted with Tim about everything from fighting for fairness – to the mind-blowing legalities surrounding homosexuality underneath Thatcher’s reign as PM in the early 90’s. It’s a fascinating read – get stuck in!HI TIM. THANKS SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH US! COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE AN INTRODUCTION TO YOURSELF?Whenever I’m asked to introduce myself I’m reminded of the Jack Nicholson character in Anger Management who puts increasing amounts of pressure on Adam Sandler’s character to “Tell us about yourself”. Not what he does, or where he works, or his his hobbies, or his personality… “Who are you Dave?”It feels like we are always under pressure to define ourselves so that others can decide if they want to get to know us or listen to our story. That’s hard because it means that we’re always second guessing our audience and trying to conform to our perceptions of what other people might think about us. So with that in mind, here is me on a few different dimensions.I’m an engineer, a technologist and a management consultant.I’m a husband, a father and a brother.I’m a runner, a woodworker and VW camper van enthusiast.I’ve built chemical plants, made shampoo, helped save jobs, implemented IT projects, transformed working practices and been part of building some amazing teams.I’m an ageing rude-boy, a left-wing idealist and an optimist who looks for the silver-lining in every cloud.Importantly in this context: I’m a middle aged, middle class, straight, white man that wants to use whatever privilege I have to fight for fairness, equality and opportunity for all.BEST INTRO EVER! WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?I’m not big into self-help or management books but a friend recently recommended Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman who wrote for The Guardian for years and who’s columns I used to look forward to reading.It’s a hugely positive and uplifting book once you get past the stark reality that the average, human lifespan – at least in the part of the world that I’m lucky enough to live in – is just 4,000 weeks.This isn’t a direct quote but it sums up the message that I took away from the book. “You are going to die and your life will amount to nothing in the grand scheme of things. Now go and do something that really matters to you with the time you have”This isn’t about contemplating what higher meaning we should be searching for, or a hedonistic licence to do whatever we want. It’s about looking at what is important to us, the things that we feel we can and want to contribute to. That might be as a partner, a carer, an entrepreneur or an employee. But equally it might be as an activist, a campaigner or a revolutionary. No matter what the history books say, the best that most of us can hope for is to be thought of with love by those that we have touched as we pass through this world so we should focus our efforts on that not trying to hack our productivity and respond to every email and IM that comes our way.YOU ARE PART OF NTT DATA’S DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STEERCO, COULD YOU TELL ME HOW YOU BECAME PART OF THAT AND YOUR MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THIS?I have been active in various aspects of what would now be called D&I initiatives since being part of a team that re-wrote The Boots Company’s “equal opportunity policy” in the early 1990s.This was at a time when Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government had introduced Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 that made it illegal for schools to “promote homosexuality” or “promote the teaching… of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. This was awful for young people growing up who had their identities denied and were left with no one to talk to at a very confusing part of their lives.We worked with Stonewall and several other FTSE100 companies to include LGBT equality alongside gender and ethnic equality for the first time in the company’s history. This was a huge step for what had been a very conservative business and I remember very clearly going out celebrating to a club in Nottingham with gay friends the night the board signed it off; we couldn’t believe what we had achieved within that environment and in the prevailing political climate.A few years ago a colleague, and I’m proud to say friend, within NTT DATA, was setting up a D&I initiative. Kim Gray is an absolute visionary in this space and took the approach that this should be a grassroots-led initiative rather than a top-down, corporate mandate. She recruited various of us on the leadership team to sponsor initiatives and to support the actions of those who stepped forward to participate.Thanks to Kim’s leadership we now have active Women’s Business Network, LGBT+ and Allies Network, Cultural and Ethnicity Network, Mental Health and Wellbeing Network, and an emerging Neurodiversity Network.I am very proud to sponsor the LGBT+ and Allies Network that has been brilliantly led by a couple of colleagues over the years, initially Paul Barwick-Copeland and now Gareth Lewis-Jones. My job is really to find budget, remove organisational barriers and say “yes” to the amazing ideas around education and celebration that emerge from within the community. When I consider the progress this country has made from when I started work to where we are now I am hopeful that my children will get to work in a genuinely inclusive environment where “equal opportunities” policies and D&I initiatives are, eventually, no longer needed.COULD YOU PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF THE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES YOU ORGANISE?The things that we do fall into three overlapping categories: education, networking and celebration.On the education front we make a point of sharing individual stories and highlighting key aspects of the LGBT+ journey during LGBT+ History Month and days like IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) and the International Day of Pink.We’re a sponsor of the myGwork community which is an LGBT+ networking platform and we regularly organise networking events internally and with client and partner organisations.Finally, we celebrate. Often! We organise events for Pride and regular informal get-togethers as well. The emphasis is on inclusivity and the invite regularly goes out to the all-company distribution list.WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE IMPORTANCE OF RUNNING ACTIVITIES LIKE THIS?I recall a conversation with a colleague a few years ago. He told me that he didn’t attend the get-togethers because he didn’t want to be defined by his sexuality in work. He then confessed to feeling guilty for not supporting them as the knowledge that they happened and that this was something that his employer was actively supporting was very important to him. It was one of the reasons that he loved working for the company.The real importance for me is in keeping D&I initiatives and changing behaviours at the top of the agenda. It is important that we keep creating and supporting safe spaces where people can share stories, seek support or just celebrate together with colleagues, friends and allies. And it’s really important that the company shows that its support is both active and genuine.WHAT AREA OF D&I ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT?The topic that I keep coming back to is “fairness”.The whole point of D&I initiatives, to me, is to create an equal workplace, organisation and society. That means equal opportunity, equal treatment and equal rights. It also means that people need to see themselves reflected in their leadership, arts and society to know that the opportunity really exists and to have role models to learn from. It means that we have to remove conscious and unconscious bias so that everyone is treated with respect and in a way that enables them to flourish. It means that fairness, which is very much a two-way principle, is enshrined in every way of working, policy document and law.I read a brilliant book recently about the Slung Low theatre company in Holbeck near Leeds. The Club On The Edge Of Town tells how the theatre company did a deal with the Holbeck Working Men’s Club to take over the running of the club in exchange for creating a performance space. Because they followed through on their principles of fairness they ended up running a non-means tested food-bank supporting the families of Holbeck and beyond.Their principles are: ”Be kind. Be useful. Everyone gets what they want, but no one else gets to stop others getting what they want.” which emphasises the two-way nature of fairness. As Alan Lane, the Artistic Director of Slung Low says in the book “no one gets opera until every child has crayons”.YOU HAVE DONE SOME AMAZING THINGS IN YOUR LIFE AND CAREER TO DATE. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT?I am always proud when I see others carrying on something that I started. While the LGBT+ and Allies Network takes a lot of organising in the background, it is now being done by a passionate group of volunteers who are making it their own. I’m asked for my input but the team have strong ideas about what they want the Network to be and that is as it should be.I’m proud to have been part of starting and enabling the journey and I feel the same about many of the causes that I’ve been part of over the years and now have differing levels of involvement in.AND FINALLY, YOU ARE A PRETTY KNOWLEDGEABLE HUMAN BEING! WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?My stand-out book of the last few years though has to be Benjamin Zephaniah’s autobiography, “The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah”. I have long been a fan of his poetry, first his performance work and then the written stuff. I’ve also deeply admired, and tried to emulate, the thoughtful and compassionate way that he addresses issues of equality and rails against the inequalities that he sees around him, taking practical steps to address them as well as using his platform to lend weight to the cause.It’s a harrowing read of what it was like growing up in a racist culture where opportunity wasn’t just denied, it was taken away based on issues of race and class. It is also a message of hope and love, and the redemptive power of both of those. It made me realise (all over again) the importance of using whatever privilege we have to create solidarity with those who don’t enjoy the same opportunities.Thanks Tim – you absolutely rock!

What do you get when cross a huge “Passion” for people and a genuine curiosity in the Tech and Engineering sector? You get Eva Spexard, Head of HR at Passion.io.Women Rock Ambassador Cameron had the pleasure of meeting Eva via their LinkedIn communities to talk all things culture and diversity within the workplace, specifically how we can makes things easier for women to succeed without sacrificing – a topic very close to our hearts!HEY EVA! THANKS SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE YOUR STORY. CAN YOU BEGIN WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE PLEASE?Sure! I’m Eva, currently Head of HR at Passion.io and I’m more or less born into a People and Culture position in Tech/Engineering. My mom is an HR Manager and my dad is an Electrical Engineer that moved into development (he has always been very eager to teach me how to do anything from changing light bulbs up to developing code for the big cutting machines his company sells).Now as you can see today, my passion for people and work environments was a little stronger and I decided to start my first role after my studies in recruitment. I was responsible for the E-mobility sector in the company I worked for at that time and learned how fulfilling it is to help people find a job they can thrive in and see them succeed.In the following years I worked in HR consulting and as an international HR professional, all mainly in Tech and Engineering companies until I joined Passion at the beginning of this year and I can say that I’ve really “found my home” here, as one of my amazing team members always says.AND HOW HAVE YOU SEEN REMOTE WORKING AND FLEXIBILITY FUEL ED&I, MAKING IT EASIER FOR WOMEN SPECIFICALLY TO SUCCEED WITHOUT SACRIFICING?Remote working and flexibility are great tools to enable ED&I. It can give companies access to the talent they usually would not have access to (in different countries and locations and from diverse backgrounds, not just the people that are within a commuting distance from your offices). It can also increase women’s ability to advance in their careers by offering more flexibility to work from anywhere and anytime. It can make them less dependent on a certain location and its availability of child care and nursing services – women are still the primary caregivers in our society.All that while saving them time and cost to commute to an office and not having to make that work with pick-up times at schools and day care. The accessibility of remote work can also open new opportunities for those who aren’t able to afford transportation costs or for people that are neurodivergent or people with disabilities. This goes hand in hand with a culture that encourages flexibility, of course, async work, autonomy, parental/caregiver leave, mental health support, and so on and so forth.It absolutely doesn’t mean that remote work is the solution to everything and for everyone and there are certainly many things we as a society need to improve on to make it easier for women to access certain industries and roles but it can be one tool to attract and also support women with whatever their career aspirations might be without them having to sacrifice other aspects of their life.FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE HOW IMPORTANT IS DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE?It’s not even a question of importance for me – it is absolutely vital for any company from my point of view. Companies that don’t make it a top priority will not survive the next 5 years, if you always do what you did because you hire the same people you always hired and promote the people you always promoted your workplace and company will not be able to adapt to the always changing reality. Diversity is THE number one advantage when it comes to building a culture that fuels the success of an organization from my experience. It drives innovation and enables challenging conversations that more often than not lead to positive changes, learnings, and improvements.WHO IS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON/PERSONS IN YOUR EARLY CAREER?I did my LL.M. in Labour Law and my M.Sc. in Business Psychology both at the same time while I was working full time between 2016 and 2019. Looking back, it was one of the toughest times for me and also one of the most stupid decisions I made in my life (would not recommend it, like seriously :D). Anyways, during this time I had a professor at university that was an absolute role model for me. She was different from other profs, more relatable and not afraid to say “I don’t know” or “I’m sorry I’m late, it’s because…”. She told us about her mistakes and learnings, how she struggled and then found her way. How difficult it can be for a woman in a male-dominated environment. That did not make her look weak or less professional, it only made her students open up to her more, build trust and do the best work they can. That was when I realized I want to be that kind of leader and contribute to making the world of work a little bit better.IT’S PRETTY CLEAR YOU’VE DONE SOME PRETTY COOL THINGS IN OUR CAREER SO FAR! WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?Personally, I am super proud I managed to walk the Bright Angels trail into the Grand Canyon and back up (where back up is the actual achievement here haha). It was a pretty cool experience for me because it showed me once again how much we can achieve if we really really want it. But also that it only works if we have the right support and environment. It’s a little bit like a career you really want and you’re willing to work hard for it but if no one shows you it’s possible, gives you a chance, a map and some good shoes, you’re set up for failure.Professionally my proudest achievement is probably my current role at Passion. I always wanted to be in a People & Culture role that allows me to create a culture and environment that is diverse and inclusive and where people can bring their whole authentic selves to work. No bs, no work-face. An environment that is willing to learn and improve. One of our values at Passion is #levelup and I think that’s exactly what every organization, CEO and people leader can do when it comes to ED&I and for instance women in tech: aim to get better and find ways to improve. Some amazing takeaways there – thanks Eva you rock! 

Kate Ratcliffe is here to prove you can be a woman, have a family, be a great leader and support other women at the start of their careers in the tech industry – read that again! Kate has been working in Product Management for the past 10 years and is Head of Product Management at Eagle Eye – a marketing tech company that works with retail and hospitality companies, helping them develop their loyalty and promotions programmes. Women Rock Ambassador Doug spoke to Kate about her love for the tech industry and the incredible Purple Women community – a platform to develop women’s careers in tech and allow them to reach their full potential.HEY KATE! COULD YOU START WITH GIVING US A LITTLE INTRODUCTION ABOUT YOU AND EAGLE EYE?I grew up in a small village in Lancashire and was always pretty academic, so I knew I wanted to go to a great university to get my degree but honestly, I didn’t have a clue what I would do once I graduated. Once I finished university I decided to look into graduate schemes for inspiration and stumbled upon one focused on Product. I quickly fell in love with working in Product Management and 10 years later, I still feel the same. Now I am Head of Product Management at Eagle Eye.Eagle Eye is a marketing tech company that works with fantastic retail and hospitality companies around the world, helping them develop their loyalty and promotions programmes. It’s our tech that powers initiatives such as Pret A Manger’s coffee subscription scheme and Asda’s loyalty program. It’s my role to help Eagle Eye define and develop products and solutions that deliver true value to our clients.WHAT IS IT LIKE AS A WOMAN IN TECH WORKING FOR EAGLE EYE?I LOVE being a woman in tech at Eagle Eye. We have a 50/50 gender split in the product team which is amazing. I truly believe the best, high performing teams are diverse; diversity brings rich skillsets, better communication and problem solving. Our senior leadership team is also filled with incredible women who, on a daily basis show you can be a woman, have a family, be a great leader and support other women at the start of their careers.WHAT ARE EAGLE EYE DOING TO HELP WITH D+I?We have an ERG group which has provided education and awareness on our diverse group of employees. We’ve learned about different religious festivals, veganism, had some emotional speeches on the Black Lives Matter movement and have now set up a successful women’s ERG group called the Purple Women.Our Purple Women have implemented a new Family Friendly Policy covering topics such as enhanced maternity and paternity pay, the menopause, flexible working and work experience. They have also been looking at ways to attract more women into the tech sector to try to boost the number of applications we receive from female candidates.We’ve taken small steps such as adding a slide in our job description deck with a statement around being able to offer flexibility and consider applications from candidates who don’t feel they necessarily meet all the suitability criteria for the role, plus advertising the Purple Women’s Family Friendly Policy and all its benefits.Lastly, whilst not yet required by law to report on the Gender Pay Gap, we have started looking at this internally and using the data to inform our own salary reviews annually.WHAT IS YOUR PURPLE WOMEN ERG GROUP AND HOW WILL IT IMPACT LIFE AT EAGLE EYE?Our Purple Women group was established to represent the incredible ladies in our business and make Eagle Eye a great place for our Purple Women to work. It’s a community that is everything from a friendship group and support network, to a platform for us to develop our women and allow them to reach their full potential.WHAT HAVE YOU AND YOUR TEAM DONE NOW THAT COVID RESTRICTIONS HAVE ENDED?I actually had my first baby during lockdown so whilst remote working has been incredible in terms of easing back into work after maternity leave, I couldn’t wait to get back to the office to see everyone. In the last couple of months we have got the whole team together for a delayed Christmas party at Flight Club, and Google hosted us for a storytelling workshop and team builder activity which was great.We are also having our first in-person Company Day in 3 years in July where we fly all of our international team over to the UK and get together for 4 days of teambuilding. I am so looking forward to finally meeting all of our new team members in the flesh.FINALLY, CAN YOU LEAVE US WITH YOUR FAVOURITE SAYING / QUOTE THAT REALLY SUMS UP YOUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE AS A WOMAN IN TECH?If you think something nice about someone, tell them. Small acts of genuine kindness are exactly what the world needs right now. Thanks Kate! Keep rocking!