Did you enjoy school?
I think I enjoyed primary school the most, secondary school less so, but sixth form most definitely! My approach to STEM education advocacy comes from the privilege I gained in childhood positive formative STEM experiences in and out of school.
What qualifications do you have?
I always had a fascination with getting creative, building things, and understanding how things worked, so I loved Maths and ICT. I did GCSEs in those subjects aged 10 and then A-levels at 11, and was the youngest ever person to achieve a Masters in Mathematics and Computer Science at Oxford aged 20. I also have some professional qualifications like Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
It only dawned on me just before university that I could be paid full-time to work in technology. Since that point, it’s been a meandering journey. There have been some nice views, and some lovely highlights along the way, as well as a few dicey moments!
What specific challenges do you see women facing in the industry?
Women face a huge number of challenges, from not being listened to or validated or valued, to the copious amount of unpaid labour many women have to do outside work. Most women in technology have witnessed a lot of gatekeeping, where if you don’t fit a particular mould, it’s seen as that you have nothing to contribute. This manifests itself in everything from the way job descriptions are written to the way promotions are handed out.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
The most important career advice I can give is to ask forgiveness, not permission. It’s really easy to fall into the habit of asking people if you’re allowed to do things, but life is better if you do your research, get on with doing it, and then ask for forgiveness afterwards. The fact is that if you ask people for permission they will instinctively say no, even when most of the time the answer should be yes. Also remember that people are messy. You can never interpret their actions towards you as a reflection of what you have said or done. There are many, many factors impacting how others act towards you. Most of these are outside of your control.
If you had to pick one mentor that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?
Dame Stephanie Shirley, who came to England in 1939 on the Kindertransport and became a pioneer in computing, is my role model. She ran a company composed largely of female programmers in the 60s. Despite the circumstances – like not being allowed to open a bank account or start a business without the permission of a husband or father, they worked incredibly hard on significant projects and delivered results.
From where do you draw inspiration?
What really inspires me is the stories we receive from our alumni at Stemettes. We have had stories where young people have been able to buy a home for the first time in their family thanks to the skills they have learned. From Stemettes, we hear all the time about how people have discovered cyber and built careers, doing everything from creative roles to leading technical teams. That keeps me going.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
Managing people and hiring people are two of the biggest challenges I face. Hiring is one of the most difficult tasks I do, and I am never sure that I get it fully right. I’m always looking for people who can learn things and skill up. With what we do, you would assume I’d look for technical people, but actually I look more for people with the right ethos and the right attitude.
What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?
The things that make a good leader start with good listening. Listen to people; synthesise that information to make good decisions. I’m always working on improving my listening skills. I also embrace mistakes. I believe that mistakes are a useful vehicle for learning, and that all too often in life, we see the value of ‘making a mistake’ underestimated and undermined.
From a work viewpoint, what has the last 12 months been like?
We have been operating in a more precarious environment than we previously were. Several organisations in our space have closed in the last 12 months and lots of good practice, collaborators and knowledge have disappeared. We’re definitely in an ebb, rather than flow in the STEM third sector. Work on diversity and equity is rolling back – I’m expectant of more progress though – it’s necessary.
What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?
The biggest tech-based challenge we face today is not valuing the diversity of humanity in our processes, in our priorities and as part of our collective responsibility. There is so much power in technology over our society, that if we do not have the female perspective, as well as diverse experiences and viewpoints as part of the assumptions we make as technologists, we are creating harm.
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
In our work at Stemettes, we show young women and nonbinary people role models who are already working in STEM professions, and offer them hands-on experiences, which allow them to explore hidden aspects of potential tech careers. Stemettes recently worked with Lenovo to deliver 40 high-end laptops for use in Stemettes events and hackathons, which aim to address the imbalance in Britain’s STEM workforce. By getting young girls, women and non-binary people involved in a hands-on, fun way, they are able to build skills for the future and get to see themselves in these professions. Ultimately, the most important thing for keeping women in the industry is to ensure that they are paid equally. Everything else will flow from that.
Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know.
I categorically hate travelling and always have done, and I really have never experienced or understood the travel bug. But I now constantly travel domestically and internationally, and I know it’s a privilege. I’ve always felt like I’m missing out if I’m not at home in London. Travelling for Stemettes has taught me things about life, introduced me to differing views, and introduced me to new inspirations for our work and impact.
