Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
My career was on a fairly smooth trajectory until the company that I worked for collapsed while I was on maternity leave. I had been technical manager, responsible for a significant engineering function but my confidence took a hit after redundancy and I did not feel able to apply for roles at a similar level on a part time basis. It took me a long time to build up my confidence again and to reach a similar level of seniority.
What specific challenges do you see women facing in the industry?
To stereotype a bit, women often have softer skills that are proven to be very effective in in leadership roles and in teamworking, but these skills are not always valued by our male counterparts, which can make career progression tricky. I also think that managing career breaks in such a fast moving industry is also a challenge. I didn’t feel able to take much time off when my daughter was born in case my tech knowledge was out of date when I tried to return, although I do think this is an area that has improved in recent years and most employers are now more supportive and are keen to retain our skills and experience.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
Don’t try to have a fixed plan but take opportunities.
From where do you draw inspiration?
I have been lucky to have worked for and been mentored by some inspiring technical leaders who have encouraged me to believe that I can succeed.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
My work on ESMCP has been a huge challenge. We have faced technical, commercial and legal issues as well as an enormous amount of external scrutiny over many years. The challenge for me has been to support and lead my team through everything that has been thrown at the programme and to keep them joined up and motivated – it’s definitely a marathon, not a sprint.
From a work viewpoint, what has the last 12 months been like?
The last year has been quite exciting. My team has moved from supporting a huge procurement exercise into the design phase of the project, which is very refreshing. It’s great to be discussing technology related decisions rather than procurement risks!
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
We need more role models in technology. My daughter is pursuing a career in civil engineering; whilst she would claim that is because she didn’t want to do ‘boring’ engineering like me (or my husband who is a software engineer), I think it’s at least in part because civil engineering has been better at providing visible role models on TV, for example.
