WOMEN ROCK.

Developing curiosity helps a child to be willing and able to continually grow, learn and question what is around them. So when Gaia Armellin started exploring her granny's loft she stumbled across piles of magazines. Fascinated by the layouts, storytelling images and psychology, that was the moment Gaia realised her passion for design...and boy did it grow. Now Principle UX and Chapter Lead at Backbase, Gaia manages the design consultancy team, supports client projects and even has time to promote internal initiatives. And if that isn't enough, she is also a mentor, offering free career and UX coaching to UX designers looking for their first job or transitioning careers - which is clear based on all the AMAZING takeaways, scattered throughout her story!  Why don't we all take ten minutes today to revisit our inner-child passions and see if they are related to what we love today... TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR JOB AND WHAT A DAY IN THE LIFE LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU? I work as Principal UX and Chapter Lead for the Customer Success Europe team of Backbase, a global fintech company in the financial industry. The role entails managing the design consultancy team (e.g. building the team, growing talents, on and offboarding, creating regional UX strategy...);  supporting clients' projects (e.g. handling escalations); and driving or promoting internal initiatives mainly related to the Backbase UX Guild and other departments. Usually, my day starts at 9:00, checking emails and Slack messages. I quickly triage the requests, handle the most important ones then jump into calls with other UX leads to align on initiatives and work on to-dos. From 11 am until lunch I'm generally free, to work on such initiatives, create workshops, and take care of urgent demands. After lunch, I have biweekly 1:1s with my reports, interviews with new candidates, meetings with department leaders to align on initiatives and work on to-do's, or supporting projects with design consultancy. The end of my day is focused on writing documentation and knowledge sharing (e.g. new career framework, UX WOW,...). Every day is different and there are always unexpected challenges that come up. This is what makes it interesting :)  HOW AND WHY DID YOU GET INTO DESIGN? It's a long story but for time's sake, it's thanks to hours spent in my granny's attic. When we visited her, I sneaked up there where grandma stored piles of magazines. I was fascinated by the ads. The layouts, storytelling images, the psychology and intention behind it. It was all so compelling.  My love for design sprung from psychology and visuals, but it stuck because it's an incredibly wide topic. How the medium influence design, how to create a service, how business and finance impact decisions, how to work with politics and cultures…It's a never-ending learning experience. WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU THINK WOMEN FACE IN THE DESIGN INDUSTRY? HOW DO YOU THINK THESE CHALLENGES SHOULD BE TACKLED?  Premise: 1- I don’t feel comfortable answering for the whole “women” category as I assume challenges are different based on world regions, cultural and societal backgrounds, and working industries. For this question, I’ll use my experience only, and being solely my experience and privileged, it’ll be biased and limited. 2- As much as we're pushing for inclusion, the design industry for tech and banking is still largely male-dominated. Therefore, to tackle women's challenges we should first solve the systemic issues of this male-dominated industry but that's too wide of a topic for here. Having set the premise, I can now deep-dive into the daily challenges because they act as symptoms of the root cause and they are more easily recognizable..  Paternalization and not being taken seriously. At times, it's about warnings and forecasts about risks management being laughed at, or peers utterly unaware of context and problematics explaining my job to me; at times, it's about not being accepted as a manager, or having to patch up the backlash peers received for not following direct instructions; at times it's being told women are good at something just because of gender. My way of tackling this is the UX way - by taking a step back, observing, asking questions, and gathering data to understand why men are acting that way. What part of my message is not clear? What part of me are they reacting to? And what part of their human experience (memories, fears…) is present in the interaction? This plus morphing into what the audience feels familiar lower barriers and make space for human connection beyond stereotypes, first impressions, and biases.Sexualization and focus on looks & appearance. Although I live in the Netherlands and my work experience is mainly in northern Europe where gender bias is lower than in other countries, it truly makes a difference in what clothes I wear and how I present myself at work, especially at events or client meetings. It’s fairly usual to be told that I look tired when not wearing make-up or that the first thing noticed is the attire. Worse cases are colleagues addressing me inappropriately at the workplace, making suggestive comments during interviews with candidates, or in work communication channels. However, these comments come from any gender and they seem more related to the societal normalization of focusing primarily on looks than anything else. Not being woman enough, but also not being man enough. Any person can incorporate a plethora of sides that make external expectations based on gender stereotypes limiting and biased. Hence, hearing about how caring, pleasant, and accommodating I should be being a woman is quite funny, as much as it is being told that I’m not aggressive enough, that I should be more dominant, and less emotional if I want to go ahead. Violence or physical risks. In some regions of the world, challenges may lead to abuse. For example, while hiring in Saudi Arabia, we discussed in depth the option of having a full-male design team in order to ensure the safety of each person when visiting clients. We then decided to hire female UXers and arrange for stronger preparation for them and any other category at risk. I’d like to stress that these negative experiences are a limited number in a much wider positive pool.  WHAT HAS INSPIRED YOU TO GET INTO THE TECH/DESIGN INDUSTRY? It happened by chance. My background was variegated and I just knew I wanted to work for an international company with international clients because these places overflow with innovation, creativity in the wider sense, and a growth mindset. Once I spoke with Andreas Gerolemou, I knew I wanted to learn from him and that’s why Backbase was my choice. DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR PEOPLE COMING INTO THE DESIGN SPACE THAT THINK IT MAY BE TOO OVERWHELMING? Be patient with yourself. It’s good to be hungry and ambitious, but you will not learn everything in a matter of months. UX is such a wide topic that it’s simply not possible - and even though companies will want you to know all and be all, you don’t need to in order to be successful.  Learn detachment and not take things personally. As a UXer, your role is to interpret the needs of your users and come up with solutions that will best serve them - or nudge them in the right direction (see #3). Things will come and go. No matter how expert one is, ego doesn’t have a place in UX.  Listen and speak the language of your audience. Are you job hunting? Research the company and show your value using their wording. Do you want funds for your initiatives? Listen to what your CFO is asking for and build your case in terms of profits and costs. Interviewing users in a non-English speaking country? Listen to what words they use and use them to bridge the cultural gap and create familiarity. Read the room, listen beyond the words, and use your findings to gain deeper insights, negotiate, or nudge. You are there for your users. WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR DESIGN CAREER? Access to information and transitioning careers. 2010, Italy was the moment I started looking into a design career. Historically, Italian "design" means graphic design, interior design, fashion design, architecture, and advertising, and I choose the latter. It took me another 5 years to find out about UX design - and that Milan has one of the most renowned service design faculties. The same happens to a lot of other people who'd like to work as UX designers but they just don't know the path exists - or find out later in life and have to start from zero. Defining the path. Once UX became a trend, boot camps popped up everywhere. In spite of that, the right path is still unclear and the more time passes, the more sub-specializations seem to appear. One can take a university course, a boot camp, or a Google course, and all of them release a certification. One can also be self-taught and do the work, and still be a UXer. This makes for a vague definition of which syllabus to follow and the basic skill set level for entry-level positions. Recruitment done wrong and unclear market needs. The vagueness described above reflects in the industry and UX recruitment. In 2017 -when UX became hype- everybody wanted a UX designer but nobody knew what it was. Example: a company I collaborated with swapped employees’ email signatures from “content manager” to “UX designer”. For more insights on how painful it was doing interviews, feel free to reach my Medium article "Why I Hate Job Hunting". Although UX is now more established, the lack of clarity remains. To solve this, I enlisted the help of recruiter friends in giving me a "reality check" of what the upcoming job market needs and how my experience ought to satisfy them.  Imposter syndrome and self-doubts. When the definition of something is loose and each person shares opinions, it makes it almost impossible to run a valid self-assessment and define proper KPIs to reach. To handle this better, my process begins with setting an ideal goal and figuring out milestones with backward design. The second step is trial and error: test out different strategies, adjust and mix them until I find something that works for me and with the goal I set, and is in line with the person I aim to be. Not every time it turns out successful - which takes to the last and probably biggest challenge. Managing (self)expectations. I always believed in following the job. In the course of my design career, I moved 17 times across 8 countries; got fired 1.5 times; resigned once from a toxic job; embarked 3 times on ventures I strongly believed in and didn't pan out - the 1st didn't have funds to hire me, the 2nd wasn't ready to scale up, the 3rd I built the wrong business model; or got ahead of myself and managed to be successful at work sacrificing my health. All of this while maintaining (and struggling to) a 7-year long distance relationship, going through sicknesses and death in the family, and living from the sidelines the births and growth of my nieces and nephew. I’d lie if I’d say that everything was easy peasy and that I never wished for things to turn out differently. I’d lie if I’d say that I never felt guilty for not being more present at home when my home is split between Italy and any other country I live in - or that I never felt guilty for not feeling guilty enough because I love doing my job even when it’s crazy. I’d lie if I’d say that I never wished I could do more and be more. For a few months now, I’ve reached some balance - maybe I’ve learned my limits by straining them, or maybe I learned to let go and give less f*** (thanks, Mark Manson!). For sure, I forgive and am more patient with myself and this, for now, is enough. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT TO DATE, BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY? Since 2016, I started offering free career and UX coaching to UX designers looking for their first job or transitioning careers. During COVID, it became my second "job". When the 1st mentee reached out to share they got the job they wanted and just a few months earlier didn't believe they could get it, that meant the world to me. Every time it happened, it means the world - because it means they started to believe in their own value and learned how to present it in the correct way for their target audience. That's the trait of a great user experience designer. WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A MENTOR IN YOUR INDUSTRY?  Mentors and coaches can be of great support in developing one personally and professionally. They can share their knowledge and guide you in finding your way. However, they shouldn't be one's only lifeline. In fact, they may be the last resource to reach out to, after exhausting everything else. On any given topic, there are plenty of resources to learn from, starting from your peers, LinkedIn posts, Medium articles, books, movies, videos, feedback from friends and family… And then, there is the old-but-gold trial and error. Put yourself out there. Create a strategy and give yourself some time to test it. Gather data and feedback from that. Once this is done for a couple of rounds and things still don't work out, then get a mentor - and keep those other resources at hand, because nobody has the perfect recipe for everything and personal accountability is key for growth. DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT IMPOSTER SYNDROME YOU WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHARE? So many stories! Due to how I was brought up, perfectionism and imposter syndrome have been my personal and professional life companions for many years; they still resurface every now and then. One example: when someone talks to me aggressively out of the blue, I tend to freeze and it takes me a couple of minutes to find my words. No matter how prepared I am, it leaves me with the feeling that I'm dumb because better answers come to mind after the interaction has ended. "So I should be able to reply faster, wittier, better. Right at that moment. Other people can do it! Why can't I?!".  It recently happened at a company party and haunted me for days, ruminating on my reaction and the answer I gave. My mentor's advice was to ask for 2 minutes to collect myself before responding, or to kindly ask to postpone the conversation to another moment in time, to better prepare myself and share value; in case I still wouldn't happy with the outcome, to send an email or meeting invite with the object "Upon reflection, these are my thoughts". As simple as it sounds, those simple hacks and letting of control helped massively in handling the aftermath of the party conversation and another couple of events that happened afterwards. CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO HIRING IN THE DESIGN SPACE? Although there are several diverse challenges depending on the job grade, the main ones I've encountered are the following: Lack of unified job title vs skillset matrixUX designer, product designer, interface designer, service designer, UI expert… Unfortunately, design titles rarely match a clear job description and a precise understanding of what skills the job entails. This confusion permeates the industries as well as the candidates’ profiles. E.g. Companies in need of developers ask for a UX designer because it's trendy; graphic designers label themselves as UX designers because they built a website once.   Assessing skill levels remotelyDue to COVID times, hybrid or remote work has become a norm. The side effect during recruitment is that evaluating skill level has become more challenging because digital conversations only let 20% of the message pass through; moreover, there has been a tendency for candidates to refrain from sharing portfolios or work samples, or being willing to sit through design tests as it takes time and effort. Without facts, it’s impossible to make a valid decision and it’s up to the recruiter's street-smartness and intuition to make the right choice. Hiring globallyGlobalization has allowed for recruitment horizons to expand. While it increases the talent pool, hiring globally inherently raises cultural and language barriers making candidates' assessments more problematic, and can backfire when companies that offer visa sponsorships are used as launching pads for candidates to access the new market, increasing turnover and operational costs.   Thanks, Gaia, you rock!  Interview by Cameron Daniel

“AI” is having a moment and whether you are here for it or not, it looks like it’s getting smarter…Women Rock ambassador Lizzie had the pleasure in speaking with Oliviana Bailey who can explain this complex technology to us mere mortals! Oliviana herself isn’t from a tech background so had to quickly learn to “talk the talk” when she began her journey into this colourful and exciting world. Now Director at Hyperion Lab – who are creating a space to accelerate green AI and are all about responsible and ethical practices within the AI space, Oliviana is also an ambassador for Women in AI (basically a Women Rock superhero!)  From the Alexa in your kitchen to transforming yourself into an anime character on Lensa – AI is here to stay, so join us in understanding AI with Oliviana… THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.  I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SHARING WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER! SO TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND WOMEN IN AI Yes! So I’m originally from the US and came to the Netherlands 6 years ago to do my masters where I worked for an accelerator that worked for startups in Africa and the Middle East. It’s there I realised that if you're going to make change in this world, it's got to be from the bottom up. After my masters, I worked at Rockstart with startups in Health and AI where I became Head of Community additionally supporting the Energy and Agri food programmes on community. I worked with mentors and corporates to help relocate startups into the Dutch market and get the support they needed. Afterwards, I helped ING build their community by bringing various stakeholders together for cross collaboration across different industries. It was from a NVIDIA referral that I joined Escher Cloud – a start-up who is building a sustainable cloud of AI and HPC. And, the former ambassador for Women in AI was leaving and asked me to take over – which I did! Women in AI is a global community which started in 2016 and currently has about 10,000 members! Interestingly, the Dutch chapter is one of the most active chapters despite being one of the smallest countries. I think it’s because the Netherlands is very tech focused. Whilst you do see quite a lot of women in the tech space, I saw that the majority of mentors and start-ups were not actually women. So, I really wanted to be able to help push that forward and provide a platform for our women. I LOVE THAT. IT’S A GREAT JOURNEY THAT YOU’VE HAD GOING INTO WOMEN IN AI. GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF YOUR JOURNEY, HOW DID YOU GET INTO AI? Yeah, it’s kind of funny because I don’t have a technical background but most people think that I do because I definitely know how to “talk the talk” at this point. I got into this space from working in the AI programme at Rockstart. I suppose when you have to read about 500 applications for AI startups, vet them and then select the top 25: you really get to know the technology. Also, being one of the first team members at Esher cloud helped me accelerate my AI knowledge whilst they were figuring out their strategy and product at that time. I remember during one of the first product development calls where they were talking about “teraflops” and “GPU versus CPU” and I had to pull our CTO aside and say, “OK, give it to me straight. We really need to dumb this down!.” Even when I asked my husband, who’s a software engineer, he started going into binary numbers – it made no sense!! So, my role in the AI space has been helping with the “explainability” of AI.  AI has a huge potential to change the world but most people within this space are so deep in technological knowledge they haven’t really figured out how to explain it which is why I think there’s so much hype around it. It’s similar to the early days of the internet where no one really understood it. That’s why you see people talking about how AI is going to steal your job. But, really, it’s just a tool like the internet. Like your Alexa at home is just a form of AI. AI is not this big scary thing, it's actually very accessible and it will shape the future of us, hopefully for the better. WHY IS WOMEN IN AI IMPORTANT?  So, Women in AI is important because it advocates for diversity and representation in the AI space. At the moment, there's not a lot of women in the field and I think it’s due to people’s idea that you have to be good at maths, or love video games, or have incredible technical knowledge. It’s also so important to make sure that AI data is accumulated and managed accurately – especially for healthcare industries using AI. For example, if we use historical data, the majority is white male which leads to a lot of biases in the decision making for AI. But, we know, medically, that different symptoms can arise in different sexes, races, and ages. So that discussion of diversity is important to the core foundations of AI because we need to look at the available data, how we’re using it and ensuring that there’s no bias from legacy data. If you have a very homogenous team, you’re not going to notice governance practices and ensure that you incorporate diverse voices. Also, interestingly, we see that most of the women in ai community comes from healthcare because it’s a huge tool for them where they need to have the right dataBut, overall, it’s important we have a community, like Women in AI, to amplify AI and give voices to these women. In such a male dominated field, it gives role models for the younger generation to get involved in what’s important. We’re still in the forefront of the AI journey so if we don’t have that diverse voice now, it’s going to impact us later on.  WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN IN AI? So, our way is through initiatives that can be used by anyone. For example, we host inclusive talent fairs which bring diverse candidates forward; we do education courses for young girls teaching them how to use AI; we offer mentorship to help develop soft skill leadership building; and, we showcase companies that are doing it right. It’s also not just about getting more women in, but helping women move up in the field because we need to see more women in leadership positions. You’ll see companies with more Women in leadership positions result in more women joining the company. One way we support this is hosting a Women in AI Awards where we can shine a light on AI companies and women.  AS WELL AS YOUR WOMEN IN AI PROJECT, YOU’RE ALSO THE DIRECTOR OF HYPERION LAB WHICH YOU MENTIONED EARLIER. IT’S A PROGRAMME THAT CAN SHOWCASE AND SUPPORT GREEN AI COMPANIES AND STARTUPS. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR HYPERION LAB?  The inspiration for Hyperion Lab comes back to NVIDIA and Escher Cloud. I guess the first thing to clarify is that there are different types of green AI. Most people think of green AI in relation to being sustainable, but green AI is also how apps are built: Are you making sure your algorithm isn’t over using resources? Are you on ethical clouds? Any circular energy projects?It’s also about responsible and ethical practises. So, we wanted to bring all these startups together and provide a sustainable cloud. We know that AI requires GPU but within Europe there’s not much GPU capacity even in the hyperscalars. So it’s also about providing more access to that because GPU runs better whereas CPU is a slower process and less sustainable. It’s also helpful to have companies being brought together from different industries and seeing the great collaborations that happen. They share technologies and build on each other! I like to see it as an ecosystem that continues to build and support each other’s data without having to keep rebuilding it.  THERE’S SO MUCH THAT YOU DO – IT’S INSPIRATIONAL. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS ONE OF YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS? You know, that’s a hard one. I guess I’m very proud of kicking off Hyperion Lab as it’s the culmination of all the work I've done in the last several years. It jump-started my network - in terms of the startups that I've worked with, investors, mentors, corporates, and it also got me back into the Women in AI ecosystem. It helps impact the startups and talent that we’re working with. So, it’s my baby! Even though I was brought on board to develop it,  it's been my blood, sweat and tears that have got this off the ground. So, at the moment, I’m this extra resource to all these startups helping them connect with the rest of the ecosystem; helping them understand how to work with corporates; and, helping them talk about technology and expand their network.  YOU DO EVENTS VERY REGULARLY AND ONE THAT'S HAPPENING IN A FEW WEEKS IS THE INCLUSIVE AI TALENT FAIR. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CREATE THAT AND HOW TO GET INVOLVED? So, knowing that it’s important to create a diverse team from the start, we have launched this talent fair to bring all this talent from all backgrounds together. It's a collaboration of Hyperion Lab on our responsible Green AI segment; Women in AI bringing the female talent; and Extra Mile, a community group based in Amsterdam South working with the local Bijlmer community to help showcase their talent. Also, it’s not just university level, there’s so much talent here that’s self-taught. It’s incredible work they’re doing so we’re providing a space for them to come together and meet companies. If you want to get involved we have our Eventbrite up and it’s happening on March 23rd. And, if there’s companies interested, we have booths available to meet the talent. The goal is to bring together the underrepresented talent community with companies that know that diverse teams are better teams. THAT’S AWESOME. FINALLY, IF YOU HAD ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN AI, WHAT WOULD IT BE? So, my one piece of advice is: don't be scared about it being “deep tech”. There's so many applications, open source tools, free trainings, and education making it incredibly accessible for everyone. Just don't be scared of these random scary words people throw out that you have no idea about. There’ll be someone who will help explain it.In general, if you're going to start your own company or get more involved: just jump in and do it. My favourite saying these days is “to not ask for permission, but to ask for forgiveness”. It’s a growth hacking mentality by just doing something small, get yourself into it. If it fails, it's OK. Fail small and keep moving forward.  I LOVE THAT, I DON’T THINK I’VE HEARD OF THAT BEFORE! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, IT’S FANTASTIC WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Thanks Oliviana! You rock! Interview by Lizzie Murray  

The line between emotive and factual, creativity and analytical is getting more and more blurred in the world of tech and folk from creative backgrounds are finding other ways to their creativity in a way that aligns with facts and data. Just like Kellie Hill did when she embarked on her journey into the tech industry. Continuing with this theme, Kellie would like to see STEM become 'STEMD' where the D stands for “Design” - especially as we see an increase in Neurodiverse people - who are typically more creative - journeying into the world of tech. HEY KELLIE! THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY WITH US. LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING – HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO THE TECH INDUSTRY? I worked in both digital and creative spaces, then stepped into hardcore tech at Capgemini. I was driven by experiences in GSK, Ted Baker, Metro Bank, and worked in several roles as a Product Owner/Business Transformation consultant. I learned the hard way that I had to work hard to get my voice heard. I fell into the technology industry primarily by circumstance as I didn’t want to become obsolete. I’m naturally very ambitious, impatient, and creative, and tech has a lot of disciplines that can fulfil that hunger for knowledge. WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN THE INDUSTRY? Confidence – I didn’t study cloud computing or data science, so I had doubts around my technical understanding. I had to learn to have confidence in myself, my skills and where I came from. I experienced a serious case of imposter syndrome as I wasn’t familiar with technical jargon and I was afraid this would show a lack of credibility. I eventually tackled this just by having conversations and understanding what other roles do. I needed to understand Business Strategy to understand where other roles sat. Another big challenge was being dismissed – I’m naturally creative and emotive, and within tech, there’s typically a need to be factual and detailed with data. I was told in a meeting that “it’s not about how you feel” and it was challenging for me to find a way to express my creativity in a way that aligned with the facts and the data. With regards to being a woman in tech, I never experienced any overt prejudice, but I experienced covert microaggressions (cutting me off during meetings, undermining her points publicly, etc) which by nature are hard to prove are based on me being a woman. HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? My Team won an international CX award (gold) for an app that was delivered to a global FMCG company that had over 360,000 colleagues. It was tested by colleagues who had an accessibility need and had a very human-centred design based on those with neurodiversity challenges. I realised that an “inclusive-first experience” benefits everyone involved.  WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO WANT TO GO INTO THE SAME CAREER? Increase your skill in design. You can use free tools to get skilled in user experience and design. Get yourself accredited as a PO and Scrum Master. Join any groups that are linked to business transformation disciplines. Become multidisciplinary. Speaking specifically to a woman, I’d suggest getting a mentor, believing in yourself and having confidence in yourself. Trust that you belong there. Ensure you have psychological support outside of work to increase your mental resilience and fortitude - have the strategies and tools, and techniques around you to increase your resilience. Ensure your mental health remains intact. Outside of that, be a great servant leader. WHAT AREA OF D&I ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT AND WHY? I think we need to see more black women in tech and senior positions throughout business as a whole. To do that we need to increase equity and equality, as they are massively under-represented. Secondly – neurodiversity (dyslexic, autism, adhd any other neuro-divergencies). Neurodiverse people are typically more creative, which is the antithesis of STEM and therefore hasn’t had a firm standing within Tech. I believe “STEMD” where the D stands for “Design” is the way forward. WHAT AREA OF D&I DO YOU FEEL IS MOST UNDERREPRESENTED AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE INDUSTRY COULD DO TO CHANGE THAT? Primarily, I don’t think there’s enough light shed on Black Women, but a close second would be someone’s socioeconomic status. I want to see more diversity based on socio-economic status because attitude, willingness, and ability to get the job done and isn’t exclusive to a particular status. Not having a mix of backgrounds and ethnicities limits ideas and initiatives and detracts from the overall value a company can deliver. I believe if a company changes its interview process to be less focused on academics and more focused on mindset and approach, then this would be an effective first step in creating this change. FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE A MANTRA YOU LIVE BY? Learn to be your authentic self, because nobody will do it for you.    Thanks, Kellie you rock 🤘 Interview by Andrew Delsol

The power of 'WHY?'.Not asking questions can ruin teamwork, individual relationships, projects, and deadlines and result in an unmotivated and uninspired workplace. Without fostering a culture that is open to curiosity, no company can innovate successfully. Curiosity might have killed the cat but asking the question and learning something new might just lead to something fantastic.When Victoria Reed began her adventure into tech, she found asking a room full of men 'why?' extremely daunting. However, now running a large team at LUSH Digital, Victoria has discovered that by harnessing the power of 'WHY?' not only do projects run a lot more smoothly, but you also gain insight AND the respect of your team by showing them the willingness to learn and grow. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK WITH US TODAY, VICTORIA. CAN WE START BY TELLING US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START A CAREER IN TECH AFTER FINISHING YOUR DEGREE IN POPULATION AND GEOGRAPHY?It’s a pleasure, and lovely to chat with you too. Of course, I really enjoyed my degree as it was focused so heavily on demographics and statistics. What I enjoyed the most was learning about the impact of events on people. This I feel is something that I have ended up carrying into my career in tech with the focus always being on the customer. After I graduated, I decided to do some travelling and did a ski season, which I loved! I was applying for a summer job to get some money in the bank before my next adventure when I found a role which I was really intrigued by at The Richmond Group. I was the first Project Manager they hired and was a core part of growing their fintech portfolio, I didn’t do the extra travelling as I loved the job so much! The main thing that inspired me to start my career in tech was realising how anything is possible in tech and how evolving technology is and most importantly the benefit it can bring to the customer in their day-to-day lives. WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER, YOU WERE THE ONLY FEMALE IN A TECH TEAM OF 40 PEOPLE, WHAT WERE THE OBSTACLES YOU FOUND? AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?I remember when I was leading my first tech project, I was managing a team of 8 men who were probably double my age at the time and half of them had been at the company a very long time! I was daunted and found it very difficult to ask that simple question ‘why?’ to challenge situations in order to steer the project. I remember thinking, why would they listen to a young woman that’s just graduated? I had to work hard to overcome this and realise that I knew more than I thought and they needed me. I was fortunate enough to have a female director that I was reporting to which really helped in my confidence growth. I learnt the hard way, I made assumptions by not questioning my team enough and my project was delayed. But we have to fail, to grow. I strongly believe that failure is healthy, as it allows you to find areas for improvement (self and team) and implement with a real understanding of why it’s important.YOU NOW CURRENTLY RUN A LARGE DIVISION AT LUSH DIGITAL, (WHAT A JOURNEY!) HOW DO YOU USE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN IDENTIFYING, AND SUPPORTING PEOPLE SHOWING SIGNS OF HAVING IMPOSTER SYNDROME WITHIN YOUR TEAM?In a lot of my 1:1s imposter syndrome and confidence are often areas I work with some team members. I think we have all been there at times, whether it’s a new role or a new team. I think the main challenge in tech is the mixture of teams being non-technical and technical. The beauty of this is that it’s the perfect recipe for success and we rely on each other heavily. But in reality, it can cause barriers in relationships with the different technical understanding sometimes leading to these feelings. My key learning and number one piece of advice is to encourage team members to ask questions, specifically the ‘why’ question. I feel I gained a lot of respect from my peers when I paid an interest in their technical problems and solutions as it showed that I cared about tech, their work and my willingness to learn. This in result not only builds the relationships peer to peer but also the individuals knowledge and confidence. I still do it today, we are always learning, especially in tech when it’s constantly evolving. (Sticky Dates Shower Gel is one of Victoria's favourite LUSH products!) LUSH IS A HIGHLY ETHICAL COMPANY WHO HAVE RECENTLY HIRED FROM CODE YOUR FUTURE, COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT CODE YOUR FUTURE AND WHY YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO PARTNER WITH THIS ORGANISATION?Code your Future is a UK non-profit organisation which trains some of the most deprived members of societies to become web developers and then helps them land their first job in the tech industry. They are trained by volunteers from the tech industry. At LUSH, we strive for diversity and inclusion in our teams, and this is at the forefront of our recruitment. Since working with Code your Future we have made 4 hires through them. We also work heavily with Otta and have sourced a lot of our new hires from there. We are always looking out for new ways to support people from different backgrounds in their tech careers. We acted quickly in the Wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to establish a focused recruitment program to help Ukrainian refugees and are always posting on Women for Tech job boards. WHAT POSITIVE IMPACT DOES HIRING PEOPLE FROM DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS HAVE ON LUSH AND ON YOUR TEAM?It sings to our values, all are welcome always. We really want to invest in our team members and watching someone starting their career in tech, learn and grow is so rewarding. Last year, I hired an extremely passionate junior who had just started their career in tech. After mentorship and dedication, I’ve just promoted them in reflection of their hard work, commitment and results. These stories are vital to LUSH Digital and close to my heart as we want to be growing our employees not only for LUSH, our customers but the tech community. We strive to ensure our products are number 1 for every need, just as we strive to ensure our tech is innovating for the future.WHAT INCENTIVES DOES LUSH DO TO HELP WITH INCREASING DIVERSITY IN DIGITAL?We are lucky to have lots of female employees at LUSH Digital. This in itself helps empower women in tech, specifically when joining the business. LUSH Digital offers a very flexible remote working policy, which gives you the ability to juggle parenthood with work. We have enhanced parental leave and nursery schemes, they are an extremely supportive and flexible employer. We operate a very flat hierarchy and autonomous environment which helps ensure everyone's voices are equal. Since joining, I have been able to challenge and drive change due to the responsibilities I have been given.WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE FOR FEMALES FROM A NON-TECH BACKGROUND THINKING ABOUT GETTING INTO TECH?Don’t doubt yourself, you know more than you think you know. If you have something you want to say, say it, the worst that will happen is that you’ll learn the right answer. Don’t let long technical words overwhelm you, they are just words! Ps make a glossary!WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE OF WORK?I live by the seaside so love going for daily dog walks on the beach, sea swimming and adventures in our rooftop tent. In the summer, you’ll find me out on the water and every now and then water skiing before work! It’s all about that work-life balance. FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE A MANTRA YOU LIVE BY?I know it’s a cliche one, but I truly do believe that everything happens for a reason. I take this outlook into my work often, everything makes you more resilient and allows you to take clear learnings to build the future. Thanks, Victoria you rock 🤘Interview by George Booth

Talk of the weather, stiff upper lip, Marmite - all very British nuances. But what are we most guilty of as a Brit? Not giving ourselves enough credit! We often find it very difficult to talk about what we're good at but is it holding us back?Here, we hear from Karen Fynn - Product Director at Journey, who draws from her experience as an umpire to keep calm under pressure, the importance of the bigger picture when briefing developers and how to tackle "intellectual snobbery".This refreshingly frank article is just what you need if you're feeling a bit lost or at a crossroads in your career...CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND HOW YOU GOT INTO PRODUCT MANAGEMENT?By accident really, I was working in IT as an infrastructure server consultant going and doing big migrations of servers. I was between contracts and the development manager of the company I was working for had a lot of work for his team, he said to me “Do you fancy learning how websites work?” and I said, “yeah why not”. So he gave me a half-hour lesson in how websites work, gave me “web design in a nutshell” from O’Reilly and then set me off to go and write all the JavaScript frontend validation for forms on this asset management application that was being written. This was back in the day when there weren’t proper editors or similar so I was coding in notepad. There was nothing to tell you what your syntax errors were! So that was my first introduction into websites and I started to do a lot more of that work as a developer. When I was pregnant with my son I was doing some freelance work whilst on maternity leave, building people's websites, trying to decide if that was something I wanted to do as a career change from working in IT to then building websites. I decided that running my own business as a freelancer wasn’t what I wanted to do and I got offered a job by someone I knew. I said I like managing projects, but I’m also really interested in software engineering, he said, “well I think I have the answer to both of our problems then” and I came on as Product Manager with Firehoop and that was that! WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AS A CAREER?I’ve always been someone that, when there’s a big mess, seem to have the ability to see through it all and organise things. If someone shows me the big picture, I know how to break it down. I’ve always had that ability to see things that way. I like the fact that it can still be quite a technical role, but also, I am interested in business and overcoming the problems that people have and finding solutions and solving problems.WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU'VE FACED AND HOW HAVE YOU OVERCOME THEM?With everything that I end up doing, you have multiple plans in mind with what you can do to be able to meet expectations. So having backup plans of how you change the scope to be able to deliver something on time is something that is always a challenge. But I think the biggest one is when there are issues that can’t be controlled by product. Technical debt in a product can be one of the toughest things to work with if you have a product with too much technical debt. It’s virtually impossible to be able to overcome it, we’ve ended up dealing with it with best practice, trying to do the boy scout route of leaving something better than when you found it. I guess it’s also about communicating the needs to everyone. As much as developers want to write code, giving them context for the bigger picture is obviously important as they can make better decisions with implementation and really know and own the product rather than just being told.CAN YOU DESCRIBE A SPECIFIC PROJECT OR PRODUCT THAT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF AND EXPLAIN WHY?Revspa, our spa booking platform, we are all quite proud of it as it’s the first spa booking engine with live pricing and availability, we partnered with a third-party company to get that functionality. We worked with them to build their API to our requirements. Off the back of our collaboration as two businesses, we have created something that our customers really love. It looks great, and operates well so that’s still something we are all proud of. The current product that we are working on, OneJourney I’m proud of it and the team because it's so complicated. The Belfry and Celtic Manor have tried and failed to do what we’ve done. It’s a huge achievement to have gotten to where we are. The other one that I really loved working on was a project when I was at Firehoop for British Cycling and SKY, a collaboration for their recreational cycling programme to get a million more people into cycling. We worked with those two companies for about five years launching all their campaigns. And that wasn’t just about the brand, there were bookings, and there were GPS files of routes that you could download, upload, and book on rides. There were so many different aspects to it, all bespoke and all the workflows were complex as it was a very big application. It was enjoyable because it was an interesting subject matter but also technically complex. All three of those products have been technically complex and executed in a simple user-friendly way. So, I think those are always the ones that you know you’re doing well because somebody thinks that what you have produced is simple. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS LOOKING TO BREAK INTO THE SECTOR?Listen. And ask the question that needs to be asked, by that I mean, people will provide solutions and listening to what they have to say and asking the why is so important because people don’t always know what they need. Because they will come along with a solution and say "can it do this?", "can you do this thing?", or maybe someone on the board is saying "here’s a vision, can you do it?". Understanding why is the key to all of it. Asking delving questions and then also listening to what people have to say in response and remembering it. If someone gives you that information, it’s polite if nothing else to absorb the information in whatever way is best for you. If you are actively listening and absorbing information and asking questions, then you can do your best work in being able to provide the solution. I think if you don’t fully understand the situation, ask questions to really get to the bottom of it so it’s solid in your help. Sometimes people don’t feel brave or confident enough to be able to say “sorry I’m still not quite getting to the bottom of it do you mind sharing a bit more with me”WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE GIVEN TO YOURSELF AT THE START OF YOUR CAREER, KNOWING ALL THAT YOU KNOW NOW?Don’t downplay your capability. Instead of people thinking “oh Karen is much better than I thought she was going to be”, they start off by thinking maybe you aren’t as capable and then you must work back from being underestimated. It’s a bit of a British thing anyway, it doesn’t always feel comfortable to talk about what you are good at. I found it with umpiring. I would go and say to my colleagues how nervous I was feeling and start talking about all my gaps. Then my colleagues think “is this person going to be able to handle this” and then you go in and rock it and they’re like “oh she’s okay”. If you don’t say it in the first place they will just say “Oh well Karen rocked that”. There’s no need to point out your flaws to everyone unless it’s necessary. Self-awareness is good but you don’t need to open up to people unnecessarily, and you need to be more confident in your own abilities.WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A WOMAN WORKING IN A MALE-DOMINATED FIELD LIKE TECHNOLOGY?I haven’t. It’s a challenge because I think, whether I have needed to or not, I have always wanted to be the hardest working person in the building, and a lot of that has come from wanting to be taken seriously. I also want to know my stuff; I am quite happy to hold my hands up and say I don’t understand that, but I then take time to be able to learn what I need to. I’ve seen situations, and I don’t think it’s a male-female thing, but there’s intellectual snobbery that goes on in the tech world. I think that making sure you know as much as you need to at least, and maybe more, about the technical side of things has been important for me to be taken seriously. That I’m not just someone who is managing, I know the tech as well. I think that has certainly helped with the way that I have worked with teams. Even when I was working in IT as a techie myself, I never had any problems. I have only ever seen problems where someone doesn’t really know or understand or know their field and there might be an assumption that it’s because they’re female. But in my experience, it is more intellectual snobbery, where someone doesn’t know very much be it male or female would struggle. I have had more issues with sexism outside of tech than I have in tech. Dealing with clients and partners, I remember being at a meeting with a partner. I was running the project and I went along with my boss. I knew everything about the product and my boss didn’t, but the brand agency wouldn’t speak to me. I’d ask a question and he would respond to my boss. I was uncomfortable, but I thought I was reading into it. We came out of the meeting and my boss asked me if I was okay as he thought it was awkward.YOU SPEAK A LOT ABOUT YOUR TIME PLAYING, COACHING, AND UMPIRING IN HOCKEY. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU HAVE TAKEN FROM THIS INTO YOUR CAREER AND ROLE NOW?Umpiring, and what I do as a job are very different in terms of ways of thinking and behaving. At work I must consider, collaborate, get opinions, and build a picture to make sure we are making the right decisions for the strategy, vision, delivery, and execution of the product. In umpiring, I must blow my whistle and decide instantaneously without any kind of collaboration. I’m the one with the whistle and you must do what I say in that scenario. It’s a very different way of thinking and that’s been very difficult for me to overcome, but it is helpful at times at work. If you have 11 people in the team all coming at you complaining about something you did, you won’t shrink and instead, be calm and deal with it. We always say panic slowly. Keeping a poker face when you’re under pressure really helps with resilience for work. It’s interesting - psychologically, umpiring has given me some interesting skills. As I’ve got better at work, I’ve got better as an umpire, and they come together. So, there are quite a lot of crossovers.WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE THAT YOU REFER TO?Jane Powell (Ex England GB, Hockey, Cricket and Badminton player) used to say when she was training me that she wanted us to “Play with PRIDE, Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence”. What you do off the ball is as important as what you do on the ball and helping your teammates to be in the right place and support them. It translates directly to business, with everyone in the team working towards a common goal. From a development point of view, you don’t not self-test and then hand it over to someone for code review and then that other person has to give you a ton of feedback. It’s about doing your job well but also making it easier for other people. Thanks, Karen you rock 🤘Interview by Tom Faire

Did you know the top performing posts on social media include food or an animal - specifically cats or dogs? So when Daniela Alvaran ran into visa issues while studying and beginning her career in the Netherlands, she posted a picture of herself and her housemates (very cute) dog 'Oona' on her profiles to see if anyone could help - and she went viral. Daniela and Oona reached over 200,000 people, one of those people being a founder of Xomnia who got in touch with Daniela and a year later she is working as a talent consultant. When social media is used for the greater good it really does work! Women Rock Ambassador Lucia chatted with Daniela about how she aims to create a more diverse data team, what millennials can learn from Gen Z and who would be guests at her dream dinner party - we'd definitely want a seat at this table, that's for sure...FIRSTLY... HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY START, HOW DID YOU GET INTO TECH RECRUITMENT?The picture of my roommate’s dog saved me from being deported…After moving to the Netherlands for studies & kick-starting my career by helping young entrepreneurs, I ran into some visa sponsorship issues & was in a situation where I needed to find a job, or I'd have to leave the Netherlands. After posting a picture of myself (& gorgeous dog) it reached out to over 200,000 people & the founders of Xomnia found the post and gave me a chance. After being there for a year now, I've had my ups & downs, experiencing imposter syndrome, and having no idea what Machine Learning was when I joined, I've entered the Tech world now & I'm excited to see where this takes me! WHO KNEW A SELFIE WITH A DOG COULD BE LIFE-CHANGING?! YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE AIMING & HOPING FOR THE DATA TEAM TO BE THE MOST DIVERSE, HOW CAN COMPANIES ATTRACT & RETAIN WOMEN IN SENIOR TECH ROLES?Today one of the most senior people we have hired accepted the offer – and she was a woman for the data engineering team! I almost cried when I found out this female was going to be joining this team (which has traditionally been very male-dominated), because it starts there, getting a few senior women on board through networking & recommendations. I worked with my Team Lead to make this happen because he understands the importance of more balance. We're also going to a campaign with one of our youngest Data Engineers & a Women's Tech hub in Amsterdam called Equals. She's so hardworking and really understands the value of representation, so she'll be able to demonstrate a more realistic path for those who are maybe only a small bit away from where she is, inspiring younger women to keep going. Branding is also super important, what you're posting on LinkedIn has to show diversity because if people don't see themselves in what you're posting they're not going to be interested.CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT CAMPAIGN ONCE IT'S FINISHED! WHOM WOULD YOU SAY INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?I could name a few, one being Marie Forleo who's super into the social space, celebrating femininity in the workplace. I also know it's cliché but I love Oprah Winfrey, I love what she's done with her platform & I love her new focus on spirituality.WHAT DO YOU THINK MILLENNIALS CAN LEARN FROM GEN Z?I think so much about generations, it's one of my guilty pleasures. Ray Dalio comments on how we're always repeating patterns of history & that what we're living through right now happened beforeI'm really excited to see more millennials make it into leadership positions because they tend to have a more holistic understanding of people and their wants and needs (unlike baby bloomers😉) & tend to understand people more. I think it's really important for millennials to learn more about the digital era from GenZ's. For example, LinkedIn influencers are a real thing now & it's not really cringy!! You can really make an impact at scale through social media and millennials should listen to GenZ because the digital era is going to be a tool to change the world not just something to use for fun.TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU! SO, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE WOMEN TRYING TO GET INTO TECH?I'll give two sides, a recruiter side & a Daniela side... I think it's so important in your early 20's to spend time to try and understand your mind, try to understand your limiting beliefs, and understand how your mind body & emotions are connected, so when you're faced with life later on, you'll be able to handle it a bit better. Also, join a community! I think there are a lot of great communities, women are great at building them. My best friend started from Good Girl to Bad Ass & we meet women from all over the world from. We chat about professional development, our love lives, and our minds & we're just all there for each other. Having a community to help you figure out who you are before your career, will make you feel less alone in the process. In terms of career, it's totally fine to be yourself. You don't have to act like the guys in the room to make it. Once you have that understanding of who you are, it's okay to own it. Stop trying to fit into this mould that the tech world has become!!Besides that, if you can get into consultancy, it's great because you can learn a lot very fast. The requirements do tend to be strict, so Product & start-up organisations are a great place to start. INCREDIBLE ADVICE, THANKS FOR SHARING! NOW MOVING ON TO PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION... YOU'RE HOSTING A DINNER PARTY: WHO ARE YOUR GUESTS, WHAT'S ON THE MENU & WHAT ARE WE PLAYING FOR MUSIC? So funny... Dinner party guest Jay Shetty, he's a millennial with a great understanding of social media. I'd love to understand how he's marrying all these worlds together & how he's using social media to bring it to the masses in such a successful and beautiful way. I'd have his wife Radhi cook some of the lovely vegan stuff she makes! & then after dinner, we can have a salsa party.I'D WANNA BE THERE! AND FINALLY, WHAT'S THE MANTRA YOU LIVE BY?I was a bit hesitant because it's not guided by recruitment or tech, but it is something I live by...Direction over ambition, courage over control & playfulness over emptiness. I don't know what it is, maybe when we're trying to prove ourselves it makes us burnt out. You're trying to control everything. You achieve a lot of things, but you feel so tired and empty in the process, so I think the direction is more a mission-driven thing. It's something north, but you should be flexible on how you get there - it doesn't have to be as strict and demanding and you can definitely have fun in the process!Thanks, Daniela you rock 🤘Interview by Lucia Alcock

There is an argument that soft skills are just as important when pursuing a career in tech, as tech skills and academia. Maybe we're using the wrong adjective here and "soft" doesn't represent the importance of these particular skills - Abilities like empathy, resilience and problem-solving are super important, especially in the tech industry. Women Rock Ambassador Sam spoke with Anita Pritchard this week about her journey into the QA and Testing world and the many important lessons she learnt from becoming a mum, moving from one country to another and securing a role that allows her to work in an industry she loves while celebrating diversity.   HEY ANITA! WE’RE DELIGHTED TO BE SPEAKING WITH YOU AND SHARING A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY IN THE QA/TESTING WORLD SO FAR. HOW HAVE YOU GOT INTO TECH AND ENDED UP AS QA COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE MANAGER AT PRINCIPALITY? Being originally from Germany, I did not plan a career in the UK or in QA. But love makes you do funny things. I met Jason in 2000 during a work placement as part of my language studies at the European Business School in London. I left the UK in 2000 with improved English but a broken heart….. After that, there were many, many flights between London and Frankfurt, and in 2002 we decided to fully commit to our relationship. I moved to the UK in April 2002 and we got married in 2005. Before I left Germany I worked in the payment systems department for the German Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank. The transition to the Bank of England felt logical and I was over the moon when I got a job offer in their payments team. A few years later, I started my testing career after being offered an opportunity in the Bank of England’s Testing Team, testing their payments and settlement systems. The great thing about testing is that you can quickly be appreciated by your team even without having too much of a technical background.  Eventually I got to the point where I was ready for a change. It came quite naturally and I just felt that I needed to see something different and learn new things. I joined McDonald’s IT department as a Test Manager in 2013. After some exciting projects at McDonald’s, Jason and I decided to move with our two children to Monmouth. We always liked the countryside and decided that this change in lifestyle was very important to us. I had to reconsider what I wanted to do but I quickly identified that I really like Quality Assurance (QA) so I wanted to carry on in this field.   I initially accepted a pay cut for the role at Principality, but, I really liked the organisation and the brand and for me, that was more important. And, so that’s how, in 2017, I started my career in the Principality in Cardiff. In the beginning as a Test Lead, then a Test Manager and in 2021 there was the move to the QA Community of Practice Manager.  The main challenge as a Test Lead/Test Manager was the delivery of difficult testing updates. Communicating the impact of complex defects to a large senior stakeholder group was tough and nerve-wracking at times. But I think that the honesty and insight helped and I earned respect for that. In the end, programmes want to deliver high-quality software to their customers. So whilst some delays are sometimes hard to accept, we know it is done with the best intent.   As a Community of Practice Manager, my responsibility has now shifted to focus on the capability of the QA community. I had to make a conscious effort to embrace some new responsibilities and let go of some old ones. But, I thoroughly enjoy leading the QA community with my peer, Marc, and I am excited and passionate about QA and how the industry is continuously progressing. And just in November 2022, Principality won the European Software Testing awards for the Best Software Testing Project for delivering our Mortgages Transformation Programme, including implementing our new Mortgage Sales and Originations (MSO) platform, in partnership with Qualitest. So, it’s great to feel like we’re doing something right. HOW DID YOU FIND ADJUSTING TO LIFE AS A WORKING PARENT IN TECH? HAS THAT EXPERIENCE SHAPED HOW YOU SUPPORT WORKING PARENTS IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE? Tech is fast moving so it’s important to stay up-to-date and keep learning. I have had breaks away from tech, starting with a career break to go travelling in my mid-20s. Then I took 10-month maternity leave for each of my children when I was 29 and 31. These breaks were invaluable for me and also added to my personal experience and development. Having a break, travelling and then becoming a mum allowed me to learn new life skills like resilience, problem-solving, creative thinking, risk management and many others. These newly found skills and juggling family life made catching up on new tech seem so much easier in comparison.  Juggling work with being a parent is a balancing act, I use my working hours to their fullest and make the most of my time when logged on. This in return allows me to have time with my family and for hobbies. Work-life balance has always been important to me as this is the foundation for my mental and physical well-being.  I have had amazing Line Managers and coaches throughout my career. I think I am one of the lucky ones as I have found that my needs for my work-life balance have always been met with respect, and my career aspirations have been encouraged enthusiastically. My Line Managers have always wanted me to experiment and explore, learn new things, and make mistakes. They appreciated that I wanted to progress and gave me their full support. Having experienced this myself makes me want to provide the same level of support to everyone I am coaching in their role. PRINCIPALITY WAS RECENTLY NAMED FIRST IN THE 2022 UK’S BEST WORKPLACES FOR WOMEN AND THIS WAS A DIRECT RESULT OF FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS FROM WOMEN WORKING THERE. THIS IS AN AWESOME ACHIEVEMENT. AS A WOMAN WORKING AT PRINCIPALITY, WHAT MAKES IT SUCH A GREAT PLACE TO WORK? Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are very important to Principality. They provide various networks and forums to make it easy for colleagues to connect. These networks are used to share insights and inspire colleagues through articles, workshops and other engaging activities. “Everyone has the right to come to work and feel comfortable being their real and authentic self”…. I really like that statement from our former Chief People Officer.   The hybrid working strategy, which was introduced this year, was a game changer for me and many others at Principality, and has improved my work-life balance immensely. “Work is an activity, not a destination”, is one of my favourite principles from our hybrid working handbook. During Lockdown, our office was completely refurbished enabling collaboration between people working in the office and people working from home. Being able to work from home saves me over two hours of time commuting every day. That’s priceless. But equally, I do like face-to-face collaboration and the energy I feel when being in the room with other people. So I choose to go to the office one or two days a week.  In addition, Principality offers flexible working options and there is a healthy uptake in the teams. Some members of the QA community work compressed hours such as 70 hours over nine days (meaning a day off every other week) or 35 hours over four days. Adjusting working hours to allow for school runs or other personal commitments is also commonly used and makes a huge difference to individuals and means that we can juggle family and life commitments with work much more easily.  Another element that makes Principality a great place to work as a woman is the focus on mental health, something which is super important. This is supported through the Mental Health Advocacy Network led by our mental health advocates. Their mission is the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health at Principality. We also have an Employee Assistance Programme for a complete range of well-being considerations, including proactive counselling support and regular monthly webinars and online gym sessions. These small things together can make a big difference. WHAT DOES DIVERSITY MEAN TO YOU AND WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT? I think the world would be very boring if we were all the same. I appreciate the broader perspective I get when discussing topics with a group of people with different genders or sexual orientations, different ages and cultural backgrounds, abilities and disabilities. A diverse group brings different skills, different knowledge and wider views to the table, even more so within Test/QA. I find it interesting how much better conversation is with a diverse community. At Principality, the Community of Practice Leadership team, which consists of nine line managers across change, feels nicely diverse. I look around the table (or the Webex screen) and see a healthy representation of different genders, ages and backgrounds. We never run out of things to talk about. Similar diversity is also evident at board level with a healthy ratio of male/female representation among our directors and board members.  As a woman in tech, self-belief and confidence are very important. Throughout my career, I have often found myself sitting in a meeting with just male peers or senior colleagues. It can be easy as a female to feel outnumbered in these situations, but, I have never allowed this situation to rob me of my confidence. We need to remember that at the end of the day, we are all people with our own thoughts and insecurities. What is important is what we have to say and what information or knowledge we can add to discussions regardless of our gender or background. Sometimes the best discussion comes from the most diverse mix of people. HAVE YOU SEEN A CHANGE IN THE TYPES OF APPLICANTS YOU RECEIVE FOR QA POSITIONS IN RECENT TIMES? In Principality’s QA Community, we recruited quite heavily over the last 12 months, filling 9 QA vacancies in total. I am pleased that we had a diverse group of applicants over the last year. More diverse than maybe compared to 2 or 3 years ago which was great to see. We also recently started our very first Test Engineering Academy in Principality, offering 3 positions to graduates or candidates seeking a career change into Test/QA. We received a really diverse range of applicants through FinTech Wales and Cardiff and Vale College so it’s great to see that more and more people are being drawn to a career in tech. IF YOU COULD GIVE ADVICE TO SOMEONE WHO’S THINKING ABOUT MAKING A CAREER CHANGE INTO TECH/ TESTING WHAT WOULD IT BE? Nowadays there are amazing Academy opportunities out there for people looking to pursue a career in tech who don’t necessarily have a technical background. As mentioned, we recently connected with FinTechWales and Cardiff and Vale College and found 13 great candidates that joined Principality’s Dev and Test Engineering Academy. Have a look at this interesting story here from one of our new joiners: Golfer to Coder. Collaboration, communication skills and relationship-building skills are important for whatever area of tech you end up in and there are some great webinars available. I do like a Ted Talk and I will never tire of the leadership lesson from a dancing guy. FINALLY, ARE THERE ANY QUOTES/MANTRAS/WORDS OF WISDOM THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR WOMEN ROCKERS? “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron  I feel strongly about the power of believing in yourself. So, I like those quotes that make me feel strong and confident. I often think that confidence in your own ability is half the recipe for a successful career. The other half is what everyone has to figure out individually.   I think a career will find you if you look after yourself and analyse your own ambitions. You need different things at different stages of your life. What is important to you when you are 20, might not be important anymore when you are 35. Always take time to reflect on your career aspirations and balance these carefully with your mental health and physical well-being.  Sometimes opportunities come along that weren’t part of the plan. In my case, moving to a different country for love. Take a chance. Sometimes a sideward step instead of an upwards step can be the right move. You’ll still learn something new doing this and who knows what opportunities it might lead to.    Thanks, Anita you rock 🤘 Interview by Sam Miller

Inclusion: the "I" in "ED&I", to be "included" is to feel part of something, to feel accepted. If we think about this in terms of the digital world, and as more and more parts of our lives move online it is important everyone can benefit from the internet and technology, regardless of their background or circumstance. Enter stage right - Nexer Digital, and more specifically Hilary Stephenson, managing director and ED&I advocate. Women Rock Ambassador Charles spoke with Hilary about the importance of community engagement and having a team that can relate and are representative of the audience Nexer want to reach.In this refreshing post, Hilary speaks candidly about the areas that need improving within Nexer in terms of ED&I but also recognises the small steps that are being made towards the end goal of being a fully inclusive, diverse workforce. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND NEXER DIGITAL?Nexer Digital is a design and development agency with a focus on digital inclusion and social impact. We are the user experience arm of the wider Nexer Group, a Swedish-based organisation with over 2000 employees globally. We work with users to design, test and build products that we hope help people to live and work better, focusing on sectors where we can make a difference, namely health, local and central government, education, culture and heritage. This includes a number of charitable organisations, housing trusts and public sector research bodies. I started the initial UK business in 2007, building on my career and interests in usability, accessibility and user-centred content design.WITH NEXER, HOW HAVE YOU MAINTAINED A POSITIVE D&I FOCUS WHEN GOING THROUGH RAPID GROWTH?We’ve always had a focus on digital inclusion, from our early work in web accessibility. We’ve also chosen to work with organisations that have a social purpose, such as Mind, Diversity Role Models and Citizens Advice. This means we rely on community engagement, co-design and testing with a diverse audience to create better products and services. A natural conclusion from that was we needed a team that is representative of the audiences we seek to reach for our customers, so inclusion and intersectionality became broader concerns for us as we grew. We were finding issues in some aspects of recruitment that required some affirmative action. Our investment in a partnership with Diverse & Equal last year was just one step, but probably the most important one made in our business in recent years. From that initial boot camp, we have been able to mentor and support career changes for eight people from relevant sectors who want to move into user-centred design work. In parallel, we have made some progress with our Disability Confident employer status. We can of course do much more in both areas.NEXER SEEMS LIKE IT’S HAD AN AWESOME JOURNEY SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED IN 2007 (THEN SIGMA). WHAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST LEARNING FOR YOU IN THAT TIME?That you can stay focused on the work you want to do. I’ve been given a lot of freedom to build the team, services and culture we need to focus on the sectors and causes we care about. If you can find value and friendships in your work, from colleagues to clients, it’s all a lot easier and more rewarding. That does include being bold, and honest, about the things you want to tackle, both in your own organisation and the client problems you work with. Accessibility is never done, behaviours are never truly inclusive, and user's needs clash. If you can embrace that and all the hypocrisies and missteps it might bring, while showing you have good intent, things are less stressful, generally.WHAT’S BEEN YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT?The team we continue to build, their enthusiasm for their specialist craft and their focus on making stuff better. I’m still proud when I watch them speak, show me something we have designed or built, raise a theme they want to explore, or simply compromise and design things collaboratively. We need to keep that.WE GOT IN TOUCH FROM TWITTER, WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT OWNING ANY HYPOCRISY ON ANY D&I INITIATIVE. WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU MEAN BY THIS?I think this came from observing a reluctance in some client teams to work in the open, specifically about accessibility. Sadly, due to the very real and important legal aspects, some people are nervous about sharing what they’ve achieved, for fear of being criticised for what they still need to do. It means the good, small steps and commitments to inclusion aren’t shared, so don’t encourage others to invest. I’d favour a more open, honest approach, where gaps are acknowledged, roadmaps are shared, and apologies offered. The same applies to our own team and diversity, where we are stronger in some areas, such as LGBTQ+ inclusion, yet were falling behind in other areas. The Diverse & Equal partnership came about when we embraced some of the awkwardness around a lack of cultural diversity in our own team and in leadership roles. We also need to work harder at supporting disabled and neurodiverse colleagues so accessibility informs who we are, as well as what we do.FINALLY, YOU ARE A VOLUNTEER AT DIVERSITY ROLE MODELS. WHO ARE THEY AND WHAT DO THEY DO?Diversity Role Models are a UK charity that encourages inclusion and acceptance through positive LGBTQ+ storytelling. They deliver workshops, assemblies and training in schools to help people teachers and young people consider diverse families, inclusive language and reduce homophobic, transphobic and biphobic bullying. We have supported them with their digital strategy since they launched in 2011. They are still very much needed, as their most recent impact report highlighted that “Secondary school pupils are most likely to be bullied when they are gay or thought to be gay (42%)”. As well as supporting them in our work at Nexer, I also volunteer for them as a role model, trainer and workshop facilitator, where I share my own coming-out journey. The aim is to offer some personal insight into the experience of being a lesbian and living in a happy, same-sex relationship and raising a young family. I hope it resonates.Thanks, Hilary you rock 🤘Interview by Charles Hoskins

Not many of us know what we want to do in our twenties...or thirties...or forties...let ALONE when we were 11. But as 11-year-old Kinga Stryszowska-Hill explored the forests and rural countryside of Poland, she knew she was destined to feed her passion for the environment - whatever that would end up looking like. Here, we hear about Kinga's journey from academia to industry having gained a BA, MS, and PhD in Environmental Studies, and eventually finding a strong affinity in tech to solve real-level environmental problems as a Geospatial Data Scientist. This wasn't an overnight transition but Kinga proves if you put the time and hard graft in - anything is possible. The other common thread throughout this interview is about the importance of networking, community and mentorship and Kinga's passion to help fellow techies and share advice over a coffee.So grab your tipple of choice and find out how to embrace change and take the first step toward your dream career!SO GOOD TO BE SPEAKING WITH YOU! LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING, WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALISE YOU WERE PASSIONATE ABOUT USING YOUR SKILLS AS A FORCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GOOD?Well, I grew up in a very rural town in Poland, an upbringing which saw me freely run around in the local forests and fields. So, it’s safe to say that from a very early age, I always had an affinity with the outdoors! In the ’90s my parents emigrated to the United States, bringing the whole family to New York City, the move was a HUGE shift to what I was used to, I’d be taken from a luscious green bliss to an urban jungle! It was a huge move for an 11-year-old, the move undoubtedly speared me to environmental stewardship whether 11-year-old me knew about it or not! I always had a natural gravitation to biology through high school and really excelled at Biology, when the time came to start thinking about what I wanted to do post high school it was such an easy decision. It has to be the environment; I remember thinking this is what’s been missing from my life! My passion only increased as I gained a BA, MS, and PhD in Environmental Studies, subsequently sharing my knowledge as a visiting assistant professor & postdoc associate before transitioning into industry as a Geospatial Data Scientist just over 12 months ago. WOAH, WHAT A JOURNEY! HOW WAS THAT TRANSITION FROM ACADEMIA TO INDUSTRY? Academia is relatively closed off, with most academics being expected to stay in academia to do research and teach. With very little guidance and support on how to get out and exit the system. I decided to leave not because I felt like I wasn’t making a difference in academia, I was still super happy, more so I found I was always struggling to find real security in a full-time position with an adequate salary. I identified Data/ Tech as an area I would excel, with my science background I knew my analytics skills were super sharp, knowing I could use those skills to solve real-level environmental problems.OK, AND WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A WOMAN MOVING INTO TECH, WHICH IS TRADITIONALLY A SPACE DOMINATED BY MALES?I guess I’m fortunate that I’ve not had any huge adverse experiences in both industry or academia (which is also very male-dominated). Which is good. That said, I’ve seen first-hand the positive power of having women in senior management can have on a business.WHAT LESSONS OR ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS WANTING TO FOLLOW A SIMILAR PATH IN USING THEIR SKILLS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP WHO MAY BE LOOKING TO TRANSITION FROM ACADEMIA TO INDUSTRY? Well, it’s such a big shift and equally difficult, I will invite anybody to follow me on LinkedIn, I’m always wanting to help aspiring techies and welcome a quick virtual coffee to muse about all there is. That said, separating it into the particulars of my path as a Data Specialist/ Data Scientist, my advice would be to start with a basic analytics tool such as Excel and work up from there, to SQL, R or Python. You don’t have to be an expert in any of them, though there’s always an element of upskilling involved.And then there’s the subject matter expertise, for example, my company hired me because of my water expertise, having these specific nuances is often what secures you that role. Sidenote, My PhD took me five years, my Masters 3 years and Bachelors 4 years - it’s a lot of education! Sometimes I think how much of an impact I could have made if I spent some of this time working for a mission-driven start-up!I’m also a huge proponent of networking, and coffee chats. I learn something every single time I speak to someone new doing a similar profession. This is just talking to learn what type of work they do in different companies.HOW ARE YOU GOING ABOUT THESE INTERVIEWS KINGA? IT CAN BE PRETTY DAUNTING APPROACHING A CEO FOR A FRESH GRADUATE FOR EXAMPLE.I guess to get some runway, I started by reaching out to loose connections in the space I was looking to pivot into. Also, I don’t yet reach out to CEOs, more so people on a similar peer level or a role/ title that I’m interested in. You’ll likely get way more value immediately this way. I often ask, what do you do, how do you do it and how did you get her? People love helping, it’s in our nature. My advice to any student would be to be brave and network with people that inspire and motivate you.DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS A MENTOR?I guess so, my LinkedIn presence has a mentoring capacity in some ways. I’ve had a lot of conversations sharing my advice which I love. I personally don’t have any formal mentor/mentee relationships.DO YOU FEEL MORE CAN BE DONE TO SUPPORT WOMEN IN THE TECH COMMUNITY? I think community is so important. Slack, LinkedIn, and Facebook can be really powerful in these respects. I think if more women can be featured as role models it’s only a good thing.WHAT DO YOU DO TO DISENGAGE FROM DATA SCIENCE, WHAT CAN BE A VERY MENTALLY ENGAGING CAREER?Naturally, it probably comes as no surprise, with three young girls I love just to have a full reset and get some fresh air and explore. We’ve recently relocated to North Carolina, so still learning about the local surroundings.FAVOURITE MANTRA OR QUOTE YOU LIVE BY? That’s super hard. I really struggle with these. The thing that resonated most is embracing change, and seeing it as a positive. Scary change may be the best of all, life is always going to throw changes at you, we’ve had some really unexpected times of late. Rather than being locked down by fear and inaction, just lean into things. Not operating by fear. My transition from academia to Data Science was terrifying but only good things came from it.DO YOU RECKON YOUR MOVE FROM POLAND TO THE U.S. AT A RELATIVELY YOUNG AGE HAS MADE YOU MORE ADEPT AT CHANGE?Yes maybe! Though it’s not something I often think about. Embrace things and take the next step forward!Thanks, Kinga you rock 🤘Interview by Mike Hardwick