Female leaders in IT: Emma’s story

Having an interest in tech since school, where even before the Internet she created a Computer Club using an AS 400 machine to connect and send messages to the boys school, Emma Williams developed her passion into a career in IT. She now speaks about issues for women in the industry.

Emma is a Team Manager at the Vale of Glamorgan Council, having worked her way up from a Help Desk, climbing the ladder in different (public and private) IT organisations. She enjoys encouraging and supporting others to reach their full potential.  

Although driven by her passion for technology from an early age, Emma noticed there was a gap in female role models in the tech industry. This can affect the representation and drive for women to want to be a part of the IT space.

Emma used the example of when she started in her role. Initially, there was a 50:50 ratio of men to women, but most of the women left, leaving only three women and 47 men. The idea that there are no progression opportunities resonated with many of the women who had left.

 "It's a bit like walking in a dead man's shoes; you have to wait until someone moves on."

Emma had tried to tackle this negative impact from the lack of female representation in the IT industry by working with Chwarae Teg. Emma reached out to Chwarae Teg to be a part of their mentoring scheme. They were looking for women in STEM industries to mentor, advise and help women pursue a career in a typically male-dominated space.

As Emma has always been confident in her abilities in IT and speaks confidently when giving input, she had no experience of the issues that many women in the tech industry had faced. This new experience opened Emma's mind and eyes to what it is like to be a woman in tech.

"When I was younger, I kind of sailed through stuff. I was always really confident in my abilities, and I just kept pushing forward regardless. But with age comes wisdom and new perspective, and talking to the other women really opened my eyes to what other people saw. Like, yes, this is actually happening."

Emma realised that many women in tech were not as confident as her. Most usually went along with what the men in their department were saying rather than questioning it or providing a different solution.

Emma has seen that women take on more work and don't say "No, I can't" as they feel they need to prove their worth more than a man in that position.

Emma's conversations with women in tech made it clear that many women would just fade into the background, possibly because they are suffering from imposter syndrome. Such feelings are common as being a minority in a male-dominated space can cause you to question your abilities. This is why representation is important.

In terms of the representation of women in tech, if you aren't submissive and fading into the background, you can be seen as assertive/bossy; there is no middle ground in Emma's experience. To achieve equality in these spaces we need to address these gender biases about people's traits. E.g. a man can be sensitive without being seen as weak, and a woman can be assertive without being depicted as bossy.

"I think if a woman comes equipped, if a woman is assertive, or a woman is very passionate, it is seen as she's being hysterical. Whilst if a man is seen as these things, he is a good worker."

According to Emma, these unconscious industry biases are still prevalent in today's tech space. Even when it comes to International Women's Day, and a man poses the question of why women have a “day” and men don't, it really highlights the deep-rooted issues that have been culturally internalised for Emma.

Not understanding why days like these are important exemplifies the issues and expected privilege of certain groups (not all men, but those who do not wish to understand the importance of these campaigns).

"If you don't understand why we need an International Women's Day, you're part of the problem."

What both men and women can do?

Emma suggests both men and women need to address some of these internalised behaviours so that we can move forward in the bid for equal space in IT.

Women

Don't be a people pleaser and understand your contributions are just as valuable. Many of us are guilty of being a people pleaser to steer away from "bossy" stigmas or to not be a "troublemaker".

Although we feel we need to work harder and accept all additional tasks, we should start saying no, and people need to recognise that women can't be perfect all the time. Rather than just being their authentic self, many try and jump through all these hoops to show their abilities.

"I think that women have to work a lot harder than men to get the same level of respect from people. In tech, a lot of the time, a man would automatically get recognised as someone that knew what they were doing; as a woman, you need to put that marker down and show you know your stuff before getting that status."

Men

Recognise how your words and actions can have an effect. For example, sometimes a woman in a meeting may explain a concept, but only when a male attendee paraphrases that same concept does it gain the other men's attention, even if it was the woman's point. Although it may seem small to some, actions like this can make others lose confidence, feel unappreciated and finally lose interest in their work.

"In my experience, both men and women are unaware of the things they are doing. As a woman, we sometimes don't help ourselves and are too nice. While some men seem to speak a different language and only respond when another man is speaking. To change the culture in the IT industry we need to address these issues."