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INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF WOMEN IN DATA & TECHNOLOGY

How do you feel about being recognised as one of Women in Data’s ’20 in 20’?

As an engineer, I am delighted and honoured to be recognised as one of Women in Data’s ’20 in 20’. The gender imbalance in technology-oriented fields of work is significant, and Women in Data is not only a great way to address this, but it also encourages the next generation of women to pursue a career in data, technology and engineering.

It’s been an ‘interesting’ 12 months - could you give an example of a personal high and low point?

‘Interesting’ is one way to put it! The pandemic has had a strong impact on people and families - and I feel that is where emphasis should be placed, remembering those that we have lost and how we can heal and recover, as individuals, families and as interactive societies. The pandemic impacted the healthcare system and the economy as well, and UtterBerry had to strongly analyse the landscape, innovate and move in new directions. A highlight for me was the innovation of UtterBerry’s Covid Sensor to reduce the spread of the virus. UtterBerry worked extremely hard to deliver this device in as short a time as possible. We created a unique device with artificial intelligence and a wide range of applications, and I am very happy with how it has turned out so far (it has created a new product and service line in UtterBerry’s business).

A low point for me would be the restrictions on travel and the different work life Covid has placed upon us. I miss being able to travel around the globe to attend technology events and to meet new partners and work with them. Also, I miss having the full team in the office and we have been working hard to stay alive and overcome the challenges presented by Covid. UtterBerry, my company, did also lose a year’s worth of expansion, but we are working hard to reverse this small setback.

We’ve all had to adjust to a different way of working - how has it affected you professionally? 

Professionally speaking, more money had to be invested into the company amid the harsh environment that is business at the moment. This has, however, been counteracted by our continued positive attitude towards the situation and the support of my team, who have stuck close and stayed strong through this past year. I have also had to adjust how we work with our partners. Not being able to visit sites and do the work we need to do has been difficult. I additionally set up a new working environment for my engineers, which at first proved to be tricky. On top of this, having payments stopped from certain customers also added to this change in working, but a constant positive attitude towards everything helped tremendously. 

How do you balance work and life responsibilities with the pressure of aspiring to be the best at what you do?

Being a mother, running a company, and being an engineer… I do need to multitask! I plan and prioritise responsibilities. My family and the UtterBerry team have all stayed with me and together we have tackled any problems that have arisen. We need that sense of community and to step up and help each other, especially in situations such as Covid-19. We all need each other, and we should continue to provide that communal help and support.

What have been the most significant barriers to achieving this stage in your career?

The biggest barrier for me is when people expect to hear a more executive decision than mine when it comes to doing business. For example, people will ask me what would be the best way to go about doing something, but regardless of what I say, they will also expect a ‘follow-up’ male response. This is disappointing and this does need to change.

Do you experience resistance when you’re leading men - and if so, how do you deal with it?

Not from within my own team, but definitely from the external environment. I like to hire open-minded people, so I have no problem at all from my own team, but this is something I have felt from external parties and this is also a social ‘trend’ that needs to change.

What is some of the advice you’d share with young women entering a male-dominated profession?

You’re not going to get everyone around you telling you what you do is great. I believe there are two elements to this:

People need the will to achieve and this completely depends on you as an individual. Having a good work ethic and taking charge of what you do is crucial for success, and nobody else will do that for you. Though it is certainly helpful when people around you provide encouragement, you do need the underlying determination to succeed. There also needs to be an awareness of society’s issues and a benefit to others in what you do. Secondly, women need to want to be in a certain environment, and not because of any external factors. I never looked at myself as different from anyone else when entering engineering and the tech businesses as a woman, I really loved solving problems and designing technology and saw that it could be a fulfilling career. 

What was your breakthrough moment?

Securing patents for my products was probably one of the biggest breakthrough moments for me. Another one for me was opening UtterBerry. Besides working on some major technologies, the decision to open the company was a large one. I worked for eight years to establish a good foundation for the company, and now my team and I are building upon this and are achieving great things.

What is your greatest strength?

I am a very determined individual when it comes to work and engineering. I love being with people and working with people. I can’t wait for the pandemic to truly end so I can get back to working with my team and clients. I also like teaching people new things, especially when it has something to do with tech or engineering. 

What needs to change in the next 10 years for women in data and technology?

Children need to start getting into engineering and science at a very early age. I don’t believe toys should be marketed as ‘girls toys’ or ‘boys toys’. I have seen an increase in young girls playing video games such as Roblox and Minecraft and starting to design things that they wouldn’t have done perhaps 10 years ago. Society needs to realise that women are capable of doing the same things as men are.

Secondly, equal pay is key. I find that women are still underpaid in comparison to men in the technology/engineering sector. You will find that the boards of big companies are still mostly male dominated. The older generation need to change and accept more females. They shouldn’t be worried to accept more female engineers; we know what we’re talking about! A blind eye is turned to female technical capabilities, so this needs to change. 

You’ve been a passionate advocate for STEM Education - how do we best go about involving more young women at an earlier stage?

As we dive further and further into the world of technology and as we become more used to including machinery and ‘gadgets’, software, video games, etc., in our everyday lives, I feel as though we will slowly see a decline in the need to advocate STEM as young people will start to adopt it via school curriculums. However, we are still not quite at that stage yet and there is still work to be done to encourage more young women to become STEM advocates. We need engineers, scientists, mathematicians, etc. We can see this from Covid. Countries that have embraced technologies that mitigate the effects of Covid have prevailed, and this sort of infrastructure can only be created with engineers, scientists and mathematicians. For this to go forward, it’s not just girls that need encouragement to start careers in engineering.