HOME IS WHERE SHE
MAKES IT HAPPEN

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’?

I am so honoured and humbled to accept this award and to join a group of outstanding women across many different industries who all share their passion for data and insights. Despite greater awareness of the critical importance of gender diversity in data and tech roles, women are still underrepresented, particularly in leadership. Organisations like Women in Data are moving the dial on that – and we still have a long way to go – but things are definitely improving. Awards like this put us women on the map and celebrate our achievements – it's amazing to be part of that.

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

Personal high – getting the new role at INTO Global!

Personal low – all the disruption to the kids’ education – I have two teens and both have struggled with school closure and cancellation of exams.

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

I was initially “zoomed out” with all the back-to-back video calls – but once people got used to working remotely, we began to schedule fewer calls and have more breaks between meetings. It took about 6 months to find a new rhythm of working but as Pearson is a global company and my stakeholders are all over the world, I was already used to working via video calls and meeting and managing people/teams remotely.

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

The honest truth is I don’t! Something always suffers and for me it’s been my family life. I simply have not been around that much for my kids. Sadly, it’s the sacrifice I’ve made to get into leadership. I wish I could tell you a different story. I don’t have a “house husband” at home to take care of the kids and manage everything for me – we both work and through all our working lives we have relied on childminders and after-school childcare as we don’t have family close by to help. I wish corporations were better at understanding the need to balance work and family life. I think this pandemic is changing attitudes because so many people who found themselves at home suddenly realised how much they were missing out by not spending more time with their families.

What has been the most significant barrier to achieving this stage in your career?

To be frank I think women of colour like me face not only the discrimination around gender but also around racism. I’m sure unconscious bias played a big role in why I didn’t get the promotions or the big jobs I applied for earlier in my life.

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

No not in my experience – my teams have always been made up of both genders and resistance has been more based on certain personality types than gender. For example, people who don’t like change have been the types I’ve found hard to manage and have resisted changes I’ve wanted to bring about to improve productivity.

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

Don’t think you have to act all tough and macho! Use kindness and empathy and you will win everyone over!

What was your breakthrough moment?

When I stopped trying to impress the top leaders! I suddenly realised that I am the expert and I don’t need to try so hard to impress them. That actually only happened very recently – around a year ago. I thought to myself they should feel lucky to have someone like me to work for them! Once I started feeling like that – I found renewed energy and confidence in myself.

What is your greatest strength?

Resilience! I have been through so much change and disruption in my life and have had to tackle all sorts of family crisis in my life whilst maintaining a cool façade and coming across all calm and collected. Covid has made us all a lot more resilient too I feel.

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

It goes right back to schools. We need to encourage more girls to be ambitious about their future. They don’t all need to be academically smart as you can learn the technical skills needed, but you do have to have great character traits like a can-do attitude. Think outside the box and be willing to go the extra mile when needed.

You recently joined INTO Global from Pearson - what was the main factor behind the choice of move?

I have spent several years in large multinationals and found that there is too much politics and bureaucracy. I wanted to change to a smaller business where I could directly see the impact I can have on business performance. It’s difficult to gauge that impact in such large organisations where you have literally hundreds of stakeholders across so many verticals – all needing insight support. You can get spread too thin. Here I have a lot more authority and autonomy to make my own decisions.