The term ‘empowered female’ might evoke images of a leotard-clad Beyonce or a smart but stylish Michelle Obama (whilst Chaka Khan lyrics circle your mind). But what about the women that don’t have the pop icon status, but have influenced the world of tech and business and encouraged others to lean in?
Last week, Intercity’s #girlgang attended the Women of Silicon Roundabout event at London’s ExCel to hear from leaders within the industry about issues ranging from taking a seat at the table in true Sheryl Sandberg fashion to finding a power hour in your working week to develop yourself. Aside from the unseasonably summery (and slightly tropical) weather, it was a thought-provoking expo full of insights aimed at developing and empowering women within our industry to become the future leaders we need to close the digital skills-gap.
“Adidas women in technology – How to take charge of your work-life balance and succeed in an ever-changing world” – Nicola Marie Beste (Senior Director)
A lot of women would say that their ability to invest in themselves is a luxury they don’t have with a commitment to childcare and making their house a home. But what about if you could find a single hour in your working week to read about Blockchain, or to learn how artificial intelligence may power your business? The solution? A power-hour that you map into your diary every week to spend on bettering yourself. We often get preoccupied with the daily grind, and don’t think about how we might be able to take a step forward today for our future career development. Nicola spoke on the challenge when faced with comments that undermine your professionalism, that calling out inappropriate behaviour is key, and that finding the courage to tell someone they’ve offended you is necessary. She also encouraged the audience to consider who their supporters are, whether your cheerleader comes in the form of your partner, your colleagues, or even your friends, to have a network of people who can keep you motivated and grounded. Perhaps one of the biggest and most resonating comments was to stop trying to be perfect: not being home all the time and having to leave work early sometimes to be a supportive parent doesn’t mean you’ve failed, it means you’re human.
“Sainsbury's: Taking Charge & Learning to lead” – Helen Hunter (Group Chief Data Officer)
Helen’s recipe for career success was around being the best at what you do, building your private and public advocacy, and a bit of luck to land your next big role. She also commented on something that probably every woman in the audience could identify with: women focus on asking for advice on work-life balance, whereas men will instead ask questions about their decision-making ability. She also encouraged women to not treat success in the workplace like a popularity contest and reminded everyone that you’ll sometimes implement a new strategy or solution that disrupts the status quo. Referencing the late Kate Spades, who once said ‘I believed I could, so I did’, she said being told to be confident, even if coming from a good place, is unhelpful advice. ‘It’s like asking me to be taller, I can’t change it’. Instead, she encouraged women to be brave in putting themselves forward for opportunities. The best way to improve the status and opportunities of women in the workplace? ‘The most effective way to change ideas around leadership is to have more women in leadership positions’.
Intercity’s Marketing Manager, Sophie Cornock said “It’s great to see so many women coming together to learn and develop in leading the way forward, in what is perceived to be such a male dominated Industry. WIT Silicon Valley gives you the platform to learn from peers and senior board members including global brands, and how they are investing to get more women in to technology. It was a very inspirational two days which left me proud to be in this industry, and excited for what my future career holds.”
Sonia Hall, People Director, commented “I think the biggest thing I took away from the event was that we should focus more on equity, and not equality. Everyone has preconceived ideas of a person and this could mean we let superstars pass us by. I’ll be introducing some interview awareness training around not having preconceived ideas and exploring unconscious bias after the 1st Stage of the recruitment process. I also learnt that we should invite colleagues to forums/meetings even they are not currently in a technical role......you never know you might just find a superstar.”
