Advocating for women in tech this international women’s day

Ever since I was a child, I was always interested in computers and so I firmly believe that it was meant to be that I worked within tech. As Jeff Bezos says, "you don't choose your passion – your passion chooses you". If working in a STEM industry is truly what you want to do and where you see yourself, then follow your heart – you can do it. Put in the hours and dedication every day, and never give up.

Each day you are a day closer to working in your dream job. I love that within my role every day is a different challenge and experience. In DevOps we have the freedom to be ultimate geeks, as well as super creative and innovative at the same time. I love my job and the people that I work with here at Bulletproof.

I actually started my career within STEM in mechanical engineering. I realised that area wasn’t for me, but I noticed I really enjoyed working with IT. It then became apparent to me that a critical part of IT was security, so I did an MSc in Information Security and here I am! I thoroughly enjoy leading the compliance team here at Bulletproof.

There is absolutely no reason why women cannot excel in this industry. Be confident in your abilities and don’t think that you have to be able to do absolutely everything listed when you consider a job advert. Something I have certainly taken on board within my time as a manager is to recruit for attitude over skill – you can teach skills but it’s harder to find the right attitude for the team.

I’ve worked in technology for 15+ years now. I enjoy the fast-paced environment and it’s really satisfying when you can take a highly technical concept and create material that helps a customer understand how and why you can solve their problem. Having worked in tech for a long time, I have had my fair share of being the only woman in the room. In the early stages of my career it was definitely more challenging, but thankfully with more and more women joining the industry, I’ve seen a massive change in culture and I feel proud to work in the industry.

My advice for others is to not be put off applying for a job in tech if you don’t have a technical degree. If you are interested in your company’s technology and can understand how it solves customer’s problems, that’s more than enough to get you on your way.

I have always enjoyed learning more and more about the data privacy landscape and supporting clients in driving up their compliance levels. I have worked in teams with both a majority of men and teams where most of my colleagues were females. However, I noticed that in the teams of mostly men there was a pressure applied to ensure that I stood out and that I wasn’t overshadowed. It’s refreshing to work here at Bulletproof and know that your voice matters no matter who is in the room.

My advice to anyone looking to get into the world of compliance and technology is go for it!

My career has been long and varied. But working within compliance was a conscious switch from an IT career spanning programming, UAT testing and project management. I saw compliance when it was in its infancy. I hoped to master it and to be able to make some kind of impact because I believed in the core principles.

Compliance has proven to be an enriching and interesting career move. It’s still a very young industry and in the coming years, due to the speed of tech advancement, compliance will be an exciting and essential part of that advance. A long time ago I learnt not to define my interest and abilities by a single life-long career path. Today, more than ever, it is possible to switch into a role that interests you.