Leading women into digital careers â programming not required
As a female founder of a tech start-up, Emily Bobis is accustomed to being mistaken for the intern, while her (male) employee standing alongside is praised for building such a successful company.
âWhatâs wrong with maybe assuming that the woman runs the company? At worst, they could (run the risk) of giving a compliment,â Ms Bobis told the audience at the Women Leading in Digital breakfast, hosted by the ±ŹÁÏÍő Business School.
Ms Bobisâ company, Compass IoT, which she co-founded with Angus McDonald, is a multi-award-winning road intelligence company that uses data to improve road safety and plan better transport infrastructure.
âI think there is this feeling that I need to prove I am a capable person before I can sell a capable idea,â Ms Bobis said.
Professor Leisa Sargent, the Dean of the ±ŹÁÏÍő Business School, pointed out women comprise just 29 percent of the workforce in the tech sector, compared to 48 percent of employees in professional and technical services.
âPart of the importance of having women in technology is to make sure that we actually have products or services that are inclusive and create opportunities for a broader cross section of society in terms of thinking about the needs of other markets and other groups,â Professor Sargent said.
Having robots alongside traditional playground objects could help inspire more young women into tech careers, was a suggestion by , the winner of the .
âYou need to start early,â Ms Dovico said. âBecause itâs then you start to form opinions and how you feel about different types of subjects, things that youâd like to learn, and interesting challenges you want to take really early.â
Ms Dovico said she also wants to banish the notion that you must be a developer to work in tech.
âTech like any other industry needs diversity of skills and capabilities,â Ms Dovico said.
A mixed skill set was crucial to the success of her team at Amazon Music, according to , the winner of the UX Leader of the Year WID Award.
âDigital extends beyond software engineering,â Ms Chan said.
âProduct design, UX strategy and research are all key components to developing high quality digital experiences. Individuals in these roles may study Human-computer interactions (HCI) or Human-centered design (HCD) but many come from backgrounds like architecture, industrial design, customer service, community management, psychology, or market research.â
âWhen the opportunity to shift careers starts to catch on, and these roles become more prevalent in digital product development, it will help products become more user-friendly, more intuitive, and perform better by improving connection with the end userâs needs.â
Professor Sargent said employers can utilise a software aid that detects gender bias in position descriptions.
âIt will tell you if the language is masculine. So you can actually think â what are the different words I can use here?â
Professor Sargent asked the panel for their advice to those in the early stage of their career.
Ms Chan encourages her team not to be afraid of failure.
âWhen it comes to risk and innovation, think of it as moving one step forward. âFâ for forward instead of âFâ for fail, is really important. That will help create that competitive landscape and encourage people to choose (tech) as a career path.â
Ms Dovico said she regularly advises recent graduates and interns to âleverage your networks.â
âI tell them at some point, youâre going to stop needing to apply for jobs, because people will tap you on the shoulder and say, âHey, I think you would be really good at thisâ. If youâve done something good, you should be celebrating it, you should be telling people about it.â
âWhen in doubt â do something,â said Compass IoT co-founder, Ms Bobis.
âIdeas are great, but execution is everything. When youâre not sure which option to pick, just pick any of them. And then you can always pivot later if it doesnât work out.â
Professor Sargent asked the panellists to imagine a metaphor for their career journey.
Stevie-Ann Dovico
Executive Digital, Customer & Colleague, NAB
My career is a degustation menu, I never pick a career on the traditional criteria of seniority or pay. I know if I donât have something thatâs going to be really hard to crack or challenging, Iâll get bored. Itâs a like a degustation selection, I like to try interesting things.
Elisa Chan
Global Head of Research & Beta, Amazon Music
I grew up around the water, so my metaphor is waves at the beach. There are points where youâre going with the ocean, and there are points where it feels like youâre constantly fighting. There are layoffs and toxic environments, when you fall off the board, and maybe you get dragged under. But with experience you know you have the skills to handle it. I know when to put my hand up and ask for help. And sometimes, you catch the wave.
Emily Bobis
Founder, Compass IoT
I do taekwondo and I recently had my grading for my third black belt. Itâs not like the colour belts where you can grade every few months. At the black belt level, each stripe represents the minimum number of training years before you can put yourself forward for grading. When you get to black belt levels it can be very boring to focus on something singularly for four years. So even when stuff is not super interesting, being able to persist is necessary.
This article is republished from Sydney Business Insights written by Jacquelyn Hole under a Creative Commons license. .