International Women's Day

According to PwC, only 3% of women consider the tech industry as a personal career choice.

The tech industry is known for being male-dominated, and due to the lack of female tech role models being spoken about, there's no wonder that young women aren't considering the tech industry for a career.

To highlight some of the fantastic talents in tech, we have been posting weekly updates to our Instagram story showcasing remarkable women in tech throughout history.

For this occasion, we decided to speak to four tech role models that are very close to our hearts and let their voices and experiences be heard. We strive to ensure our workplace advocates gender equality throughout tech, and we are so proud of everything these four extraordinary women have achieved and continue to achieve. We asked Phoebe, Molly, Hollie, Faryal and Nikol 3 key questions:

1. What was your experience getting into tech?

2. What is it like to be a woman in tech?

3. What did your friends & family think/say when you told them about your career interest in the tech industry?

Here are their answers....

What was your experience getting into tech?

Molly:

From school leavers, tech was not an industry pushed onto me how others were e.g. hospitality, legal, accounting, teaching and nursing. However, my highest GCSE grades were in IT and mathematics. I always had an interest in computers and software, from playing PC games and creating various projects like a stop motion slideshow and YouTube video introductions; however, I noticed early on that I was the only girl in my school friendship group with these interests. With the lack of exposure and difficulty finding like-minded learners or mentors, my learning and progression naturally slumped compared to the boys with the same interests, so I decided to focus my attention and attain a job in the previously advised industries, healthcare and customer service. A few years later, and with various work experiences under my belt, I found myself looking for a starter position in the tech industry again after picking up and revising HTML and JavaScript languages over the lockdown. This was when I saw a recruitment agency with a mission to get more women in STEM and was offered my current position as an apprentice full-stack developer.

Nikol:

I first got into tech back in high school. At first, I thought programming wasn't for me as all the classes and extracurriculars were male dominated. However, I enjoyed coding and decided to pursue my passion further by attending university. One of the barriers I faced was that there weren't good universities for studying Computer Science back home (Bulgaria), so I had to face the decision to move away from home. Another barrier was imposter syndrome. I kept thinking, I haven't built a computer or done all the fancy game code analysis that most of the men on my course have done, so how can I be good enough? At first, I felt like I always had to compete with my male friends when it came to my uni work, just to prove I was not getting a free pass just because I was a girl. Later, I realised that we all are learning and this is not a competition but more trying to help each other be the best coders. Although I faced all these in my earlier years in the field, completing my degree with a 1st and finding my dream job at Pecometer have made my experience in tech even more favourable.

Faryal:

As a woman, entering tech was much more welcoming than I thought it would be. My mentors have been brilliant and accommodating throughout the journey. I feel much more awareness and support is now available for women who want to enter the tech industry.

Phoebe:

When considering entering the industry, I did not let the fact that it was male dominated deter me; I enjoyed it and was determined to get into it. Instead, I thought it could be used to my advantage as companies would be more inclined to hire female developers to show they are inclusive, encouraging a positive company image. When starting at Pecometer, I knew that one of the other apprentices was female, which helped me feel less nervous as she was a massive help when first starting out and gave me great advice. She inspires me a lot as she has now moved on to become a senior developer at Pecometer and leads a whole team of developers, including myself. This has given me faith that women can succeed highly in tech based on merit, just as men can.

What did your friends & family think/say when you told them about your career interest in the tech industry?

Molly:

My family had only known me to sit behind a laptop screen and fix all their computers, so they were not too surprised but looked bewildered when I tried to explain what I do. My friends, on the other hand, responded with excitement as well as shock whilst also asking me to build various pieces of software for them, like a diary planner app, beauty tech locator app, ext. Either way, I was lucky to have both my family and friends' support which motivated me even more.

Hollie:

I was further encouraged by family members already within the industry, particularly supported by my sister-in-law, who had gathered some great resources from her own tech journey and shared them with me.

Phoebe:

My dad was the first person I told about my interest in joining the tech industry. He would generally hear me complain about my old job and be worried that I was upset most nights. After me, he was the most relieved about getting my apprenticeship at Pecometer and continues to be happy and proud to see how much I enjoy it. My friends and family weren’t surprised about my career change; they imagined me doing something in tech as I often sat at the computer every night for hours. I am thrilled to have their support and love how interested they are in my work.

Faryal:

Well, I had mixed opinions. Some of them said yes, it’s straightforward, and you should be able to do it, while the rest felt I wouldn’t be able to do it, but they didn’t have the guts to say, “No, you can’t do it’, instead they said, "give it a go and see yourself". So, here I am, still going strong, learning something new daily, and loving every bit of it. I am so grateful that I decided to choose tech as a career.

What is it like to be a woman in tech?

Molly:

I initially feared I would be the only woman in the workforce and be viewed as 'stupid' if I asked a question; however, where imposter syndrome is so prominent in the industry, I was soon to realise, everyone is always asking questions, no one knows everything, and we all start from the same place of knowing nothing. With this confirmed, asking questions became much easier and less stressful, and the only difference between the genders was a healthy competitive rivalry between teams. Of all eight developers at Pecometer, five are women, proving a vast improvement in the societal norms that held me back on my journey into STEM.

Hollie:

No disrespect to the men in the office, but Nikol is a tech powerhouse and a source of great inspiration within the Office, it’s great to see other women developers smashing the game!

Nikol:

It is challenging but also rewarding. It is empowering knowing that while the field is still vastly male-dominated, girls are becoming just as good coders and are accepted in the tech sector. It is motivating to do your best and thrilling to work on a new project continuously. I believe nowadays girls are encouraged to study computer software and software engineering more from earlier ages. Women are more recognised for their success and contribution as well. My experience working for Pecometer has been nothing short of excellent. Being given my first job fresh out of university two years ago has made my dream come true - coding that has impact on businesses and other people's lives. I have not only gained new skills but also met some incredibly talented young people. I'd also like to think I have become more confident in my abilities as a software developer and tackling the issue of imposter syndrome thanks to the mentoring of Sean.

Faryal:

My journey as a woman in tech at Pecometer has been incredible; you are rewarded for your achievements, regardless of gender. There are equal opportunities and equal chances of growth.

We are so lucky to have these amazing women as part of our team and can 100% guarantee that our company would be nowhere near as successful without them.

"It’s good to celebrate the achievements we have made in the women’s movement – but it’s even more important that we stay conscious of the road ahead of us and make sure we’re taking action to achieve change." - UN women