Embracing Equity in Tech

A Woman’s Experience in Tech – My Journey, My Experience & My Views

Once upon a time, I found myself going back in what felt like a time capsule to face my past experiences in the world of technology and I realised that customer experience and technology have always been an item. So, my tango with technology to birth innovation goes way back…

And let me put this out there – I am still astonished at how the rapid pace of technological development continues to drive change and impact the way we think, live, work, and interact with each other.

…It started in 2004 with a GSM company where I had been working as a contact centre agent for two years. At the time we had to pull up several applications to be able to serve ‘The Customer’ delightfully. This process didn’t allow efficient time management because as the volume of customer calls persistently increased, the bar was constantly being raised to pick more calls, and the use of several applications made it difficult to achieve set targets. Right, there was a ‘problem statement’ that needed a solution to change the way we worked, improve employee experience with infrastructure that made us more efficient. Consequently, a few of us were selected to brainstorm a way to solve the problem. Brainstorm we did. I recall even then, the sessions were guy-dominated, guy-led, and the solutions were guy-built. I remember feeling like I was struggling to be part of an all-boys club.

Now let’s fast forward to my first banking experience between 2006 and 2009. The contact centre team relied heavily on the Information Technology Team to achieve most of its deliverables. I was supervising the Contact Centre then and heavily relied on the IT team every day to deliver. It was tough to get things done then. I recall that every time I went to their floor, I was hit by the little speck of ladies amidst the blue-collared cloud of men. You could hear a pin drop once I walked through their door. These same sights successively played out in the next three organisations I worked with, which were in the banking and telecoms sectors until 2015, where I found myself working with another bank that had presence in 19 countries in Africa at the time. I remember stepping into the IT Support floor and smiling as I beheld the splashes of colour in almost every workstation hub. Though women didn’t out-number the men, they were everywhere I looked, and some of them held leadership roles which made my heart warm.

My engagement with some of those women in tech were exciting as I worked with some of them to deliver on my CX projects. I found them to be highly intellectual, assertive, intelligent and filled with different perspective to the problems we were trying to solve.
Then, in 2019, I said goodbye to Banking for good and stepped into the tech space with an organisation that was pivoting from being a Registrar business to a business solution delivery organisation. I must say that it seemed I had gone back in time to 2004, because the engineering team was 99% male dominated. I could barely find a speck of the female gender. All the software engineers were male.

It was glaring that the gender gap needed to be filled. So, as I assumed my role as Director Programmes, i-Academy, a platform powered by Africa Prudential, to impact our community by training youths to become well-rounded software developers, I discovered that the female gender makes up about a mere 25% in the software development talent economy. This though low motivated me push to have at least 30% of female participation in our first cohort of 30.

As a keen observer, I dare say that women have made significant progress in the tech industry in recent years, but there is still a long way to go before the field is truly gender-inclusive. Some of the challenges I have seen them face are over the years are:

1. The lack of diversity in the industry. They often find that they are the only woman in the room, in their team, which can be isolating and intimidating. This lack of diversity also affects the types of projects and technologies that are called to participate in or lead.

2. Their perspectives and ideas are sometimes overlooked or undervalued, which can have negative consequences for both the company and its customers.

3. Women have also experienced discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Even if never physically assaulted, they have had to deal with sexist comments, and other forms of inappropriate behaviour. These actions create a toxic work environment, and can discourage women from pursuing careers in tech.

As I wrap this up, I state with confidence that despite these challenges, women who have stuck through the rough, have found many positive aspects of working in tech as a woman. They found mentors and allies who have supported them in building their careers. They have also been able to work on projects that they are passionate about and use their skills to make a positive impact on the world. That is why I encourage more women to boldly build careers in the tech industry.

1. Being a woman in tech can give you a unique perspective on the industry. It gives you a platform to bring your own experiences and ideas to the table, which will make a difference in innovating and creating new solutions.

2. The longer more women thrive in the tech economy, the more empowered they are to mentor other women in the industry, which would be a mutual rewarding experience.

3. It is important for women to build a strong support network in the tech industry. This will include the mentors, colleagues, and organisations that advocate for women in tech.

4. Women should not be afraid to speak up and challenge the status quo. By raising awareness of the challenges that women face in tech, and by pushing for change, women can help to create a more equitable and inclusive industry.

5. More companies are taking steps to improve diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. And we are seeing more women being hired and promoted to leadership positions, and more attention being paid to the issue of gender bias. I am hopeful that as these changescontinue, the industry will become more welcoming and inclusive for women.

Finally, I will end by saying that while there are still many obstacles for women to overcome, being a woman in tech can be a rewarding and fulfilling career. With more attention being paid to diversity and inclusion in recent times, I am hopeful that the tech economy / industry will become a more welcoming and equitable place for women.