I’m a female analyst working in a male-dominated industry where I’m reminded of my gender, probably one too many times. When I began my IT career, I was gender-blind but it soon became apparent that not everyone was. I remember telling an IT support assistant that I worked in testing and their first response was, ‘you don’t look like someone who works in IT.’ That’s just one of the many puzzling remarks I have come across.
Most of my colleagues are male, and I often find myself having to repeat my ideas and feel my contributions are disregarded. In the past, I’ve received patronising replies to my questions, coupled with colleagues talking over me. Once, after a ‘technical’ meeting, a male colleague asked me ‘Did you get that?’ I had contributed equally to the meeting but it didn’t seem enough.
That awkward situation made me question the way I was communicating. My reaction was to explore resources on effective communication and how to develop my technical skills. Slowly, I found myself talking ‘technical’ language, which helped me feel more involved in daily conversations.
In most teams I’m the only woman at the table, trying to join in and build a rapport. Yet, at times this has become difficult as the professional line has been blurred; for instance, I had a male colleague send me a love note via Skype. My male colleague thought it was hilarious but my female colleagues felt it was completely inappropriate.
I’ve had to deal with discrimination, from blatant and subtle sexism, sometimes labelled as ‘office banter’, to unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. If I challenge a situation where I feel uncomfortable, male colleagues often excuse it as ‘a bit of fun’ and them ‘just trying to create a relaxed workplace’. I was once told by a male manager that no matter where I move jobs, there will always be this type of behaviour because we work in IT. I don’t agree. I believe if a culture is fostered by senior managers, who participate in, rather than challenge unprofessional behaviour, then the status quo won’t change.
I would also appreciate it if more women would lift each other up in a male-dominated space too, as it’s not always the case. On one occasion, I took the initiative on a project to improve processes, but a female colleague told me ‘to stick to my job description’ and what I was hired to do. These types of remarks can demotivate and discourage people in the workplace. I’m fortunate that I have built up a great support system and have the self-belief to speak up when I feel demoralised, but that took me years to nurture and I’m still working on it today.
I have had some really great male colleagues though, who have advocated on my behalf. They have helped me gain more responsibility on projects and vocally supported me in difficult situations.
On one occasion, I wrote an email with ideas to a male project manager thinking it would probably be discarded. To my surprise, he asked me to add a meeting slot the following week to go through my concepts. He listened and said ‘keep coming up with the great ideas and I will let you know how I can help’. It was then that I really started to enjoy the different facets to my job, because I could follow-through with my ideas.
Through the challenges I have faced as a woman in the IT industry, I’m more aware of the qualities I want to emulate and possess as a female leader. I think it’s vital that we are always evolving our skills and recognise that our female peers should be our allies, not our competition.
When there is more diversity at the table, women can bring a multitude of new ideas and in turn, that will help to further cultivate a sense of inclusion. My experiences have made me more assertive and cemented my hopes for more women in the workplace. I’ve made a silent promise to myself to always encourage women to strive to be better and to champion the amazing abilities they possess.
