Nine women at different stages of their IT careers shared challenges and successes of their respective professional journeys last week at the Toronto Chapter Wired Women Society, an association that aims to help women build careers in IT.
Topics included succession, career changes, work/life balance, and the roller coaster of change in the IT world – all from a uniquely female perspective.
Andrée Gosselin O'Meara, director, business development at Globe & Mail
When O'Meara started her IT career as a systems engineer, the industry was primarily male-dominated, not to mention the abundance of misconceptions surrounding women's skills. In the salary department, in particular, she remained vocal with her supervisors about getting equal pay as her male counterparts. "Do push. It's important that women have their place," said O'Meara.
Her advice: re-invest that income in knowledge, specifically, mobile knowledge and devices—given often demanding family obligations. "I think it's the perfect industry for women. We're mobile, it's electronic, it's Wi-Fi everywhere."
Annemarie Edwards, director of eSolutions at CPC Healthcare Communications
Edwards admits that like many, she too, was attracted to the dot.com era along with the idea of changing traditional business models. Later, with the advent of Web 2.0, her interest only mounted as clients' demands for solutions with tangible returns on investment required her to develop "more intelligent" marketing tools.
Keeping up, and interacting, with evolving technology will be a "must-have skill" in the future, she said, given "wireless networks improving in infrastructure, satellites watching our every move, the access to the Internet, and the amount of information recorded about us on a daily basis is overwhelming."
The pervasiveness of IT will only increase, said the mother of two. Among the tips that Edwards bestowed: "Embrace technology, but with caution – avoid e-mail/crackberry addiction."
Fariba Anderson, partner with Manta Group
Starting as a software programmer over 20 years ago, Anderson was not yet forty years of age when she became CIO. She faced many challenges as CIO, she recalls, quickly learning there is a "price to pay for technology and not every organization is ready to pay that price."
Be watchful how you push the technology agenda, she advised – especially considering some organizations may downplay IT over 'business talk'; and that you may be fighting the prevailing opinion that IT departments generally under deliver value.
Anderson believes in paying it forward. "Don't look to get, look to give", be it your time, an idea, a compliment. She believes everyone is a born leader, otherwise "we would be eaten by the lions back in the cave days."
Jennifer Evans, president & CEO of Sequentia Communications
Evans admits she took her first IT job, to redesign a Web site, with some trepidation. But the self-professed technophobe turned technophile has since enjoyed a non-traditional career path during which she co-founded DigitalEve International for women in IT, and as an entrepreneur built her own company.
Her advice: Confidence is key. "You may feel that you can't do it. Don't be afraid of the imposter syndrome," said Evans, who is also currently a technology columnist for the Globe and Mail's online edition. She also recommends taking risks, noting that if one is cautious by nature, then make them managed risks.
Leyland Brown, district sales manager for HP Canada
Flexible work hours influenced Brown's choice of a career in technology sales given family obligations. "Look at your career as a metaphor," she said, as a means to defining its direction. "It helps you recognize it for what it is."
She recommends volunteering internally and externally to the workplace to expand your professional network.
Lib Gibson, former corporate advisor with the Office of the President at Bell Canada Enterprises
Gibson, who's held various leadership positions through out her career, including president and vice-president of strategy, with technology and telecommunications companies, joked that her career metaphor was to "sit there and let serendipity hit you between the eyeballs."
Actually, as a student, Gibson used to participate in debate contests and said "the ability to articulate things is the biggest thing you can do for your career." Besides that skill, she suggests proving one's worth by looking to make a contribution to the company, team and colleagues – instead of looking for what the company might do for them.
She advises (jokingly): "Don't be afraid to be female." Give hugs (literal and figurative ones) and write the occasional limerick.
Rukhsana Syed, manager of corporate diversity and inclusion at IBM Canada
Syed was determined to prove wrong the executive who once told her South Asian woman can't be effective leaders. Along her journey, she remembered to stay positive, celebrate successes, embrace change, and be resilient.
She suggests getting a mentor whose strength is your weakness. And "be a mentor yourself, that's the best way to learn."
With a computer science degree, Syed joined IBM's call centre group about 10 years ago, and challenged workplace misconceptions by "climbing the ladder" to sales and eventually to her current job. Now, she creates a pipeline of future IT talent among minority groups.
Anjali Kapoor, head of media at Yahoo! Canada
Kapoor may have made a career for herself in Internet publishing, but she didn't set out to focus on IT when she graduated from print journalism over a decade ago.
Kapoor said she was attracted to the immediacy of the online platform and knowing that "readers are always one click away" especially given, nowadays, the audience plays an active role in the media.
Kapoor recommends always learning beyond your domain, staying abreast of technology and observing what others are doing as that will make you a forward thinker. "The online industry is so small in Canada and reaching beyond borders is very important."
Aleema Seadath, business and operations analyst with Wireless Payment Systems (WPS)
With little formal technology training, Seadath started her IT career in software support. She later joined a startup because, according to Seadath, the unstructured environment allowed her to apply her range of technical skills and influence business decisions.
Her advice: Flex your skills and education and apply to all situations.