According to a Tech Nation report from 2021, only 25% of the tech workforce are women. That’s an improvement from 18% in 2018 but it’s still not where it needs to be. 

So for International Women’s Day 2022 we have asked Senior Software Engineer Caroline Wilson some questions about her career in the historically male dominated tech space. She talks about the first time she was in awe of programming, she shared some of the shocking attitudes she has faced and gives her top 7 tips for women looking to get into tech. 

What do you do at Spherics?

I am one of the senior software engineers here at Spherics, day to day i’m developing the cleantech that sits behind the Spherics platform our customers use day to day. It’s a very creative process, we take ideas from sales teams and our climate scientists and bring them to life for our customers. 

What has been the driving force to get you where you are today?

I think it comes down to a love of learning, a desire to challenge myself and finding a career that fits with me outside of work as well as inside of it. The technical landscape is constantly evolving so everyday you learn new things, there’s no chance you could get bored! I work with a number of different programming languages and enjoy the challenge taking on a new language presents. Unlike some careers, I have a typical 37.5 hour working week, and a very friendly 30 days holiday which gives me the time and space to pursue my hobbies outside of work.

A career in engineering absolutely ticks boxes for me, but I’ve always wanted my work to be meaningful. Originally, I dreamt of a career in medicine, but it turns out I’m a bit queasy when it comes to blood and not such a fan of the long and antisocial work hours! When the opportunity to work at Spherics presented itself, I jumped at it. I get to work in a career that I love for a company that’s helping to drive positive change for the planet. What could be better than that!?

How did you get into the technology sector?

I remember writing my first macro in Excel when I was at school. It blew my mind; the opportunities that it created fascinated me. But despite my amazement, I wasn’t quite ready to commit to a software engineering degree! At that time, software engineering was very much seen as a career for men, and I didn’t feel ready to take on that mountain. Eventually, I found myself with a degree in business information systems which was a more approachable degree (even though there were only 3 other women enrolled on the programme). I didn’t begin my career in software development though. Dreaming of a life in London, I landed my first job in technical customer support and overtime, worked my way into a role in digital marketing where I spent many years working for various tech startups before finally deciding to take the leap and pivot to a career in development. 

The policy was that women weren’t allowed to be grouped together. I couldn’t believe that an organisation that’s trying to promote diversity in the industry was actually perpetuating the very attitudes it was trying to change.

It’s a difficult decision to change your career in your 30s. Giving up the financial security and industry knowledge you’ve amassed in your career to date isn’t easy, but working in tech for so long, and having been exposed to development teams and their working practices, I felt sure it was the right move for me. I signed on to a ‘coding bootcamp’, and 12 weeks later I was a developer! The gender balance here was slightly better than my university experience, but the men still outnumbered the women 4:1, and when it came to group work, the policy was that women weren’t allowed to be grouped together. I couldn’t believe that an organisation that’s trying to promote diversity in the industry was actually perpetuating the very attitudes it was trying to change. It was interesting that, when we called them out on this, the response was that “it’s just the policy, and we hadn’t really thought about it”.  Despite this, since working as an engineer I don’t feel that I have faced this kind of discrimation. My employers and teams have all been diverse, open to everyone and treated as equals.  

Why do you think there are still so few females in the technology sector?

For my generation, I think fewer women entered this space because of stereotypes. Technology is very much viewed as a male dominated field and I know that for me, it felt daunting to venture into a world where you would be one of few, if not the only woman, the fear that you would have to fight to be taken seriously, and that idea that you would have to compete to be treated equal to your male colleagues. 

Developers are stereotypically viewed as men that sit in darkened rooms, glued to their computers all day. They’re “gamers”, “geeks”, “anti-social”. I think we’ve come a long way over the last decade but some of these stereotypes are still there, making it quite off putting as a career if you don’t feel like you fit into this mold.

Technology is such a broad industry that holds many careers and opportunities that children at schools today may not even know exist. The industry moves so quickly that schools and the syllabus simply can’t keep up. Are young women getting the guidance and support they need to pursue careers that didn’t exist 5 years ago? 

How can we get more women into technology?

There’s no simple answer to this question but I think we need to make sure that we are exposing women to the plethora of roles in technology that are now available to them, making the ways into these careers more accessible, and more generally, make careers like development more appealing in terms of lifestyle and day-to-day work life. 

Entry paths into careers in technology were traditionally viewed as something you needed to have a degree in Computer Science to pursue. Only the smartest need apply. This isn’t the case anymore. With the rapid expansion of the industry has come so many roles that didn’t exist 5 years ago, and you don’t have to have such degrees to get involved anymore. 

In all of the companies that I have worked for, I have not seen a single application from a woman that doesn’t have a connection to someone at the company.

We used to think of careers as linear things, but the reality today is that we take turns, we go up and down the ladder and pivot. Institutions such as the one I attended allow us to retrain later in life and I am grateful that these opportunities exist. Young women should know that what they choose for their A levels or degree, doesn’t have to determine the rest of their career. 

Speaking more specifically of my experience recruiting women into development teams, I think a large part of it comes down to the working environment. In all of the companies that I have worked for, I have not seen a single application from a woman that doesn’t have a connection to someone at the company. Women want to work in an environment where they know, through speaking to people they trust, that they will be supported and treated as equals to their male counterparts, and we cannot overlook this. We need to foster working environments where women can feel empowered, not overlooked. 

What advice would you pass on to other women to help them progress in the tech space?

1. Keep learning - the industry is exciting as it moves so quickly, but with that comes the need to keep abreast of the latest changes. There are plenty of online learning platforms and online resources that will help you.
2. Network -  It’s always good to have other women to turn to for advice and support, not just about a technical problem, but also about the realities of working in this industry. You never know, you might even find your next job as a result.
3. Get comfortable being uncomfortable - This is something a wiser colleague once told me. You’re regularly going to find yourself needing to solve problems that you’ve never had to before which can sometimes make you feel a little overwhelmed. Get comfortable with that feeling and learn how to logically work through it. 
4. Celebrate your successes - I think this is something that women are particularly bad about. In a job where you are constantly battling to overcome challenges, it’s important to take the time to celebrate the good stuff.
5. Know your worth - Salary is something that here in the UK we don’t really talk about. It can be hard to know what your ‘value’ really is but few things are more demotivating than feeling undervalued by your employer. Talk to your network and colleagues to find a benchmark, and don’t be afraid to raise it with your employer. Trust me, the people around you aren’t being shy about it!
6. Be brave - take risks, push yourself and don’t be afraid of failure. I think this is the biggest one. Fear will hold you back for more than any stereotype will.  
7. Back yourself- have conviction in your ideas and approaches. Your viewpoint may be different to others and that diversity is what drives forward progress

If you're looking for a role in the tech industry then have a look at our job vacancies and join our team.