The tech industry has long been a male-dominated space, with women representing only 21 percent of the workforce. At PDS, we’re doing significantly better than this, with women holding 41 percent of roles here, but there’s more to do. We’re working hard to change perceptions, to improve the gender-balance (with a particular focus on tech-focused roles) and to encourage women into leadership positions. We have implemented a range of targeted interventions from mentoring, to conferences, to representation on interview panels, to partnering with the Code First Girls initiative which trains and recruits women into tech roles.
To mark International Women’s Day we spoke to four women – Sri, Fiona, Natalie and Judy-Jude – who work in tech roles in PDS Products Directorate about what’s it’s like being a woman in tech, and more so what it’s like being a woman in tech at PDS.
Tell us a bit about your role, your favourite aspect of it, and how long you’ve been here.
Sri
I'm a Senior Developer within the Product directorate. I joined PDS about a year ago. I specialise in .NET technologies and I am involved in designing, developing and maintaining the bespoke digital products that allow Parliament to function. I enjoy problem solving, where I can help create solutions to issues that might have a direct impact on MPs or Lords or the general public - I take quite a pride in that.
Fiona
I'm a Test Lead. I joined PDS in 2018. In testing, we get to play with software, critique it, and help make it the best it can be it before it lands with the user. My role is partly about the fine detail of the testing, which I've got a lot of background in, but also thinking about the bigger picture stuff - risk, the impact on users, and potential downtime. I interact very closely with stakeholders to understand their needs. I’m not a business analyst, but I half-wear that hat. Likewise, I’m not a developer but I need to think like they do, about how the products might be implemented to help us fulfil user needs. So, I’m involved in different aspects, and I need to wear a couple of different hats along the way. It's really satisfying to be an integral part of the process from end to end.
Natalie
I'm a Senior Product Manager. I also joined Parliament a year ago. I work on products relating to Members’ information, including how that information is fed into the procedural products which are used in the business of Parliament, and how we publish information about MP’s and Lords to the public. My role is very much to work with our stakeholders and users to understand their needs and prioritise what we're going to do to add most value. I then to work with our multidisciplinary teams, such as Sri and Fiona, and our user experience colleagues, to actually deliver that.
There are a couple of things that I love about my job. One is getting to work with all the different disciplines that are involved in making, enhancing or creating a product. The other is helping our small-but-mighty team of four Product Managers develop, both in terms of our vision and ways of working, moving towards a Product lifecycle management approach, and also developing people. I manage two Product Managers, one of whom is Judy-Jude who’s with us today, who came from the Code First Girls cohort, which makes my heart happy. It's great to be able to support and develop colleagues in the amazing landscape that is Parliament.
Judy-Jude
I’m the Associate Product Manager. I’ve been here about six months. My favourite aspect is the people that I liaise with in my day-to-day role, whether it's talking to developers to ask them to explain what a ticket they’ve sent means because it sounds like gobbledygook to me! Or, when I've been able to work with a colleague from the House of Commons Library to better understand users’ experience of our digital tools in that area. I'm a curious individual, so being able to speak to different people about what they do as part of a product is very much a bit of me!
Did you start your career in tech, or did you switch over from doing something else?
Sri
I've always had an interest in tech. I was passionate about technology, and I knew I wanted to pursue software development as it's a very evolving technology. Every day there's something new in tech and there are endless possibilities and many challenges. So many different things to learn on a day-to-day basis to be a capable developer.
Fiona
Similar story for me. I got my first tech job after university in a starter developer role.I then end up going down a tester route – sort of accidentally. I found I liked that avenue - understanding what's happening with the tech, being attuned to satisfying user needs and to understanding the risks. So my interests have evolved, but I’ve always been in tech.
Natalie
Again, similar for me. I've always been in tech within the public sector and within project, programme and now product management roles. It appeals to my organised side in terms of working to deliver something that's going to make a tangible difference to users. I find it especially rewarding to do this in the public sector environment where we can do so much with technology to make a difference.
Judy-Jude
This is my first tech role. I previously worked in quality assurance – the regulation side, not tech. I’m a curious person so I decided to shadow the business analysis team there. I found SQL (a programming language used to manage data), quite exciting to use. And then my careers coach suggested Code First Girls who do mini courses on SQL for free. I did an introduction to data where I learnt a lot more about SQL, and then I did what Code First Girls call a CFG degree where you learn code, and you make an API etc. I specialised in product management. Once I completed that and passed, I started with Parliament. So, I'm very much a career switcher.
What was it like being like girl or woman studying tech, or what was your early career like as a woman in tech? Did it ever feel male-dominated or like a ‘boys’ thing’?
Sri
I completed my university education in India. I studied electronics and communication engineering, along with many women. But the number of women who then pursued tech as a career was very limited. It was a very male dominated industry. So, at the initial stages of my career, I often felt isolated and alone. It wasn't easy. But once you're in tech and once you get used to it, and you start liking it – there's no looking back after that!
Natalie
I didn't study technology at university. I studied politics and public affairs. Similar to Sri’s experience, when I was early in my career in tech, it felt really male dominated. In those more junior positions, I’d be the one asked to take the minutes or to write up actions. As I progressed into more senior roles I have felt respected – but it is so important that women feel respected at every level in a workplace environment. I got used to often being the only female in the room and because of the nature of my role, to asking the difficult questions to move work forward. It has been challenging at points throughout my career to have the confidence, to feel like I had a legitimate seat at the table.
Judy-Jude
I went to an all-girls high school. At A-Level stage when you can pick up additional subjects, there was nothing like tech. The closest were design, textiles, electronics, but there was nothing like coding or software development. There wasn’t any exposure to it. Sometimes girls’ schools can be like that.
Fiona
When I was at high school, they were just starting to teach computer science, and the class was very mixed. At university I did a joint degree of maths and computer science and there were quite a lot of women depending on the lectures as they were often mixed with other course. Perceptions must vary a lot depending on the environment you’ve been in – but quite early on, I didn’t see it as a boys’ thing. When I joined PDS, in an earlier incarnation of what is now the Products Directorate, it was definitely very male. There was just one other woman, who was the Test Lead. A few more women joined the Test team, but there were certainly no women in development, delivery, or leadership. It's changed a lot since then, particularly from a leadership perspective.
How important is female representation in leadership at PDS? Do you have any female role models in PDS?
Fiona
When Nik took over as Director of Products, seeing the direction she took in leadership was such a refreshing change. She focused on expanding products into a larger scale operation and her approach was really people first and roles first, listening to and investing in colleagues – enabling people to be their best and giving them autonomy. It can be very easy to focus on the specifics of the tech but what you need from leadership is to be able to understand what people are doing.
Sri
In all my previous organisations, I've mostly been the only women developer and coming to PDS felt like a fresh breath of air because there’s a good gender balance here and particularly in our team, there are more women than men. I work with a lot of women here and I feel like there is a conscious effort to make it more diverse and be inclusive and collaborative. There are so many women in leadership roles in PDS, and it really inspires me to grow professionally and personally.
Natalie
When I interviewed for PDS two out of the panel of three were women in tech leadership roles, which in my experience is so rare, and it was really inspiring. A lot of people who have worked here longer than me talk about how much the gender balance has improved, so we’ve clearly come a long way as an organisation.
Judy-Jude
Representation is always very important, so seeing women in leadership positions is great. When I joined, I saw multiple women of colour in my team. It's great to see representation of women, but seeing women of colour makes little me go ‘we can get to places’.
Do you have a message for women who are studying tech or at an early stage in their tech careers?
Sri
Don't let anybody tell you that tech is not for you. Tech is interesting, it's evolving and challenging. You need lots of creativity and determination. I think women can give all of that. So, keep pushing yourself forward and embrace the challenges and keep doing what you do well. Create a network that can constantly inspire you and push you forward and that will take you places.
Fiona
I think you've nailed it there. I would add, if you’re in a situation where you are in the minority, that's not necessarily the norm. Don't let that experience put you off. If you love doing it, the opportunities are out there where you will have a voice.
Natalie
When I've moved upwards in my career, it has felt scary, and I’ve sometimes asked myself ‘am I qualified to do this?’ My message is - say yes to things, if you're asked to do something which is new or a challenge, because you don't know where that's going to take you. Keep being curious and put yourself out there.
Judy-Jude
I would say it's never too late. I'd finished my degree and was working full time for a few years in a whole different area before I looked into tech. Code First Girls just happened to come up in a conversation and it was a free opportunity. Look for opportunities.