Doing My Part to Close Gender Gap in IT (Part II)

By Carley Wessler

Earlier this week, I wrote about gender experiences throughout my career, including the strong women I’ve encountered in jobs from education to manufacturing to now IT.  

The first visual encounter I had when I entered the Convergent Technologies Group office was a picture of Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman with CTG's two owners, John Monahan and Jeff Garell. According to Forbes magazine, Whitman ranks as the ninth most powerful woman in the world for 2016. That is no surprise, as she came up in the professional world by way of Hasbro, Walt Disney and EBay before joining HPE. Her voice is heard in many ways be it her position as CEO for HPE or as board member for SurveyMonkey, Procter & Gamble. When Whitman speaks, people listen. Her experience, poise, intelligence and ability to lead leave no doubt that she is paving the way for not just women in IT but in every discipline When I attended the Richmond Technology Council’s TechJam in July, the first thing I noticed was that I was only one of three women at our lunchtime event. Both the topic, “Cyber Security,” and the presenter, Jake Kouns, were engaging, and the program really made you think about how secure our homes, work and more truly are. 

That afternoon, I went to the Carpenter Center for a viewing of “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap” where the tables were turned as I was surrounded by women.

This rousing documentary draws attention to the void in the number of women software engineers and the reasons for that gap. The film focuses on the contributions women have made and the disparity of women in code. The film boasts: “There will be 1.4 million jobs in computing 2020. Twenty-nine percent will be filled by Americans – and 3% of that 29% will be filled by women.” 

“CODE” features interviews with Danielle Feinberg, Pixar’s director of photography, and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith. These two women provided incredible insight about their feelings of being women in their field and sharing what they believe it will take to close the gender gap in IT.

Right here in Central Virginia, we are tackling the future role of women in IT during RVATech/Women on Oct. 6. My female co-workers and I will attend this event, with some accomplished female speakers: Laishy Williams-Carlson, CIO, Bon Secours Health System; Joey Rosenberg, Global Business & Non-Profit Leader, Women Who Code; Jocelyn Mangan, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, SnagAJob; Karen Rheuban, Professor of Pediatrics, UVA Health System; and Yvonne Wassenaar, CIO, New Relic. I am looking forward to hearing from them and being surrounded by more outstanding and innovative women in IT at this event. 

In the meantime, I come to work each day in a place where I am valued as an equal.  With the help of my supervisors and peers at CTG I am able to further sharpen my skills and knowledge as not just a person in the IT field but as a woman in this industry.  I believe, as a woman, that I have to take extra steps to be taken as seriously as men in a male-dominated discipline. I never want to leave the impression that I am anything less than the best at what I do. I do it for my family, and I do it for the women that came before me and those that we are paving the way for in the future. I smile each time I encounter another woman in IT and I feel pride as I encounter more and more female executives and CIOs. 

All good things come in time, and each day I am leaving no doubt that I’m joining with other women to break down barriers in all professional arenas. 

http://www.codedocumentary.com/ 

Carley Wessler is an account executive with CTG.

Struggling with the Gender Gap (Part I)

By Carley Wessler

I arrived in IT in a slightly roundabout way, starting my career as a special education teacher for children with autism and then in sales and distribution for a tobacco company.

Let me get this out of the way upfront: IT isn’t the only industry struggling with a gender gap. During my professional life, I’ve seen and experienced workplaces where women who are supported in their careers soar; on the opposite end, I’ve worked where our intelligence and contributions are undermined.

When I was teaching, I was surrounded by a strong staff of women, and only worked with eight men at two different schools. Most of the staff members were women, who excelled at finding unique ways to help children from all socio-economic backgrounds and even those with disabilities to not only meet expectations educationally but to surpass them.

After four years, I took a leap of faith and moved to the corporate world. When I joined that tobacco company, I worked for an intelligent woman whom was well respected, evidenced by the number of people who went to her with questions because they knew she’d have the answers. During my six years there, I took on other roles reporting to a variety of managers, who each had different leadership styles.

Our director was another strong woman, who was smart, assertive, talented and sharp. Early on, I learned from her that to be taken seriously as a woman there are things you must do to be heard and respected. To start, she was highly versed in all areas she was responsible and even areas she was not. She knew how to keep her people engaged, keeping communication lines open with often weekly meetings with her direct reports, and she knew the ins and outs of her team’s projects. At the same time, she was sympathetic to the personal things that each of us face.

I remember one specific thing she shared: Always make sure your attire is professional because you want people to listen to the words coming out of your mouth. The example she set and the knowledge she shared still have an impact on me today.

Throughout that time, I read a great deal about business and leadership, and that’s when I first encountered Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg and her book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. I was pregnant with our son, and I was empowered by that book. I still focus on her insights and what I learned from my previous director daily.

Fast forward to 2016, where Forbes has named 16 women as the most powerful in technology, an industry that has “a reputation for being unwelcoming to and biased against women.” While the list has been whittled by two, Sandberg has earned the top spot for the fifth year in a row – no surprise because she inspires women around the world with her “lean in” message. She makes no apologies that she expects equality and balance between men and women in the home and office. This list of brilliant, diverse and accomplished women never took no for an answer, and they kept going even in the face of adversity in an industry where they were outnumbered.

But we still have a long way to go, and I’ll talk about a great step forward in my next post, coming on Thursday.

Carley Wessler is an account executive with CTG.