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Describe your background and how you got into IT
Originally I qualified as a Chartered Librarian (B.A., Dip. Lib., A.L.A., M.I.Inf Sci.) and I worked in both university and workplace libraries. I taught myself programming to write my own library management database because I couldn’t one that suited our requirements in workplace libraries. As I enjoyed programming and because it was easier work to do from home with small children I progressed to writing bespoke databases for local businesses as a freelance programmer. I then put two and two together and realised it would be better to sell the code that I had written for the library management database again and again as a product rather than getting paid for writing code once. Thus I switched from freelance programming and incorporated Bailey Solutions as a limited company to sell our library systems in 2002.
What is your current position / situation
I am Managing Director of Bailey
Solutions – we offer software to help organisations of all sizes manage
their library and information centres. We have over 180 clients around the
world including Scottish Parliament, Baker Tilly and Roffey Park Management
Institute.
What do you like best about working in IT?
I really like being able to create products that help people do their
jobs better. I bring with me the end user experience - I can still think like a
librarian and think like a programmer - so I have my head in both camps and
when new tools come along I can think of practical applications for them.
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
Winning the Lexis-Nexis Butterworths Award for the Best Use of
Technology for a Library Project 2006 for the work I did on the BIALL website.
I reached the finals for the Institute of Directors South East Region Director
of the Year Awards 2008. In a very different way it is also about being to put
diverse employment policies into practice – I think too many employers overlook
potential talent because they have pre-conceived ideas about who can do a job.
Another highlight is meeting so many interesting people as part of my job.
What are your career aspirations?
In terms of the company, to take our company into new market sectors and
increase our overseas sales. On a personal level, to encourage women into
business and, in particular, IT.
What are your tips for success?
Think outside the box - don’t let other people’s prejudices box you into
a corner – don’t let people tell you that you can’t do something if you think
you can – find your own way around any obstacles.
What books / websites etc. would you recommend to a woman just starting out in IT?
Locally
Wired Sussex is a very good place to look for jobs in the
Sussex media and computing community. They also have a group for women in media. I also
love LinkedIn for
online professional networking.
Can you share a few words of wisdom for those people who are thinking about pursuing a career in IT?
There are many roles in the IT sector – some people think it is all
about programming. The industry needs programmers – yes – but also business
analysts, designers, sales and marketing personnel, project managers and more.
The industry really needs a variety of personality types so don’t pay heed to
the ‘geek’ stereo-type. Just be keen on solving problems whether they are logic
based or ones using emotional intelligence.
How important do think your education or background has been in influencing your career choices?
Not
very. I did English Literature and History and then went into librarianship.
Programming was something I got into out of a desire to improve on the poor
user experience I was experiencing. Now when I am recruiting I don’t insist on
a degree in computer science or related subject – if it’s a programming job I
test the applicant’s problem solving skills and we recruit on attitude – a
willingness to own a problem and see it through to the end rather than a
specific skill set.
Do you think it might have been a different story, of "how you got to where you are now", if you'd been a man?
In some ways - yes – the fact that I was a single mother caused me to
re-consider my career choices – librarianship is very difficult to do from
home, whereas programming could be more home-based and flexible. Because
I was self-taught I didn’t get job interviews, so basically I created my own
opportunities and found that I could decide my own hours and when and where I
did work. But in other ways no in doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a
woman - once I was a freelancer I found that no-one questioned my formal qualifications
(or lack of them in computing!) or the fact that I was a woman. If I was
confident and could show that I could do the work then that was all that was
needed.
Tell us a little about your life outside of work
I do yoga and enjoy cooking, walking, photography and interior design
and I also like travelling. My daughters are now at university with one about
to start work so I have a new sense of impending irresponsibility! I hardly
watch television preferring instead to do anything else at all. Currently I am
the Chair for CILIP’s Commercial, Legal and Scientific Information Group
replacing my former role as web editor for The British and Irish Association of
Law Librarians (BIALL). And I seem to be getting involved with our local camera
club as well as finding time to be Director on the Board for the block of flats
where I live.
Do you think that there are obvious differences between what men and women have to offer an IT department?
Well, most of our programmers have been men, whilst the sales and
customer side have mainly been women – so that says something! But I always
recruit with an open mind and take each person as an individual.
Are you aware of any preconceptions or stereotypes of women in IT, and if so what do you think of them?
Not having worked in the wider IT industry myself, I haven’t had much exposure
to this. I do find some IT events very male dominated and aggressively macho
though. This type of thing could put women off.
What do you think could be done to actively encourage more women to join the technology market place in general?
I would like to see more encouragement of women into all types of IT
jobs from a young age. If computing were taught as a multi-disciplinary subject
rather than under the heading ‘Engineering’ then this may attract a broader
base of student. I know many people who work successfully in IT without having
a clue about the hardware or engineering side of computing. Most technical
subjects are under-valued in school and the national curriculum is stifling –
it tries to include too many business skills – surely you have to inspire young
people in computing first! Young people also need to understand that there are
many different roles in the IT sector. I would like to be able to offer a woman
only apprenticeships or placements but positive discrimination is not allowed.
Also I believe in talking to young women in schools and colleges but such
opportunities rarely come up and are time-consuming for me to arrange myself.
Do you think enough is currently being done to counterbalance what has become an obvious lack of women in technology?
No and as above – it needs to start young. Even for graduate trainee
positions I get 1:20 female to male applications for programming jobs so the
lack of attraction seems to start before graduate level.
If you could give young women looking for a position in the IT market place a single piece of advice what would it be?
Make sure you do your research about market rates for the position you
are applying. Many women graduates in all sectors start on a lower salary than
male graduates with the same qualifications because they don’t ask for a higher
amount in the first place. Don’t undersell yourself!
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