Describe your background, and current position / situation.
I have a background in the performing arts industry, and in community development, in Holland, Brazil and the UK.
I am now the Executive Director of OGUNTE Ltd, a leadership development company I founded in 2001. We support women leading the social economy, through innovative learning programmes.
I also facilitate the Global Tribal Network, counting 700+ global members, entrepreneurs, campaigners and decision-makers. Together they learn, trade and promote themselves.
I regularly raise awareness and coach female social entrepreneurs and networkers around Social Leadership, Change Management and Sustainable Development, in the UK, the Benelux, France and Brazil.
I was highly commended Social Enterprise Mentor of the Year at the 2007 Newstatesman-Edge Upstart Awards. Since 2006, I am a UK Ambassador for Women in Business, and an active member of the HUB Collective, a network of innovative social entrepreneurs.
What do you like best about working in IT?
IT is crucial to our business as most of our communications take place over the internet, by e-mail or VOIP. We use video links, virtual worlds and social networking platforms to give another dimension to our learning programmes and the way our clients and members keep in touch with each others.
What I enjoy the most is the freedom that remote connectedness gives me, and the easy access to intelligence, news and contacts.
Why did you choose a career in IT in the first place?
I always was very mobile, having travelled a lot and done a lot of work with people settled in different locations. Web2 is one of the best things that happened to me in my professional life.
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
Being able to grow a network of inspiring, highly skilled value-driven professionals based in various locations. Seeing them growing, networking together, and creating new ventures that have a massive social impact.
What are your career aspirations?
I am growing a marketing collective and building up a solid team of facilitators in various locations. This will free up some of my time as I want to help less advantaged entrepreneurs and activists to set up sustainable projects, in the UK and Brazil.
What are your tips for success?
- Surround yourself by people who have complementary skills.
- Learn from failures and stand up straight away.
- Use your intuition
- Plan ahead
- Get a coach
- Pamper yourself and get some rest…
What books / websites etc. would you recommend to a woman just starting out in IT?
“Time to Think” from Nancy Kline
And the Girls Geek Dinners network
Can you share a few words of wisdom for those people who are thinking about pursuing a career in IT?
Think of other soft-skills and talents you have, and create your own niche offering. IT+ psychology, IT+design, IT+social work, anything out-of-the-box, in order to differentiate yourself from others, and also to have “more” to offer.
How important do think your education or background has been in influencing your career choices?
I have a Masters in Modern Dutch Studies and sociolinguistics. Although I didn’t apply the learning straight away, it is the method I was taught that has influenced me the most. My professors were great coaches, challenging and incisive communicators. With them, I learned to learn.
I happened to have been trained in IT at Packard Bell in one of my first jobs and had to understand the in and outs of their hardware in 4 weeks, to be able to rescue customers with their issues over the phone. That was so much to take in such a little amount of time! But the communication and problem-solving skills I got from this experience were tremendous.
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?
No. A man with a heart in the right place and not afraid to show he’s emotionally intelligent could have done the same job.
Tell us a little about your life outside of work.
My work is my hobby! I am lucky to own my business and to create other ventures along the way. Networking is essential and it’s also a way of being before and after “work”. I socialise quite a lot with like-minded people, am a fan of Samba and Capoeira, which are both very demanding physical activities.
Do you think that there are obvious differences between what men and women have to offer an IT department?
Women are maybe happier in showing their soft skills and they might be better at managing people and leading teams. Men are probably more clustered in their way of thinking and would probably do a better job at risk-management, risk taking… Although I have many examples that contradict me…
Are you aware of any preconceptions or stereotypes of women in IT, and if so what do you think of them?
People think that women are maybe not numerical and scientific enough to get on with the IT of scientific jobs. Physiologically, it is absolutely absurd and based on nothing substantial. Assumptions like this are unfortunately also nurtured by women. Women have to convince each other that it is ok, and why not glamorous, to be in that sector!
What do you think could be done to actively encourage more women to join the technology market place in general?
More networking and real life stories, more shadowing opportunities, more open-doors activities. Cross siloed visits and leadership programmes.
Do you think enough is currently being done to counterbalance what has become an obvious lack of women in technology?
A lot is done at the moment, especially for young girls and technology. Apparently, girls are taking up social networking websites en masse and that could be a great entry point to recruit.
If you could give young women looking for a position in the IT market place a single piece of advice what would it be?
If you can’t find the job you want, do it yourself! Create your own job and sell your services on an ad-hoc basis. | 