Team Phoenix Talks: championing women in IT
Discover how we’re supporting women in IT with our diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives, and hear from our female colleagues about their experiences within the tech industry and as part of Team Phoenix.
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2023 we talk to some of the amazing women at Phoenix about why they chose to work in the IT industry, the challenges they’ve faced, and what they think still needs be done to attract more women into the industry.
What made you choose a career in IT?
Rachel Pickering: “At the time I didn’t know much about IT at all. The initial attraction was that the company was run by two women, somehow this felt more like working for and with family, and for me, it still feels like that now.”
Abbey Simpson: “I chose a career in IT as I like the idea that IT is an industry that is only progressing. You can learn one thing and then given time it will have developed. There is always more to learn. I also like the fact that there are so many different areas – you can choose to specialise in one area and concentrate your learning there.”
Sarah Willis: “I wouldn’t say I initially chose IT as the industry I wanted to spend my career in, but I learnt early on that it provided numerous opportunities for personal development and progression. As the world changes, IT adapts to that change providing you with a secure career.”
Emma Taylor: “I was working for a telecoms company and not enjoying it, but my friend was working for a software reseller in sales and she persuaded me to apply for a job at another software reseller. If I’m honest, it was the earning potential that attracted me to the industry initially. But then I realised I love the fast pace and although I’m not technical, I love to see what technology can do to improve lives!”
’I’ve been at Phoenix for five years now and have enjoyed the challenge of nurturing our partnership with Adobe. Having Sam (Mudd) as role model, flying the flag for women in IT makes me proud to be part of the Phoenix team. I’m confident that people are employed for their ability to deliver and not on their gender.
– Sarah Willis, Alliance Manager, Phoenix
Did you face any challenges when starting out in the industry?
Rachel: “The only challenges I remember facing was learning the terminology of the industry. It felt like it was complicated when it wasn’t and most of the terminology was standard across the industry.”
Abbey: “Yes. When I was studying at university, there was an extremely obvious advantage to being a man studying the degree. Tutors favoured the male students and to get help and feedback, female students had to either be extremely good at the topic or be loud enough to grab the tutor’s attention. However, that hasn’t been my experience at Phoenix.”
Sarah: “Working with a wider breadth of IT businesses, my eyes were opened to how male dominant the IT industry is. Although I still had strong female role models, it became evident that you had to stand a little taller and speak a little louder to equal male co-workers – something which I feel is still true of many industries for women.”
Emma: “IT has historically been a very male dominated industry, but I’ve never experienced that as a challenge. I think the main challenge for me is keeping up with the technology – something which was very apparent when returning form maternity leave. Things had moved on substantially in the time I was off, so there was a lot to get my head around when I returned, as well as adjusting to being a working mum.”
What more can be done to encourage more women into IT?
Abbey: “I think there needs to be some more awareness advertised in terms of the gap between men and women in the IT Industry. To some extent, specifically for women looking to join the industry, it isn’t talked about. More events and networking could take place for people to talk about their own experiences and be advocates for women in tech.”
Emma: “This is something I have been spending a lot of time focusing on. We need to get the message out there that not all roles in IT are technical roles, you don’t need a passion for coding or a computer science degree to have a successful career in IT.
“We are spending time with young girls in schools and colleges and even the local girl guides meeting to encourage them to consider a career in IT in the future. I think schools play an important role in this and there should be more focus on encouraging girls to study the STEM subjects and providing good careers advice to girls.”
How we’re supporting women in IT
We’re dedicated to helping women within the IT industry to progress their careers, while encouraging more women to consider roles in tech. Check out some of our initiatives that are empowering women in the workplace below.
Menopause awareness
We understand that the physical and emotional symptoms of the menopause are tough, and we want to support our employees by raising awareness and providing support both in and out of the workplace. So far, we have set up a menopause support area and introduced menopause support mentors.
More information about our mental health and wellbeing supportFlexible working
We offer hybrid working to everyone at Phoenix, giving our employees to choose between office and remote work. This encourages a better work/ life balance for everyone, and in addition supports working parents, people going through the menopause, and those with gynaecological conditions, such as endometriosis and polycystic ovaries.
Enhanced parental leave and return to work support
Our enhanced parental leave package supports new parents during their leave and people returning to the workplace after having children. We also have a dedicated, private space within our head office for employees and visitors who are expressing baby milk to use. This enables working parents to feel comfortable when they return to work.
Find out more about our support for women in ITEncouraging women into IT
We know that women account for just 20% of IT specialists in the UK, and we recognise that a lot more must be done before gender balance is achieved within the sector. As part of our mission to encourage more women to consider careers in IT, we regularly speak at events and in schools to spread awareness of the opportunities available within the sector.
Join Team Phoenix
Inspired to pursue a career in IT or support other women and girls into the industry? Check out our careers page to discover more of the benefits of working with us and book your free career talk now.
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