In Her Words: Shelly, Data Science Consultant at Capgemini

What do you love about your job and your employer?

I love that I am able to work with the latest technology and that I am encouraged to innovate with a wide variety of clients. This gives me the opportunity to keep learning and makes my work very diverse.

Have you faced any barriers as a woman in tech, and how did you overcome them?

Personally, I have never faced any barriers as a woman in tech, the only thing that happens often is that people are surprised to find a woman in a technical role like mine. For me, this is not a barrier, but rather a motivation to change that stereotype. However, I can imagine other women may feel a stronger need to prove themselves in these situations. I would like to say to these women, the fact that people are surprised only means that you already have so many great qualities, people are surprised you have even more than they thought.

How do you advocate for diversity and inclusion within your company or the tech community?

Besides my role as a consultant, I am also a people manager of a diverse group of people. In that role I try to lead by example and show those I manage that you can do whatever you set your mind to with the right mindset. Don’t wait around for opportunities - create them. Also, I encourage people to take the stage and showcase the amazing work they have done. Although it might feel uncomfortable for people to take the stage at first, it often gives them the confidence boost they need to continue growing.

Can you share a story where you or your employer helped to create a more inclusive environment?

For the current project I am working on, we had to propose a solution and a team to build the solution. Of course, we needed to have a team with the right skills, but we also intentionally created a team with a balanced mix of men and women, as well as diverse ages and backgrounds. This was also noticed by the client and they praised us, not only for the solution, but for the diversity in the team as they acknowledged that diverse teams often work very well together because the range of perspectives leads to the best combined solutions.

Furthermore, Capgemini runs many diversity and inclusion initiatives, not only for women in tech but also for people with different cultural backgrounds to find each other and share experiences. These initiatives are also used to collect feedback on how Capgemini can become even more inclusive. This open culture makes it a very pleasant place to work.

What changes do you hope to see in the tech industry regarding gender equality in the next five years?

In my role at Capgemini, I also have the opportunity to assist with recruitment by interviewing potential new colleagues. Luckily I see more and more women applying for technical roles, but the fact remains that most applicants are still men. I would love to see a more balanced distribution between men and women choosing technical studies in the near future, leading to even more women applying for these roles. Working in mixed teams is both enjoyable and highly valuable.

What needs to happen in the tech industry to contribute to building a more inclusive industry?

As mentioned before, there still is this stereotype that men mostly work in beta roles and women mostly work in more alpha-typed roles. We need to move away from this stereotype by actively encouraging young girls to pursue technical studies and have diverse role models in the industry. I think it might also help to train people within the industry to better understand how differences between individuals can influence how people approach a job interview. Studies show that most women are much more modest in claiming what they can or cannot do in terms of skills when compared to men. Having the stereotype that mostly men can do the job only enhances this behavior, so let’s drop the stereotype and learn to recognize the value of women’s contributions, even when they may downplay their own achievements