Growing up in a world that’s always recognized women in tech
Growing up in a world that’s always recognized women in tech
I want to build useful tools in an environment intentionally created by people who saw a better way, and acted on it.
It was an easy decision for me to go into tech.
Tech offers our world energy and innovation and reflects the needs of our communities. There is a gravity to technology that pulls in all industries and becomes a space to explore my curiosities. It’s an opportunity not only to marvel at the changes in our world, but even to influence it.
It was a youth robotics competition that triggered my interest in engineering when I was in high school. It was a FIRST Robotics competition where highschoolers are invited to build robots that play a team sport. For my team it was a variation of Ultimate Frisbee. Together, we built a remote-controlled robot that could pick-up or feed frisbees and launch them at the goal slot, while defending itself from the other robots in the field.
I went on to get my B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering with a Biomedical Engineering Specialization and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. After a 16-month internship at a biomedical device startup, I looked to work in a large company. In 2019 I joined Deloitte LLP, performing techno-functional consulting roles, similar to project management, where I would ensure that the business and technical sides communicated and understood each other.
After three years, I wanted to explore my technical depths a lot more, and a year ago I started working for Sourced Group, which was a company of 100 people in Canada.
Then it was acquired by Amdocs. So now I have this new viewpoint on the effort involved to curate what is valuable in one culture and merge it with another; all while emphasizing and preserving the strengths of both. We’re looking to how we can work with Amdocs and be empowered to make the changes that we need. I am looking forward to seeing the benefits of being part of this larger organization.
I came into the tech world as part of a younger generation
I grew up in a world that’s always recognized women in tech, where there’s been a lot of celebration of the legacy of women. Canada is such an interesting place because we’re all new, we don’t have as many deeply set legacies or cultures that are reinforced by our generations, and there’s so much more hunger for adapting to what the world is like today.
The tech world wasn’t necessarily friendly to women in the past, but it’s already been changed by women, who were once part of a discriminated group. They changed the status quo by challenging themselves and challenging their peers. This environment doesn’t exist by miracle; it was intentionally created by people who faced discrimination, saw a better way, and acted on it. I recognize this privilege.
I feel that it's also important to acknowledge the men who were in positions of power but also supported these female pioneers through opportunities and mentorship, and prioritized adaptability over status quo. You can't deny the support of both.
"The tech world wasn’t necessarily friendly to women in the past, but it’s already been changed by women, who were once part of a discriminated group. They changed the status quo by challenging themselves and challenging their peers."
I’ve been so lucky to have worked with amazing teams
I’ve worked in teams that were just women or teams that were just men. In every environment I’ve worked in there have been people I’ve admired or people I could turn to in order to change a negative situation. I was never made to experience being held back by my gender. Having those women there and seeing how they carved leadership roles and how they faced challenges was amazing to see and hear. I also saw the men’s perspective of not having a bias of “this is how you’re limited,” and had male mentors who would see your potential and want to see you grow. From both places, having that reflects how many changes there’ve been in the industry already. For people “above a certain age”, they see the changed landscape. How they acted years ago isn’t how they act today, and I am so grateful for that because I am reaping the fruits.
I want to work with people willing to expand beyond what they know, and who take action intentionally.
I’m then prompted to ask myself what I can do to create these kinds of spaces. This then becomes how we build teams within an atmosphere of practical honesty, where it's safe to try new things, in other words, accepting that it’s safe to fail - it can be hard to identify a mistake-in-progress without trustworthy people around you. It’s a space to express negativity as well as to celebrate wins. I aim to be in spaces that will support my growth, but will also tell me when I am wrong, and how to make it right again.
What I really want to do essentially boils down to wanting to build useful tools.
One of the most important things I've learned is how to build the teams that do this, teams that reflect the demographics, and the needs, of real users.
It's so important for me to continue the legacy for other discriminated groups.
I refuse turning a blind eye to any other area which may be unjustly exclusionary. When people in positions of power, or outside these groups, are more willing to change their ways, to mentor and welcome changing situations, they can better serve and reflect real people and the eventual users of the tools we build.
