{"id":40494,"date":"2020-03-03T08:28:43","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T08:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/?guid=c114de9866e0fadb0746ebe8c438e333"},"modified":"2020-03-03T08:28:43","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T08:28:43","slug":"how-women-in-cloud-are-challenging-the-narrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/how-women-in-cloud-are-challenging-the-narrative\/","title":{"rendered":"How women in cloud are challenging the narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n Keumars Afifi-Sabet<\/a><\/span>
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3 Mar, 2020<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s no secret the IT industry is heavily male-dominated, with women traditionally struggling to achieve representation for reasons ranging from implicit bias to discouragement from <\/span>taking up STEM subjects at school<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are plenty of success stories, important to recognise as we approach International Women\u2019s Day, there are also tales that speak to toxic work cultures, workplace discrimination, and <\/span>women being overlooked for opportunities<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last few years have heard a crescendo in the commotion on \u2018women in tech\u2019, although it\u2019s hardly translated into concrete improvements. For instance, <\/span>progress has stalled for the Tech Talent Charter (TTC)<\/span><\/a>, an organisation dedicated to raising gender balance in the UK. Women held just 24% of technical roles among TTC signatories last year, a 2% dip against figures from 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The picture isn\u2019t unified across the entire tech landscape, however. The exciting frontier of cloud computing is challenging the narrative, Ingram Micro Cloud\u2019s Microsoft business manager Violetta Yordanova tells <\/span>Cloud Pro<\/em>, with the sector\u2019s rapid expansion opening up new opportunities and roles for women to fill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs cloud is a relatively new technology, my experience of being a \u2018woman in tech\u2019<\/a> may not be typical, as the cloud industry is extremely diverse,\u201d Yordanova says. \u201cIn fact, my team has an equal gender split with a real mix of personalities, cultures and strengths from people who grew up with this technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her experiences are reflected by those of F5 Networks\u2019 principal threat evangelist with the office of the CTO, Lori MacVittie, who feels the cloud industry is more welcoming because there\u2019s less of an \u2018establishment\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s coincidental or not, the rise of cloud<\/a> was accompanied by a significant drive to recognise and support women \u2018in cloud\u2019,\u201d MacVittie explains. \u201cThe culture of the cloud industry is very welcoming and cloud as a technology is often credited as democratising the resources needed for women to take their place as entrepreneurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Startups tend to be more progressive because technology has allowed women to more effectively drive their ideas to fruition, she adds. There\u2019s been <\/span>an explosion of women-led cloud startups<\/span><\/a>, partially fuelled by a rise of flexible working practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe <\/span>adoption of cloud-based solutions in the workplace<\/span><\/a> has also meant that it\u2019s easier to balance work and life, because the tools you need to work are always accessible from anywhere \u2013 even home,\u201d she continues. \u201cI see that accessibility as <\/span>broadening corporate acceptance of remote work<\/span><\/a> when it\u2019s necessary and alleviates stress on women who struggle with work-life balance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While many, including MacVittie and Yordanova, recognise differences, for senior software engineer with Red Hat, Rebecca Simmonds, these are few and far between, despite the fact the growing cloud segment is fed with plenty of resources, she tells <\/span>Cloud Pro<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt Red Hat, we have equal opportunities for all of the different sectors in the company, not just cloud. So my experience as I have moved around different companies is that as long as you are willing to work hard then there are similar opportunities in any of the tech sectors,\u201d Simmonds says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite these opportunities, the challenges that women face persist, albeit differing from person-to-person. For Simmonds, as she moved from a startup to a Java EE company, and then to Red Hat, she has felt pressured into always needing to demonstrate her expertise.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cProving myself and making a great impression when meeting people has been the biggest challenge I had to tackle,\u201d she says. \u201cWomen in the tech sector are still stigmatised, and I constantly feel pressured to demonstrate my knowledge. The good thing is that it\u2019s really motivated me to work harder, push my limits, and fight the stereotypes in the industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s similar to the experiences of F5 Networks\u2019 MacVittie, meanwhile, who hasn\u2019t come across many roadblocks based on her gender, although there are aspects of workplace relationships with men that have proven frustrating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout my career I have experienced male colleagues who wouldn\u2019t take direction from a woman, and also men at conferences who are completely taken aback when they realise I know what I am talking about,\u201d she says. \u201cMy question is, what made you assume I didn\u2019t? It\u2019s frustrating but something I try to move past quickly \u2013 you can\u2019t let people like that bring you down!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She also sees wrestling with career progression a major challenge, especially as women become more established in their roles and industries. There are, she adds, fewer options to progress the more established one becomes, with women having to be more strategic about their personal development to ensure they have the skills needed to advance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge, in early stages, is to establish yourself in your field of expertise and figure out how to build a reputation that will help you later when you start planning more strategically. Choosing a company that best suits your priorities for your career and life is an important factor in balancing both. If your priority is family, you don\u2019t want to work for a company that doesn\u2019t respect that. If your priority is your career, you want to make sure there are opportunities to [progress] where you work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This represents only half of the equation, however, argues head of EMEA and VP of global customer experience with Dropbox, Adrienne Gormley. Effective management plays a critical role in personal development, and women must be empowered to feel at ease with the demands of their work and home lives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that it\u2019s part of being an effective manager today to <\/span>help others balance their life at home with work<\/span><\/a>, and to model setting boundaries for your team,\u201d she says. <\/span>\u201cWe can bring empathy for the pressures of home life into the workplace, underlining that we understand the demands on individuals, whether as parents, or carers looking after a relative or other commitments. Looking at <\/span>how we can make the workplace easier for people<\/span><\/a> is deeply important to me: how we can help alleviate the pressure of trying to do it all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gormley\u2019s biggest piece of advice is for women to set their boundaries early on in their careers, and take an active role in their futures. Moreover, if something isn\u2019t working, take a risk and speak up, or ultimately make a move.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDif<\/span>ferent people will be there for you, but they come and go, ultimately it\u2019s your journey. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you can really be empowered to make choices and changes, and your actions will help shape the workplace at large.\u201d<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keumars Afifi-Sabet<\/p>\n

3 Mar, 2020 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret the IT industry is heavily male-dominated, with women traditionally struggling to achieve representation for reasons ranging from implicit bias to discouragement from taking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":433,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/433"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40494"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40498,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40494\/revisions\/40498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}