Q: What inspired you to pursue studies in Computer Science and Maths?
Maths was by far and above my favourite subject at school. I am also of an age that means if I wanted to play computer games as a kid that I had to copy them out of magazines myself and type them up on my ZX81/ZX Spectrum, so I learnt to code. After having some repetitive maths homework I took it upon myself to write a sorting program to do it for me. Unknown to me, my dad stuck it in my homework book and instead of being in trouble at school for 鈥渃heating鈥� I was given a merit award. The rest, as they say, is history.
Q: How should these disciplines be promoted more to girls and young women (or retrainers)? Have you noticed more female candidates as areas such as cyber and AI become more prominent in everyday news and events?
My concern is that we consider this to be an attraction/interest problem. Young girls aren鈥檛 less interested in STEM subjects than their male peers, yet parents, teachers and society continue to route their interests and aspirations onto other paths, compounded by the accomplishments of women being hidden, or worse being deliberately written out of history. What we really need to do is have absolutely zero tolerance for sexism in the workplace at all career levels, as the women who do enter these career paths all too often move on to something else due to the exhaustion of dealing with everyday sexism. The efforts of organisations such as everywoman are really important and I do worry that the current global climate has not only resulted in organisations putting progress on the back burner but for overt sexism to be openly tolerated.
Q: Describe your career and any female (or otherwise) figures who inspired you.
I have been an IT professional for over 30 years and am very clear that being a technologist needs to be a core part of whatever role I have done. I have been at MoD for two years now and despite it being such a male-dominated environment it feels really comfortable to be part of a very gender-balanced leadership team of the digital function, and my own direct leadership team is also pretty mixed. I first heard of Dame Stephanie Shirley in my mid-teens 鈥� as I was choosing my A-levels. I was really excited to hear about her not just as a successful business woman but a pioneer in tech. I was saddened by her fairly recent passing. Since then I have made it my business to understand and remember the work of female pioneers in STEM, particularly in tech such as Hedy Lamarr, Katherine Johnson, Grace Hopper and of course Ada Lovelace. I find it fascinating that the majority of early computer programmers were women.
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Q: You have an absolutely crucial role at a turbulent time in international affairs. How have you found the experience so far? What is the best thing about your job?
I work in defence exactly because of the mission. It鈥檚 tough but highly motivating. As CTO, my role is about making sure our operators are getting the best use of technology at the pace at which they need it. One of the best things about my role is being surrounded by people who are so passionate about the mission and the sheer range of tech that we have across defence.
Q: How are you approaching the adoption of AI as it develops?
As CTO, we really focus on making sure that our tech enterprise has the building blocks it needs to use AI, such as computing capacity. I had a great day recently visiting a supercomputer facility for example, and helping stakeholders understand that AI isn鈥檛 a shiny toy to plonk on top of things 鈥� we need to exploit it with deliberate intent and of course be confident about the data being used for both training and inference.
Q: How do you advocate for women in IT on a practical level?
I can鈥檛 remember who gave this quote but I agree with it: women are over-mentored and under-sponsored. So that sponsorship is key. I also advocate for thinking more broadly in terms of what makes a good leader 鈥� organisations still revert to a stereotype of alpha-male characteristics as what it is to be a leader. That鈥檚 a very dated view as to what makes a good leader, in my opinion, and certainly will not bring diversity of thought to leadership. It鈥檚 frustrating despite all the narrative around risk and group think that led to the 2008 financial crisis.
Q: You were a judge at this year’s Salesforce everywoman in Technology Awards. When and why did you start to support everywoman in Technology?
I can鈥檛 remember exactly when I first encountered everywoman in tech, but it was really quite some time ago and I think I had the honour of being a finalist. It鈥檚 been wonderful to see the organisation grow in its reach and impact, at the same time I feel like some of the women at everywoman have become friends and confidantes over the years 鈥� it鈥檚 a lovely community. I really like the conferences and how they showcase inspiring women in tech, not just talking about being a woman in tech but about their technical subject matter expertise and tech trends. Long may it continue!