We interviewed Caroline Gibbs, Global Client Services Manager at Kinly on her experience and thoughts on women in tech.
-
What does your role involve?
As a Global Client Services Manager at Kinly, I’m responsible for engagement with our clients, stakeholders and partners. It involves a lot of people management — which I enjoy — and financial administration.
-
What made you choose a career in technology?
I didn’t choose tech – it chose me! I chose to stay in tech because it‘s an industry that is disruptive by nature and pushes the boundaries on what can be achieved. I’ve always enjoyed disrupting things that are in urgent need of change and challenging the status quo for the better.
-
Did you study an IT or technology-related subject at GCSE, A-Level or University?
No, nothing in IT. In fact, I studied Tourism Management before embarking on a post-grad in marketing. I then worked in partnership with a local audio-visual/IT team for three years before starting at Kinly in 2017.
-
Do you think there is a lack of women in the IT and tech sectors?
Yes! One of the ways to get around this is to raise awareness of what careers and roles are available across the sector. It’s also really important to know that you’re coming into a company whose values are inclusive and reflect your own.
-
Are there barriers when it comes to women getting into tech?
Yes, there are barriers. But we can get around them. Like anything new being introduced, there is a need for mentors. We need leadership buy-in from the board level to ensure that the foundations that are introduced to support these initiatives are comprehensive, robust and sustainable. If the senior team isn’t bought in, true change is always so much harder to achieve.
In business, that means working on the biases that still exist, where a female attending a meeting is most likely to be asked to “get the coffee”, “take meeting minutes” or “arrange the next social.” It means challenging the assumptions that client days out should be golfing or racing car experiences only.
-
How could we encourage more women to start a career in tech?
I would love to see more roles being showcased — to show other women what’s out there. We need to highlight the females within our ranks so that they can become an active part of our recruitment activities. We also need to promote an inclusive culture with training and development incentives to support the growth of women in tech.
-
What advice would you give to women at the start of their careers in tech?
Wow! Let me pause here…there is so much to say about this. For me, relationships are key to driving change. So I would say to other women: Be the change. Get involved. And work for the change you wish to see. Don’t let discomfort scare you. If you’re outside your comfort zone, it means you’re learning, and that can only be a good thing.
