Zoë O’Connell, Senior Operations Engineer:

“A diversity of experiences is critical to being able to deliver good engineering solutions. As engineers, we are designing and making products for everyone to use, which means everyone’s thoughts and ideas can help innovation and add value. And yet, the history of engineering shows us that those views have not always been considered. For women, this ranges from the relatively minor, such as health tracking products that are missing key features for women, to the major such as seatbelts and other automotive safety features that are designed around an average male body and historically have resulted in women being more likely to be injured in accidents.

“It can often seem that ensuring diversity requires shouting from the rooftops. But it is just as important to simply be there. Some of my most impactful contributions have come simply from being, by chance, in the right meeting or talking to the right person at the right time and asking if they had considered a particular approach or issue. And it is important for the next generation of women entering engineering that, when they go to an interview or start a new job, they see other women present and realize that, yes, this is possible and they belong here too.”

Jane Saunders, Director of Engineering:

“Engineering skills are universal, and the focus should always be on one's capabilities first, with an inherent assumption of equal rights to professional spaces. In a traditionally male-dominated field, the diversity of thought that women can bring to engineering teams is highly valuable. Women frequently bring a proactive and collaborative approach, often identifying gaps and addressing them effectively. While this is a generalization, these qualities can naturally lend themselves to leadership roles. 

Personally, I’ve never focused on myself specifically as a woman in engineering. I’m confident in my technical abilities and believe my success has mainly been due to an ability to confidently walk into spaces where women are typically underrepresented and focus on the work and collaboration, rather than any perceived differences. It's crucial to acknowledge different career trajectories and avoid reinforcing stereotypes, allowing space for all engineers to thrive based on their contributions and skills.”

Jennalyne Abella, Senior Frontend Engineer:

“Had you asked me a few years ago, I would have said women in engineering is a bit of a rarity as throughout my career there had only been 1-3 women on all of the engineering teams I had worked on. Now you might find a lot more in the field with many leading engineering teams and inspiring future generations to pursue careers in tech as well. Personally, I think the lines have become blurred and women in engineering bring the same technical skills as other engineers. They do however bring diverse perspectives during problem solving and innovation. Having diverse perspectives can help to encourage growth and increase the success of an engineering team.”

Gemma Whitehouse, Strategic Technical Advisor:

“What is it like being a woman in Engineering? Well, I would say it's fairly challenging, stereotypes persist everywhere, and if you don't fit that for all sorts of reasons, you invite more scrutiny. As you become more experienced and move into leadership roles, the barriers are bigger to jump. Having said that, I was always interested in male-dominated disciplines, not because of that association for me, but because that's what I was exposed to. My father was a mechanical and electrical engineer and worked in Systems Networking and had a side business in automotive restoration. His final job was Solution Architect for the Enigma Machine at Bletchly Park Museum.  His dream job. Funny that I ended up following his path professionally. I work mostly with startups and scaleups, and it isn't an environment for the fainthearted! But if you like the culture, hustle, hard work and social network, it is a really exciting space to be a part of and a great space to grow your career.

“I've worked in software for 20 years now and have grown my skillset as the trade demanded and evolved. I learnt most of what I know either on the job or nights and weekends of study and projects. I studied music and was very young to start working, so tough schedules and people were normalised for me early on. I think Engineering and Software Development are inherently creative trades. You've got to like solving problems all the time. If music taught me anything, it was how to conceptualise and express an output. Engineering taught me how to apply a practical solution to a conceptual problem. I still like building software and building a business; these two things are intertwined for me. It's my entrepreneurial streak and... after all these years, I am fairly comfortable being different!”