This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
women in IT roundtable 53


Lamb‘s view was that from a talent- nurturing perspective, one of the challenges was finding enough women to step up, saying: “We have a higher number of senior female leaders in positions than we have ever had before but it would be good to see more. I would see this changing even more over the next five years.“


Delahoussaye thought there was pressure on businesses to attract more women and Rees agreed, saying: “They are seeing the light. Women are better at consultative sales, we talk more, we listen more, we ask more questions, we are enablers and we are simply better at it.“


was a reluctance to do the same in the UK.


“At the risk of being controversial,“ said Lamb, “I have worked in scenarios where it was only female oriented and I found it exceptionally dangerous in terms of balance; their style was very destructive and it drove me insane.“


Dr Janjuha-Jivraj questioned if diversity “had had its moment“ and said if companies simply paid lip service to the concept, would it disappear?


Edmunds said having to “tick all the diversity boxes“ could be treated as a “bit of a burden“, when it should really be about extending the talent pool. For Rees however, it was all about having a cross- section and balance, while Lamb said she saw diversity and inclusiveness as also being about personal behaviour and awareness, adding: “It needs to become ‘business as usual‘. It should be inherent in the way you behave.“


Emma Braithwaite


Hamilton said that only 10% of applicants for roles at Clarify were women, which led Rees to ask if that was due in part to the way job specifications are written. Delahoussaye, who went straight into the world of work rather than going to university, said she always used to steer clear of jobs that specified a degree requirement, something she saw as favouring men with a good education track record.


Braithwaite on the other hand, said she thought today‘s young women were much more confident and empowered and “believe they can change the world“.


Clarify‘s research found that of 6,000 people in senior enterprise sales, only 600 were women and Dr Janjuha-Jivraj asked how those figures could be increased.


For Lamb, it was about companies making themselves more attractive to women. “How you position your company is a big deal. It‘s about making your image something of interest, making sure that whatever the values are, such as flexible working, they are interesting enough for people to want to join. Those are the things that will make a difference.“


Rees‘ mention of a large UK business which appears to aim its advertising specifically at women prompted Dr Janjuha-Jivraj to highlight the fact that in the US, companies appeared to be much more proactive when it came to attracting women and she asked if there


Victoria McQuade


That brought the discussion back to whether job adverts could be worded to make them more appealing to women,


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – JULY/AUGUST 2015


It was an opportunity for Rees to promote “The Unipart Way“, which gives everyone in the company the chance to have their views heard through weekly “communication cell“ sessions. It not only makes all employees feel they are listened to, but encourages diversity, continual improvement and a feeling of being part of the team.


Delahoussaye talked about VMWare‘s different workstreams, which include topics such as diversity and worklife balance, and said the opportunity to post comments online gave everyone the chance to make their voice heard, with management picking up on those topics which had the most hits.


With a female CEO and a very diverse US board, Braithwaite said Xerox had an ongoing commitment to diversity and equality, which includes online courses, but noted that when she advertised for a business development manager, only men applied.


Holly Hamilton


with Rees suggesting adding phrases such as “flexible working“ could make a difference.


Lamb said it was all very well having lots of programmes on diversity and worklife balance, but it was important to be visible – to be seen to be doing them as well. Unless those in charge of different regions and countries managed to engage their employees and “turn things around“, then they wouldn‘t make the progress they were looking for. “You need to see change, to show people it is happening.“


What can organisations do to speed up change and encourage more women into the tech sector in the next 10 years?


“I think we are already doing it,“ said Rees, who forms part of a small sales team of two women and one man. “Our team is growing but never once do we have a conversation about needing to balance it with another man. It is all about the needs of the job.


For Dr Janjuha-Jivraj, it was about more visibility of women within the sector and she praised Clarify for its proactive role in raising the topic. “We need so many more women stepping up, it is a struggle to find enough role models,“ she said.


“It is about our language and how we present ourselves, I think women are doing such a good job in terms of their work and what they are doing to promote other women and I think there isn‘t enough recognition.“


She concluded: “It always shocks me when women say ‘I was lucky‘, they worked hard but they were ‘lucky‘. We respond by saying you weren‘t lucky, you worked really, really hard to get there.“


www.businessmag.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60