A bright future for women in tech
Can you tell me your name, job role and responsibilities at NOTHS
My name is Joanna Aberneithy and I’m currently a Java Software Engineer at NOTHS. I work as part of the tech team whose goal is to improve and manage the underlying product data which will ultimately help enhance both the partner experience of managing products and various other features across the main website.
How did you get into technology? Tell us a bit about your career path?
My first exposure to technology was from computer games. Growing up not only with two older brothers but with a large extended family, we would host mini LAN parties at my parents’ house playing games like Counterstrike and Team Fortress. By about 11 years old I was building my own computers with the need to have the best gaming machine (obviously to be the best player at the Aberneithy LAN parties). I think this, along with my inherent desire to understand how things work, is what initially triggered my fascination with technology. As well as this, I was one of the lucky ones that actually really enjoyed Maths at school and so it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to study a STEM subject at uni. I studied Computer Science & Mathematics at the university of Manchester where I got my BSc. It was there that I learnt how to code and the fundamentals of computer science and software engineering. In my second year at university I landed a summer internship at an investment bank and they ended up offering me a place on the tech graduate scheme. Moving from the theory based teachings of university into the practicalities of work life was quite a steep learning curve, turns out nobody outside of uni writes all their code in a text editor. After my stint at the investment bank I moved to a large e-commerce company where I learnt a lot in a short space of time using new technologies that progressed my skillset further. In 2019 I became part of the NOTHS family where I am today.
What has been your experience of being a woman in the technology sector so far?
Since joining the industry as a graduate to today I have loved working in tech. It is an incredibly exciting, fast paced and rewarding sector to be in and right now it is growing more rapidly than ever. This is not to say that my experience so far hasn’t had its ups and downs, because it definitely has. It can often be overwhelming joining male dominated teams where there are very few women. Thankfully all of the people I’ve worked with so far in my career have been great so this feeling usually passes once I get to know the team with many of them going on to become good friends. Another challenge I’ve faced, particularly when moving jobs, is imposter syndrome. This is something, I understand, a lot of people in the tech industry face, particularly women and I feel it should be more openly discussed. This is exacerbated perhaps by the persisting societal stereotype of how a programmer should look and behave and being a woman doesn’t necessarily conform to that. However with the positive shift in how tech is viewed this is something that is improving year on year and I feel that the industry is gradually becoming more diverse and welcoming.
What would you like to see change for women in tech?
For me the most important change I’d like to see is fair representation of women in tech. This is achievable in many different ways but I believe the focus should be on the following; establishing more grassroots initiatives to ignite passion in tech amongst young women, providing more diverse inspiration in the form of tech leaders across companies and working to remove any societal stereotypes that are connected to someone working in tech. With these changes we can shift perceptions and establish a much healthier gender balance. There is a bright future for women in tech and it is my hope that, with a little more work from all of us in it, many of those young girls out there who like their video games will go on to comfortably find their place within this industry.
