Getting a Foot in the Door
How Anita B.org Community Leader Liza Layne Advocates for Women Across the Pond
Liza Layne exhibited the qualities of a leader in tech early on. As a young girl, she took apart computers and directed her father on how to fix them with his soldering tools. Her talents also took on a competitive side when she designed a computer game to play with her older sister (that was cleverly rigged in Liza’s favor). The leadership and confidence required to hack a computer game and claim victory over her sister were qualities that would carry far into her future.
Liza began her education at London South Bank University in organic chemistry and physics with a computer science focus, but after realizing that track didn’t reflect her real passion, she switched her degree to focus solely on computer science. After graduation, she began her career in the financial services industry, working with Hammersmith & Fulham Borough Council, managing large information databases. She enjoyed the technical side of working with data, along with the creative side of visualizing how data should feed in and out of the database. Almost a decade into her career, she decided to get her master’s degree in big data and data analytics at the University of Westminster. She now holds a position she once aspired to, as Lead Data & Analytics and System Enterprise Manager at Eurostar, where she oversees strategic roles and business intelligence. Much of her role involves hiring new talent, an expertise she uses to support women she meets through her community work with AnitaB.org.
“My work and my career helps me with the [AnitaB.org local] chapter; they both allow me to see how many avenues there are to get into tech.”
Liza began her work with AnitaB.org in January of 2017 after attending the Hopperx1 conference, the inaugural London chapter event. She was excited by the energy of the conference and the opportunity to get involved in making a tangible difference for women. The London AnitaB.org Community chapter’s goal is to provide access for local women in technology to free events and programs supporting their growth and sense of belonging in the field. The chapter focuses specifically on supporting women who are already in tech or those looking to make a career switch into technical fields.
Liza took on a leadership role as the chapter’s point of contact at the beginning of 2019 with the goal to promote the AnitaB.org mission beyond US borders by collaborating with conferences and ally groups to create an expansive local network of women in tech. While AnitaB.org is most well-known for Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest technology conference for women, Liza is determined to make sure women know the organization is available 365 days a year to support their growth and development.
“There are amazing opportunities you can get from connecting with other women in tech in a safe environment, where you aren’t being judged, which gives you the skills to translate back into your professional life.”
Another challenge Liza hopes to tackle is the low retention rates of women in technical roles. While there are many reasons women may leave the industry, Liza’s work addresses the loneliness and lack of community that often affect a woman’s decision to leave the field. AnitaB.org provides its community members with a network of support, including mentorship from all career levels, from peers to senior-level professionals.
“Everyone reaches confidence in different stages, and we’re here to support you. Part of our job is to highlight avenues where you talk to different women who share their experiences and encourage you to succeed.”
Liza sees promising talent come across her desk every day in her current role as a technical manager, and feels excited about the movement AnitaB.org is inciting, knowing how many women out there are qualified for the data-driven roles she oversees. As a hiring manager, she aims to support women coming into tech from traditional STEM-focused degree programs, as well as those from non-traditional paths, such as code boot camps. She looks for people who are willing to learn, and not just those who “tick all the boxes” of a job description. In Liza’s eyes, if someone could do everything in the job description, what is there left to learn?
“I want to highlight that everyone has a different journey. I may not look like the stereotypical person that works in tech, but I want to break down those barriers and encourage women to pursue a technical career.”
Liza will be hosting the Women in FinTech Summit in London on September 17th, 2020, and encouraging women to attend upcoming local chapter events. Liza is excited for the event and the opportunity to share the AnitaB.org mission with even more women across the globe.
“If we want to change things, we need to be part of [the tech] conversation; that’s what I want to instill in other women.”
This story was written by Laurel Kremer, Wogrammer Journalism Fellow. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
We are excited to announce that Wogrammer has been acquired by AnitaB.org, a social enterprise that supports women in technical fields, the organizations that employ them, and the academic institutions training the next generation. We proudly join the AnitaB.org/365 suite of programs which are fueling the movement to achieve intersectional gender equity in the global technical workforce by 2025 and will continue to amplify diverse voices of women in technology around the world.
