Discovery of Their Direction

Each of the Fab Five are in the early stages of their career with many things yet to discover about themselves and the STEM industries. I spoke to each of them at the start of the week about what they did and their passions in STEM, and it seemed like they were all at the beginning of a new chapter.

Over the week it was clear that the conference sessions, the women they met, and the general atmosphere began to focus their thoughts so they could hone in on where they wanted to take their careers, what impact they could make, and where their passions could intersect with technology.

Many of the speakers’ career journeys ebbed and flowed through different industries and seemingly unrelated roles; however, each eventually landed themselves in a career where they are thriving and making true impact. To demonstrate, in one panel a speaker started as a harp player and eventually became a GitHub lawyer!

These stories of personal discovery from incredibly successful women and real-life role models reassure those with unanswered questions about their career direction that they are on the right track.

One of my favorite things that Akua, a Makers bootcamp graduate, said to me was that she was learning to appreciate her journey. Over the week, I saw her embrace her bootcamp education more and realize that her unique perspective is an enormous asset to her team at Lyst where she is now a software engineer!

In Hadiyah and Vanessa, who do not come from computer science backgrounds but are instead maths students, I saw two things: a new awareness of the career possibilities that are open to their degree and an increased interest in the intersection of technology and maths.

While many people are not exposed to programming before university, women have an additional societal barrier for them to overcome to pursue computer science. In my network, many female software engineers transitioned from other industries into technology after they were finally exposed to programming because it appealed to their interests in making large scale impact, love of being creative, and opportunity to problem solve.

While many people are not exposed to programming before university, women have an additional societal barrier for them to overcome to pursue computer science. In my network, many female software engineers transitioned from other industries into technology after they were finally exposed to programming because it appealed to their interests in making large scale impact, love of being creative, and opportunity to problem solve.

The Grace Hopper sessions and careers fair revealed the variety of careers that are available for not just computer science students, but students from all backgrounds and particularly those studying other STEM subjects. Each of the Fab Five left with a greater understanding of their career options and what skills they needed to be successful in them.

Beyond uncovering new career opportunities, the Grace Hopper Conference also fed the Fab Fives technical interests. Ayushi, a degree apprentice at KPMG and Queen Mary University, packed her itinerary with cyber security content. When speaking to her at the end of the day about her sessions, you could feel the excitement and passion for security technology radiating from her.

Continuing along a similar thread, Becky and I had really interesting conversations about the types of technology that interest her. We spoke about her personal life, the challenges of those around her, and what kind of impact she wants to have on the world.

After speaking about Jhillika Kumar, the Anita B Student of Vision winner, on her work that increases employment opportunities for those on the autism spectrum, Becky began to explore the technologies that were personal and relevant to her and those close to her. She identified that she has a strong interest in AI and how we can use technology to build a more inclusive world, particularly for the neurodiverse.

Grace Hopper was an investment into the Fab Five’s technical education and encouraged each of them to continue learning about subjects that fascinate them.

The Impact of Role Models

This year the Grace Hopper Conference was packed with 26,000 women in technology – that scale of female tech talent all in one place is unheard outside of this event. Amongst the many thousands of women in tech, there were countless role models for the Fab Five and the other attendees. Many of the Fab Five expressed to me how they finally found role models that looked like them and were interested in the same technologies. They learnt from their role model’s industry experiences and applied these lessons to their own careers.

However, the impact of these role models didn’t stop there. The Fab Five left Grace Hopper motivated and inspired to continue sharing their stories and to become role models themselves.

This year Akua created Anomalys Views, a platform where she shares her educational experiences and lessons on resilience. Vanessa has also created the blog Vanessa Speaks where she documents her journey to make STEM subjects seem less intimidating, as well as she started Project Insight where she shares the stories of other women in STEM and provide insight into how to enter STEM careers.

This year Akua created Anomalys Views, a platform where she shares her educational experiences and lessons on resilience. Vanessa has also created the blog Vanessa Speaks where she documents her journey to make STEM subjects seem less intimidating, as well as she started Project Insight where she shares the stories of other women in STEM and provide insight into how to enter STEM careers.

As Akua learnt from an inspiring women in STEM, “you have to be the one who shouts about you the loudest”, meaning you need to share your story and make your message heard.

Their stories about how they endeavoured for greatness and pushed through barriers helps to inspire and empower the next set of women to join the industry. Having a familiar face to look up to makes a huge impact on people and can dramatically change the course of people’s lives. They uplift others just as they have been uplifted themselves. These role models encourage others to create impact with their new skills and to dream big.

Power in Camaraderie

What made the Student to STEMette Grace Hopper trip so impactful was the camaraderie that was built between the Fab Five. At the start of the trip, these young women were acquaintances. They had met a couple times previously, but they had a lot to learn about and from each other. Over the week, they shared their stories, found common interests, created memories that will last a lifetime, and became a tech girl gang who will forever uplift each other.

They helped each other with confidence issues, encouraged each other to make progress towards their goals, and drew inspiration from each other. The Fab Five and I now have plans to start a Working Out Loud peer support group to hold ourselves accountable for our goals that have arisen from the Grace Hopper Conference.

The magic of Grace Hopper did not end when the plane landed back in London; the true impact of Grace Hopper will become apparent in the coming years as the Fab Five keep pushing for progress with the support of each other. They started as strangers but left as sisters.

Thank You STEMettes & Deutsche Bank

After a week of being in each other’s company amongst thousands of women at Grace Hopper, the evolution of the Fab Five was phenomenal. Providing these young women with the opportunity to attend GHC came, at what I believe, was a really important time for each of them. This trip provided guidance and direction to their plans that will shape the trajectory of their future.

It was an honor to hear their stories and watch them grow as women in STEM. Attending as a group was fundamental to this change and I honestly believe that they will be lifelong friends who will cherish these memories forever. A huge thanks is owed to the STEMettes and Deutsche Bank for providing them and myself with the opportunity to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration.

We will all look back onto this week in October 2019 as one that changed our lives.

Team Fit is Irreplaceable

Let’s take a step back first. My real first six months at Microsoft I finished back in January 2017 when I was a placement student at Lift working on Paint 3D. I had an amazing team who taught me more about the technology industry, the world of business, and technical expertise in the year that I spent with them than any lecture or online class could. I finished my placement year and subsequent internship on the Xbox team feeling confident in my abilities and ready to start my full-time career.

My 15 months as an intern meant my transition to re-join Microsoft after completing my computing undergrad was seamless. I instantly had a connection with the team, was comfortable asking questions, and felt like I belonged. A major reason I wanted to work with the Lift team again post-university was because of the team fit. Our team is wildly clever, places critical importance on quality, and strives for impactful innovation — traits I hold in very high esteem.

Surrounding yourself by people who you can learn from is of the utmost importance, particularly for a new engineer. The classic phrase “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room” is so true, because otherwise you’ll begin to stagnate.

Beyond working traits, my team feels like family. I look forward to seeing them every day, sharing stories, hearing their perspectives, and laughing at the most absurdly random topics. Our team fit, driven by meaningful relationships, makes me an enthusiastic employee who wants to tackle challenging, unanswered questions in the emerging virtual assistant space.

Team fit is created on both sides of the hiring table and discovering what kind of team fit suits your unique needs and wants is a personal journey. You produce the best work if you are surrounded by people who complement, motivate, and inspire you.

Discover your (Evolving) Motivations

True, long-lasting motivation comes from within. It is created by your passions, values, and dreams. When I first started pursuing technology, working in the video games industry was my goal. I grew up playing games and wanted to create the games that shaped me.

Over the years, as I was learning about other technologies and was gaining experience, my motivations evolved — as they should! Working on Paint 3D and Xbox taught me that I love working on user-facing products that bring fun and creativity to others.

Building on those revelations, the combination of working on Paint 3D and Cortana helped me tune into the joy and adventure of working on cutting-edge technologies that introduce additional challenges of solving unanswered questions like “How can we make 3D creation easy for anyone between the ages of 4 and 104?” and “How can we provide the best experience and most value in the new voice-enabled world?”.

Experience across three very different global products taught me what made my heart sing; pursuing innovation, pushing boundaries in new human-computer interaction spaces, the ability to enhance the lives of others around the world.

This discovery freed me from the small box that I put myself in where I thought I would only be happy or find success working in the games industry.

Seek Communities Outside Your Day Job

The women in STEM community brings me a sense of fulfilment that I cannot find solely in programming. Crucially, it combines my engineering skills, life experience, and my desire to make the world a better place.

During my placement year, I was fortunate to have a mentor, Linden, who fuelled my fire to bring equality and gender balance to the technology industry. Since then, female empowerment and activism has been at my core.

Once I went back to university to finish my undergrad, I was elected the VP of the Computing Society to use it as a platform for change. My efforts focused on increasing industry connections for all Surrey students and providing female students strong role-models, a powerful network, and career advice on how to succeed in male-dominated industries.

My work continues at Microsoft. Coincidentally, this week also marks International Women’s Day and the culmination of weeks of work organizing an inspiring technology showcase developed by the engineering teams in London incl. HoloLens, Paint 3D, and SwiftKey to show to 50 year eight girls during a DigiGirlz day.

DigiGirlz, a Microsoft organization, aims to inspire future female technologists by introducing them to Microsoft employees and workspaces, getting them hands-on with the latest technology, and challenging them to #CreateWhatsNext during a hackathon centered around making the world a more accessible place. Throughout the day I wore many hats — hackathon helper, mentor, judge, and co-organizer.

I was exhausted by the end, but absolutely thrilled with the results. The girls left feeling empowered to pursue technology with a greater understanding of how they can integrate programming skills into their individual passions.

These additional communities introduce you to people that otherwise may be out of reach.

External communities unlock a network united by shared interests that can be tapped into to accelerate your career and altruistic goals.

I have met so many incredible female leaders and have had countless career opportunities stem from my advocacy work.

Satya Nadella wrote in his book Hit Refresh — Employee Edition that we should use Microsoft as a platform to change the world and create impact. We are all dynamic people with interests beyond our day jobs. Find a way to combine your skills, create positive change, and live a more fulfilled life.

Lock into Your USP

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given is to find gaps in your team’s skills and fill it. Make it your USP. Not only does it push you to learn new skills, but it also makes you an invaluable member of the team.

For me, this comes in the form of Windows UI development done in XAML. For those who have written in XAML before, you know that it can be a bit of a beast. There is a lot to learn with different quirks and “magic” that can make it hard to fully understand.

There are other amazing XAML developers team members, but as their careers have progressed, they no longer have the time to develop as much. Others find it too complicated or just outside their realm of interest. Conversely, I enjoy the challenge of XAML and developing front-facing code, so this skill appeals to my technology sub-interests.

It is a perfect opportunity to seize a skill gap and fill it whilst using the other XAML developer’s experience to enhance and increase the pace of my learnings. Note that this does not mean limiting yourself to just this skill. The intention is to grow your skills into these needed areas.

Expertise brings respect and career growth opportunities. Identify a cross-section between the technologies you love and the skills your team needs.

Taking a moment to self-reflect helped me appreciate my growth in the last six months. I look forward to the next six months of learnings leading up to my 1-year anniversary at Microsoft.