For international women’s day I have spoken to women across the Digital and Technological service and asked them the same five questions so they can share their experience of being Women in Tech in the public sector:
Kat Sexton
What is your specific job?
I am the head of function for product at Birmingham city council. The product function is new to BCC and it’s incredibly exciting to be heading up this new team of fantastic people. We will be working with BCC services to help them identify valuable problems to solve, and work with them to creatively and collaboratively solve them.
Your initial spark to enter this industry?
I was good at Computing at school and was interested in purposing a career in IT. I also loved drama and was dreaming of becoming an actress! So, I did the normal thing(?) and studied both computing and drama at school! Both of these subjects have actually come in very useful in my career in IT, as the people side of IT is just as important as the technical.
I started my career on the IT Help Desk at Huntingdonshire District Council and I loved the customer service aspect of IT. I have progressed through local government, taking on IT training roles, team leader roles in IT and project management. Moving into customer service and contact centre leadership gave me a real passion for digital transformation and I moved to my first digital transformation role 8 years ago, and have never looked back! I am very public spirited, so I love working in a local authority where you do get to feel like you are making a difference to people’s lives.
Your most exciting project to date?
So many to name, and it’s hard to pick just one. One project I am proud of is one I managed in Huntingdonshire in 2015, and it was a complete re-build of our corporate website. We had a SharePoint website (IKR!?) and we decided to re-build it internally using the Umbraco CMS. We had a multi-disciplinary team made up of 2 content writers (one of which also acted as a BA), 3 developers and myself. We worked collaboratively with the council to completely re-build and re-write all of the content in just 6 months (it is a MUCH smaller council than BCC!) We reduced the amount of pages by more than half, axed a whole load of PDFs, and we went live on time and to budget.
Another one is Blue Badge for Cambridgeshire in 2016. Again, we had a multi-disciplinary team and just 3 months to re-design and implement an end-to-end solution for blue badges. We had some issues and blockers as there was a lot of resistance to agile working at that time. The project was hairy at times, but we released a fantastic product in the timeframe we had that produced staggering results. The process had taken 6-8 weeks for people to get a badge, we reduced this to less than a week. There was an 80% abandoned rate on the form, which we got down to practically zero. Uptake of the online form went from 20% to 60% overnight and complaints reduced to zero. In fact, I remember in the first 3 months, we had only one complaint about the new service, and that was because the customer received their blue badge too quickly, before the old one expired. The new service created £60K year on year savings.
Other than that, I think 2 of my favourite things in the last few years have been to run design sprints. I have run 2 – one with the learning disability partnership about how we can help more people with additional needs gain meaningful employment, and the other was about how we can offer a more joined up mental health service in Cambridgeshire to ensure that people can access the help they need when they need it. One of the services we prototyped and tested during the mental health one was suggested by a service user, and actually went on to become a live service, which was just amazing.
Top skills that anyone who wants to work in Tech need?
I would say it’s less about skills and more about attitude and behaviours (although skills are also important in terms of continually developing and honing them!) In our changing world, the skills we need are constantly changing as new technology emerges and customer wants and needs change. My first job title when I moved into a digital role, was a Digital Service Architect. Well, that job title was not a thing when I was at Uni or when I started my career, so it wasn’t something I could aim for by skilling up. I’m pretty sure that my job title now didn’t exist a few years ago. It’s far more important to have a growth mindset than have a fixed set of skills, we should all be aiming to increase and improve on our skillsets constantly.
I would say the most important things are to be interested in personal growth, learning and nurturing a growth mindset. It’s important to be understanding and appreciative of other perspectives, curious, humble and supportive of others. Authenticity, accountability and bravery! It’s fine to get things wrong, and owning this and being accountable creates a safe and honest workplace for all of us. Being flexible, adaptable in your approach and being the best team player you can be. If you are always open and willing to learn, and you are a supportive and positive person to work with, then skills develop naturally. If you are someone who feels threatened by not knowing something, or are rigid in your approach, then your ability to learn and adapt can be hindered.
We all need to feel safe in order to admit that we don’t know something so that we can learn, and we all have a part to play in the psychological safety of our team. Being patient, kind and believing in the good intent of everyone around us will help us create a fantastic culture where we are all learning and nurturing an awesome place to work!
Yvonne Batchelor
What is your specific job?
Head of Service – specialising in IT Service Management and Service Delivery
Your initial spark to enter this industry?
Having a tool that can help you do your job better. I started off training to be a copy typist and little did I know those skills would hold me in good stead throughout my entire career. This gave me the confidence to get involved in the computerisation of manual working practices in my early years of working in the council – when IBM computers were being introduced in the workplace…yes, I’m that old!
Your most exciting project to date?
Working on and achieving the certification for the ISO/IEC20000 standard in IT Service Management – a global industry recognised standard. It took 18 months to implement and covered a range of critical practices across the entire IT organisation, as well as being audited every 6 months to continually improving and be the best at what we do – i.e. delivering world class IT services in local government, which we did, and I’m very proud of that.
Top skills that anyone, who wants to work in Tech need?
Lifelong learning is key and so I will always learn new skills, new ways of working. I would say keyboard skills wouldn’t I, but being open to change, being adaptable and not afraid to learn new technological skills and working practices that you are interested in or enjoy
Your biggest role model?
If it’s in tech then it would be Jacky Wright – she is passionate about championing inclusion in the industry and as a black woman she is a role model to young aspiring women – advocating the need for the tech industry to address its lack of diversity and has been the driving force behind a number of innovative programmes to achieve this goal.
If it’s in life, then Maya Angelou – all I can say – Phenomenal Woman!
Karen Tay
Your initial spark to enter this industry?
I guess it goes back as far as when I was 14 and my parents bought me a ZX Spectrum… IT was just starting to take off back then, what with DOS 3.1, 10Mb hard drives and 5 ¼” floppy disks – why wouldn’t you want to get involved! Seriously as a school leaver, IT was suddenly very appealing and since embarking on a career in IT, I have been fortunate to try a variety of roles which has lead me to where I am today.
Your most exciting project to date?
So many…
I guess since joining the Council in Oct 2019, my first big project was to replace the windows phones, there were around 800 if I recall correctly, that needed to be replaced in a 2 week window. This meant completely changing the way devices were deployed as well as sourcing a suitable replacement that would enable our colleagues to setup their devices themselves, saving time and money.
The reason I think this one is key is due to 2 months later we were faced with the impact of Covid, however, by adopting this new model of delivery, it enabled us to deploy to our workforce quickly so that the service to our citizens was not impacted.
Currently I am working on the Teams Voice Project which brings so many benefits to both colleagues and citizens which is exciting and no doubt moving into my new role will bring more opportunities for improving the colleague experience.
Top skills that anyone, who wants to work in Tech need?
- Sense of humour
- Logical thinker
- Excellent customer service – regardless of role
- Patience!
Your biggest role model?
Not sure I have one, other than my family members who have supported me
My approach is to do the best to my ability and enjoy what I do – some days that is more difficult than others but I do like a challenge and give it my best shot!
Surita Solanki
What is your specific job?
I’ve worked in digital transformation for 13 years now and have recently moved over to Service Design within the ‘Product’ function of Digital & Technology Services (DTS). As a Service Designer I will work with and support council directorates to ensure we design products, processes and services based on evidence of user (customer, citizen or colleague) needs.
Your initial spark to enter this industry?
I think I’ve always been interested in finding solutions to helping people. I started my career in learning and development and my curiosity to delve into a new subject area led me to a role in Digital Birmingham who’s main focus was to build digital recognition of our wonderful city and ensure we as a council are, in collaboration with local partners, are building a truly inclusive city for all who live, work, visit and study here.
Your most exciting project to date?
I’d have to say I’ve worked on some fantastic digital projects over the years. The one that sticks out has to be an ERDF funded project called the Big Data Corridor. I led the project working with 5 partners (the consortium) across the city, a mix of universities, small enterprise and the innovation Hub on the Birmingham Science Park to work with businesses who were operating in Birmingham to provide business advise and bespoke technical assistance based on specific and individual company requirements to help them develop and grow business in the competitive market, developing new products to the market and maximising potential for increased growth in our local economy. The consortium supported over 150 businesses, a mix who had little or no knowledge of handling data and those who already knew the power of data and what to do with it, however, just needed the technical expertise and business know-how to accelerate their business plans.
Top skills that anyone, who wants to work in Tech need?
Oh you most definitely need to be open and adaptable to change! Tech and infrastructure changes and evolves so often that it’s important to keep up to date and embrace new tech and digital trends. To be interested in tech and digital, have a tech/digital mindset, be curious about how things work and why and have a real desire to use and build tech for good. Everything else I feel can be learnt…Never stop learning, and never stop sharing that learning!
What does International women’s day mean to you?
As women we should celebrate our achievements daily and shouldn’t need a dedicated day for a shout-out! I celebrate extraordinary women every day! I’m really pleased to see more women working in tech and especially from diverse multicultural backgrounds, inspiring us and leading the way to becoming our digital leaders of the future.
I have to be honest, I don’t have a role model in tech….yet. I thought that choosing Ada Lovelace may be a little cliché!
Amena Akram
What is your specific job?
I am a senior user experience and content designer at Birmingham City Council.
Your initial spark to enter this industry?
My love for technology began when I was a kid playing video games. By the time I was 18, I had decided that I wanted to work in the tech industry, so I began studying for an undergraduate degree in computer science. I spent most of my degree not knowing what I wanted to do next. However, in my final year, I studied a module on user experience design and knew that it was what I wanted to do.
After graduating, I studied for a master’s in user experience design. Halfway through my masters, I started working at the council. Since then, I have found myself in a position I am incredibly grateful for and excited to pursue.
Your most exciting project to date?
My most exciting project to date has to be working on the customer service programme. It has been great to see the difference I have made to the web for citizens. I have also learnt so much from working with so many different people. I cannot wait to continue working on the programme to improve the digital experience we provide for citizens.
Top skills that anyone, who wants to work in Tech need?
Many people think you need to be an expert programmer to work in tech, but the reality is that tech is so much more than that, and even programmers need other skills. Not enough people talk about the soft skills you need – a big one is creative thinking.
Tech has always been about making ideas come to life, and you need to think creatively to do that. Communication and collaboration are two other soft skills which are important when working in tech. Communication includes both speaking and listening.
It is essential to be able to get your ideas across and listen to others. Tech covers so many areas, so you will always be working with other people. It is important to remember that your team will not succeed if you cannot communicate properly. One more crucial soft skill to have in tech is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your emotions and the emotions of others. At the end of the day, we create tech for other people. To do that well, it is important to understand how people think and feel and how our actions can influence that.
Who is your biggest role model?
My biggest role model is my mum. While I was studying for my undergraduate degree, she was also studying for a degree. It can be hard to get back into education, but she did it while working full-time and being a full-time carer. She has always supported me and is part of the reason why I am where I am today.
Becky Shergill
What is your specific job?
Online solutions – creating forms with back end integration and payment solutions
Your initial spark to enter this industry?
It started off as a personal interest. I enjoyed learning about computers and exploring new technologies. I find joy in developing technology that can improve peoples lives.
Your most exciting project to date?
Brum Account – User friendly and easy to navigate. Users can access the account from anywhere, at any time, and complete tasks. Offers a wide range of services.
Top skills that anyone, who wants to work in Tech need?
- Technical skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Communication skills
- Adaptability and willingness to learn
- Creative and innovative
- Attention to detail
- Collaborative and a team player
Your biggest role model?
My father, he instilled in us the values of equality and the significance of demanding fair treatment from others. He taught us to stand tall and never give up. He was a strong advocate for social justice and worked to support disadvantaged communities.
My sister whom started her career off in BCC and is now a MP and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. She supported the “Send my friend to school” campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of education for children around the world. She highlighted the need for more investment in education and the importance of ensuring that girls have equal access to education.
Angelina Jolie. She has used her platform to raise awareness on issues such as violence against women, education for girls, and the importance of women’s participation in peace and security efforts. She has travelled to many countries affected by conflict and displacement, advocating for the rights of refugees and displaced persons, including women and children.
A video that really inspires me is the speech Angelina she gave when receiving a Humanitarian award
“Nothing would mean anything if I didn’t live a life of use to others”