Empowering Women in Technology
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Nanyang Business School (NBS) hosted an exclusive Alumni Leaders Dialogue on Women in Technology on 3 March 2021.
Panellists included Ms Angeline Chua, Chief Financial & Operations Manager at IBM ASEAN, Ms Sharon Teo, Co-founder and CEO of Inspire-Tech Pte Ltd, Ms Chloe Lim, Director (Global Business Marketing APAC) at Facebook, and Ms Delphine Lee, Technology Analyst at SimplifyNext. Personal stories, and issues like challenges in technology and gender diversity in the industry were discussed. The session was moderated by the Dean of NBS, Professor Christina Soh.
Although all the panellists work in the tech industry, none of them actually graduated with a tech degree except for Ms Lee. Ms Chua and Ms Teo had initially planned for more ‘traditional’ business careers but ended up, respectively, working for the finance side of a tech firm and starting her own business instead. On the other hand, Ms Lim joined a start-up at the very outset of her career while Ms Lee, who has a double degree in Business and Computer Science, took up internships in various industries before settling in her current position. Despite their different journeys into the industry, the panellists are all evidently passionate about the work they do. Speaking on the topic of job satisfaction in the tech industry, all panellists agree that tech is constantly changing and those in the industry are moved to adapt and learn with speed and agility. Such creatively demanding work provides plenty of options for those in the industry to travel, meet different people, try out different roles, etc. In addition, Ms Lim and Ms Lee noted that being able to educate others’ on tech or to use tech to make people’s lives better are some of the reasons for doing what they do.
On whether there is anything they would have done differently in their careers, Ms Chua’s answer was an emphatic, “no”. Working in tech, Ms Chua explained, allows individuals to meet talents and stand at the forefront of innovation; this in turn helps one to grow and gain confidence in themselves and their work. Ms Lim added that even when decisions lead to failure, they provide opportunities for learning. While Ms Lim may not change any of the decisions she made throughout her career, she suggested that she would encourage her younger self to not second guess herself so much. Sharing her perspective as a newer graduate, Ms Lee recalled how she used to think a career in tech only involved coding ad programming but has since discovered that this is not always the case. In hindsight, Ms Lee felt that as an undergraduate she should have looked up other career options such as product management or UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience), which are extremely relevant to tech as well. Elaborating on this point, Ms Teo further emphasised that programming processes can often be automated now, and as long as an individual is logical, there are plenty of tech career options available for people with little to no tech background.
Crucially, participants were interested to learn how someone who is not currently in the tech sector can enter the industry. Referring to her own experience, Ms Teo emphasised that her role is not in programming; the tech skills and knowledge that she currently has were acquired from interacting with people through her business over the years. Admittedly, a tech firm may not immediately take on someone outside the industry for their programming skills (preferring someone with more experience in the area instead) but Ms Teo suggested ‘tech-light’ roles are a good way to start in the industry. Subsequently, more tech skills, knowledge and experience can be picked up along the way. For traditional marketers who want to move into tech, Ms Lim recommended starting with digital marketing first. Working in start-ups would also allow individuals to learn and do a wide range of tech and non-tech related work. The important thing, Ms Lim stressed, was to take the first step. Start-ups, for instance, always begin with identifying the “customer problem”. Upon identifying the problem, start-ups would have to go through many iterations of their solution, view the statistics, make tweaks, launch a new version, and so on. A single idea has a million steps but one has to make the first move to break into the industry.
In addition, participants wondered if panellists thought it advisable to learn more in-depth programming skills for more opportunities in the industry. Ms Chua clarified that programming is not key to getting into the tech industry. Instead, it is more important to go into areas where one can create value. For example, someone with a business background could look into transforming tech business processes or data science. Programming skills, Ms Chua felt, can be picked up at any time. Expanding on this point, Prof Soh pointed out that NBS students are now required to learn coding, as a way to help them build more confidence and insights when connecting with tech colleagues in the future. Ms Lim further added that development plans in tech should really be a triangulation of three things: One’s passion for the work, their level of skill sets, and the availability of opportunities. Clarifying these things would help one decide if they need to further deepen their skills before embarking on their tech journeys.
Considering the range of training courses available now, participants wanted to know where they should start when exploring tech skills. In response, Ms Lee advised choosing what one likes, and focusing on one thing and one type at each point in time. If one tries to learn too many things at once, it will be almost impossible to learn anything. This, Prof Soh added, is also the reason for the overview courses at NBS, which help give students a sense of what they like or are interested in before they decide on their specialisation.
Conversely, a participant with an Engineering background sought guidance from the panellists as they have found it difficult to move more into the business side of things, particularly when they are seen as an expert in their area. Ms Teo pointed out that individuals can always talk to their boss to let them know of their interest as it is always important for technical colleagues to appreciate the business aspects of projects. Prof Soh also suggested that this was about gradually building up profile in the business side. Having said that, Ms Lim felt that even as people move into a different position, particularly for leaders, they should not shy away from their background as there is always value in tech.
Lastly, noting the gender imbalance in the tech industry, participants wondered if panellists would advocate a quota to get more capable women in key tech leadership. Ms Lim suggested starting small: Get educated, use inclusive language, advocate for gender equality, and make systemic changes when one is in a leadership position. For instance, leaders could train employees to counter bias during performance management or ensure a diversity slate during promotion. While Ms Teo never personally had issues working with men, she recognised that women often have confidence issues when asked to lead. In addition, many fear that they would be unable to juggle work and home. While it is beneficial for women to let go and empower the people around them, Ms Teo also pointed out that leaders should trust female employees to complete their work, even as they take time off to attend to family matters.
“Encouragement”, Prof Soh concluded, “and some concrete help are always needed on this journey in empowering women in technology.”