I am woman, hear me roar

Not yet too big to ignore, but an increasing number of women are working in traditionally male-dominated IT

Coral Wells says that if there’s a message she wants to get across, it’s that “if you’re a girl, a young woman, or a woman, you shouldn’t shy away from building a career in tech — whether that be IT and the computer sciences, an HVAC engineer, an auto mechanic, working in construction or maintenance — the ‘trades’ should not be meant only for men, jobs should not be based on gender. Women can do anything they want to do, and they should pursue anything they’re interested in, even if traditionally these have been male dominated job fields.”

Coral runs Connectech, a charitable endeavor committed to teaching kids and teens to be creators, innovators, and thinkers by offering classes on coding, gaming, and robotics. Coral is also the manager of the Technology Leadership Forum (TLF), another charity, offering Bermuda's future IT leaders, internships, mentoring, youth development and educational programmes.

There appears not to be any statistics on how many women work in technical industries in Bermuda, but Coral says there is sufficient anecdotal evidence to know that women are badly underrepresented. “When Connectech started in 2016 our classes would have only one or two young girls, and in meetings on IT I attended, there would be very few, if any, other women in the room with me. The number of women in IT is still very low, but it has been slowly improving. I think some of that growth has come about through the increased focus of STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) teaching in local schools. Connectech also has a programme in all the Government primary schools, where attending lessons conducted by our own rising woman in tech, Chloe Baron is part of the regular curriculum. This normalises the experience of being exposed to IT, where it’s not just for boys, but the girls are learning right alongside them in a fun and interesting environment that we create.”

Coral says that the same programme is in some, but not all Middle Schools, and hopes that it can be extended to the other schools that haven’t already included

IT in the regular curriculum. “It just makes sense”, she enthuses, “because Bermuda is in dire need of software engineers and programmers to fill jobs in the general computer tech field. I get calls every day from companies looking to fill vacancies and asking if I know of anyone”.

So, what more can be done to encourage women in this field of work? “I would say most, but unfortunately not all, women feel comfortable in IT, but my view is that it’s a two-way street to ensure genders work together seamlessly. I would like to encourage men to be open to listening more. The women I know who work in this industry are equally as knowledgeable as men, and I would ask men to be cognizant, aware and accepting of that. I personally have been sat around a table at meetings — and I have heard the same story from other women — where I have offered a solution to an issue, but the discussion continued, and my idea tacitly dismissed. Then several minutes later, a man would make a similar suggestion and it’s hailed as a good idea.”

Coral says women should take an active role in a situation such as this. “I tend to speak up in these circumstances and point out that I said the same thing earlier in the meeting. It’s not a question of looking for praise or accolades, but about being effective and efficient. We could have saved a lot of time if what I said had been accepted as easily as the man’s ideas. Sometimes it’s not appropriate to call this out in the meeting itself. It’s important to be able to read the room, and it may be more appropriate to discuss with the meeting leader afterwards”.

Advice Coral would give women is to “not go into such a meeting with a chip on their shoulder. Don’t expect all men to be dismissive. There are many, many men who are supportive, treat women as equals and want to see us succeed. So don’t consider yourself invited to meetings as a token gesture. Accept that you are there on merit and know that you are bringing valuable knowledge and expertise to the table. Try to keep your emotions in check and be confident, speak up.”

When it comes to education, Coral believes real world IT experience is just as important as gaining a degree. “I like to encourage students to think about their career, at least from a tech perspective, as early as possible. This is a very fast-moving field, and it’s important to keep current with changes as their occur. I’m not saying college or university is not important by any means, but I’m of the belief that you don’t always have to go to college in this field of work. By the time you complete a four-year degree, technology will have undoubtedly changed, and you may need to hit the books again. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t study. Life is a continual learning process. And as I said earlier, the Island is desperate for programmers, for software engineers and to fill other areas in the computer science field. So, my message for young ladies is, come and join us.”.

When a ceiling reached becomes a floor

Facilities management may seem like a male dominated field, but Annette Fitzmaurice, VP Facilities at Sompo International says “I don't know if my experience is different to anyone else, but I have never felt any resentment or had any unpleasant experiences just because I’m a woman working in this field. Everyone I’ve worked with — contractors, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths — has been happy to help me, happy to explain things to me if there’s something very technical or new that I haven’t come across before. I don’t feel that being a woman, colleagues look down on me or question: what is she doing here in that position?”.

“Sometimes in meetings, the room might be full of men, and I am the only female, but I have never felt that I don’t belong in that room.”

Annette recently took a facilities management course developed by BOMI (Building Owners and Managers Institute) and offered through Bermuda College’s PACE division. (Professional and Career Education). “There were a couple of other women on the BOMI course with me, so I’m not the only one looking more widely at career fields that may have traditionally been dominated by men. I would definitely recommend this type of work, and the Bermuda College course to others — men and women. I didn’t think that I would end up working in facilities management, but I am enjoying it a lot. No two days are ever alike.”