In our last edition Central Technology (CT) shared how the firm is bucking the trend when it comes to women in the workforce. This month we meet CT account director Mollie Ellis who shares with us her eight years of industry experience – and how we must tackle the ‘deeply damaging stereotypes about tech being for boys’
What drew you to a career in technology?
I came into the IT industry completely by chance. I did well academically at school and went on to study German at University. I started my working life at 21 in recruitment and it was one of the directors there who suggested I may find IT interesting as I’ve always loved problem solving, dealing with people and variety in my days. She then introduced me to the MD who first hired me into the industry.
I now am fortunate enough to say that I love the industry and my role more than ever – IT is never dull, constantly evolving and changing to meet the demands of people and business globally. The possibilities, demand and the future are always bright within IT and no two challenges are the same.
What does your role entail here at CT?
I joined CT as a senior account manager which included being responsible for a smaller number of key accounts. Within this role I was accountable for maintaining on-going and open communication with these clients to ensure their IT strategy was aligned to their overall business plans and that all projects were completed and delivered on time and to the high standard CT pride themselves on.
My primary role was, and remains, to ensure all my clients feel listened to and cared for. I have very recently accepted a promotion to account director at CT which I am so proud to say will see me supporting and mentoring a number of account managers in their development.
What do you feel the technology industry needs in order to attract more women?
This is a topic I could talk about for hours (and often have as many of my colleagues would confirm! But what this ultimately comes down to is that to make tech more attractive to women we need to ensure anyone in a position of leadership within a business is cheering on the successes of promising women as much as they are for men. We also need to promote flexible work options – success doesn’t always have to happen 9-5.30 Monday – Friday. Hearing success stories of women in this industry will inspire more to be a part of it and breakthrough deeply damaging stereotypes about tech being for boys, enabling more young girls to reach their full potential.
Are there other women in the tech industry who inspire you?
I am in awe of so many women that it is tough to choose, but if I had to name just one, I’d choose Marie Curie who actually is from STEM not strictly tech. However, she was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, the only woman to ever win it twice and the person to win it in two different sciences. Marie Curie is a name known by many as are her successes, but she not only accomplished more than most people will ever do in their lifetime, she did it despite heavy gender bias.
