What roles are out there in IT for women. What ones are best suited to different styles and capabilities/strenghts.

1. Capitalising on female
strengths in IT
Maria Horrigan
Principal Consultant
BA World July 2009

2. Slideshare and blogs
www.barocks.com
www.slideshare.com/murph

3. Capitalising on female strengths
• Identifying areas where women excel and capitalise
on these
• Gaining an edge through understanding users and
interaction with customers
• Using corporate relationships to network
• Dominate through communication and people skills
• Understanding the importance of knowing
everything about the business

4. “IT Conference” Shanghai 2008

5. Sex and the city?
Celluloid Stereotypes:
• US Upper-middle class white culture
• Shopping, clothes and shoes
• Is this who we are?
Sex in the city is a television show produced by NBC. This presentation was for educational purposes only and is NOT in
any way, shape, or form affiliated with NBC, or any other persons or organizations responsible for the production of Sex in
the City, all trademarks and copyright belong to their respective owners.

6. Archetypes
• What are the female archetypes?
• Why are archetypes good?
• Pan-cultural
• Any period of pan-historical
• How can we capitalise on archetypes?

7. 8 Female Archetypes
The Waif Little girl lost, Damsel in distress,
endures hardship
The Librarian Prime and proper, repressed
The Nurturer Takes care of everyone
The Crusader A fighter with a cause
The Spunky Kid Girl next door, team player
The Boss Goal orientated, takes charge
The Free Spirit Optimistic, follows her heart
The Seductress Manipulative, A survivor
http://sparklethis.blogspot.com/2007/10/8-female-archetype-examples-and.html

8. The Waif
Strengths
• Tenacity and endurance
• Asks for help
• Seeks to understand
• Good Listener
Weaknesses
• Not taken seriously Jennifer Aniston
• Perceived as always needing to be “bailed out”
• Not seen as competent
www.laineygossip.com/pics/jen

9. The Librarian
Strengths
• Knowledgeable
• Intelligent
• Able to problem solve
• Know where to find the info
Weaknesses
Jane Austin
• Repressed
• Perceived as Arrogant and not friendly
• Old fashioned
a.abcnews.com/.../nm_jane_austen_071017_ms.jpg

10. The Nurtuer
Strengths
• Listens and counsels
• Encourages and Mentors
• Empathy and Supportive
• Collaborative
• Good Communicator
Weaknesses
Florence Nightingale
• Seen as “fussing” or “nagging”
• Indecisive if don’t want to favour one over another
• Others happy to let them always pick up the slack
www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=88464

11. Crusader
Strengths
 Strong, make tough decisions
 Has a mission/vision
 Champions a position
 Strategic focus/ Leader
 Good Communicator
Ripley
Weaknesses
 Not Collaborative
 Seen as Aggressive
9queens.org/.../uploads/15578__04aliens_l.jpg

12. The Spunky Kid
Strengths
• Persistent
• Maturity beyond years
• Dependable
• Easy to talk to - Girl next door
• Team player
Lisa Simpson
Weaknesses
• Pushy
• Annoying
media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/157606-13463..

13. The Free Spirit
Strengths
 Challenges status quo
 Marches to a “different drum”
 Likes to dream about possibilities
 Innovative, Creative, Optimistic
Weaknesses Amelia Earhart
 Plans may not be practical
 Impatient for change
 May not be a team player
www.legendsofairpower.com/images/Earhart.gif

14. The Boss
Strengths
• Powerful
• Decisive
• Leader
• Strategist
• Communicator
• Driven and focused on outcome
Queen Elizabeth I
Weaknesses
• Aloof, distant, not friendly
• Task orientated vs people orientated
englishhistory.net/tudor/eliz1-ermine.jpg

15. The Seductress
Strengths
 Communication, Persuasion
 Goes after what they want
 Empathy
 Networking – knows the right people
Jessica Rabbit
Weaknesses
 Self interest – may not be a team player
 Superficial – not genuinely interested
 Aggressive – “Barracuda” “Cougar”
www.moviecritic.com.au/images/realistic-jessicarabbit

16. I drink your milkshake
Jessica Rabbit Jennifer Aniston
image: http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/bm~pix/milkshake~s600x600.jpg

17. Women aren’t milkshakes
…. more like a McFlurry

18. Archetypes = Me

19. Capitalise on these Archetypes
• So how do we ‘capitalise’ on these strengths of
these archetypes?
• Need to read the situation – people and context –
and knowing what ‘style’ to apply.
• We all have these archetypes inside us
• Need to know how much and in what volume to
apply them in our working lives
• Contextual
• Situational
• Contingency

20. Our Tag Cloud
Persuasion Optimistic Get the job done Intuitive
Persistent Problem Solving Networking
Understanding Users Communication
Creativity
Empathy Listening Interaction
Collaboration Decision making Organiser
Interpersonal skills Ability to organise
Influencer
Supporter Build rapport

21. Play to your Archetype strengths
• Each individual brings unique strengths to a
role
• Become more comfortable with who you,
know your talents and strengths
• Be confident in abilities
• Need to understand your natural tendencies
and make them work in your favour

22. My experiences as a McFlurry
At times I have played many roles…..sometimes all at
once
• Free Spirit – challenged the current way
• Wiaf – “I’m blonde, can you help me?”
• Crusader – There to get the job done
• Librarian – Share knowledge
• Nurturer – Supportive and counsel
• Boss – Set the direction
• Spunky kid – Team player, showed persistence
• Seductress – push-up bra was my friend

23. How I survived moving into an IT career
• Learning to speak-geek – Needed to understand
the technologies and what was possible
• People mentored me – Key female colleagues
mentored me and supported my knowledge
development
• New collaboration tools – There are lots of
useful Web 2.0 social computing tools out there
• New roles for me (and for you to!) – gravitated
toward places I didn’t expect to go: exciting
roles, pushing boundaries and capabilities
• It”s not about programming and pizza

24. Learning to speak-geek
• As a Business Manager, I needed to understand so
that I knew what I was signing off on
• I needed to understand the possibilities of what the
technology could and couldn’t do
• I don't have a formal IT qualification
• I’ve got lots of business degrees and certifications
• I had to ‘learn’ geek-speak

25. Learning to speak-geek
• I learned by doing, observing, collaborating
• I asked questions
• I hung out with them
• I read stuff
• ….. and I became one of them
“the company you keep tells me otherwise”

26. Value in understanding the business
• Business success depends on anticipating
future trends and developments
• Need to design appropriate strategies for
implementation is key
• IT is now part of the everyday business, every
program every initiative, will have some touch
point with technology
• Business skills of analysis are often the key to
solving the complex data issues
• When we understand the business environment
there is an opportunity to add value
• Vital IT role as trusted advisor for the business

27. People Mentored Me
• Lack of senior females in my area didn’t
deter me, it just made me look to other
sources for mentoring
• I learnt from one of my staff
• I learnt from one of my colleagues
• I joined female IT networking groups (WIC,
ACS)
• I learnt from thought leaders within my
organisation

28. My role as a Mentor
• Leaning how to be a thought leader (by
accident) – suddenly people read what I
wrote and looked up to me for advice
• Feedback from presentations - ‘this is what i
want to be when i grow up’
• Stop competing and start cooperating
• The only power in knowledge is to share it

29. I’m not Wonder Woman
• Its hard to juggle all the demands of a senior
manager
• Like other women (and other cultures) I typically
have obligations outside of work
• We need more women in IT to bring more diversity
into this workforce
• Change the group norm – from the ‘geek culture’ to
something that reflects the wider work vs life
balance needs of everyone. Break stereotypes
• I am in Wonder of women Not Wonder Woman

30. Mentoring vs Female Competition
We should be about collaboration and support

31. New tools for Collaboration
• Learning new tools
• Learning new ways of communicating and
reaching out to others
• Learning new mediums to communicate in
• Why i find this good – why do i do it?

32. Why I use Social Computing tools
Instant access to a Community of Practice
• Access to body of knowledge (in people’s heads,
not in documents) and communities of practice
• Experts, gurus and thought leaders
• Access to friends, their friends and their friends
Networking
• Leveraging: the power of many
• The power of permission: trust
The cost (time, energy): easiest way (anytime,
anywhere) to make contact, communicate,
share, collaborate with “friends”

33. Linked in
http://www.linkedin.com

34. Facebook – building online communities
www.facebook.com

35. Twitter

36. Bookmarking
www.delicious.com

37. Blogs
www.barocks.com

38. Blogs
Craig’s blog
Matt’s blog

39. New roles for me
Before I was in IT I was a:
• Nurse
• Student
• Sales Manager
• Product Manager
• Business Manager
• Director (of an NGO)

40. Me as an IT consultant
I found I was good at Consulting because I was a:
• Communicator
• Analyst
• Good at problem solving
• Detailed minded
• Strategic thinker
• Good listener
• Wanted to help solve the problem
• Understood business needs and goals

41. New roles for you too!
• Role of technology has changed
• It’s no longer about IT reducing operational cost
and more about IT as an enabler to achieve
organisational goals
• Its about managing information, communication
and knowledge.
This is a good industry to work in:
• It’s constantly changing and challenging
• Its not about programming and pizza
• Lots of opportunities to capitalise on your
strengths

42. Information based roles in IT
• Exciting range of IT jobs available that aren’t just about
technical skills
• IT provides opportunities to work in dynamic and
creative environments (medicine, movies, fashion)
• Increasing need for skills such as
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Ability to organise
• Understand business issues
• Drive change
• Problem-solve
• Deliver outcomes
• Interestingly enough, many of the women working in IT
also come from non IT backgrounds

43. Backgrounds of IT Consultants
• I looked at the background of a lot of the female (and
male) consultants
• There are former teachers, scientists, nurses,
administrators, psychologists, and army officers.
• What is common is that they are great communicators,
organised, they can take on just about any problem that
comes their way, and they get things done.
• Not all have IT degrees, but they do have experience in
IT (business and system) and certification in areas of IT
management

44. So what does an IT job look like today?
Business analysis and process re-engineering
• Collaboration, communication, diplomacy, design
& analysis
IT strategic analysis and planning – architecture
• Analysis, decision making, vision, business
savvy, influence, persuade
User-centred apps & web design
• Team-player, collaboration between tech/graphic
designers, business and users centred, design
Knowledge management
• Collaboration, information and communication,
analysis

45. Conclusions
• We might be perceived as Sterotypes like the SITC
girls, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte or Samantha
• History tells us that there’s more to us than shallow
stereotypical characters
• My experience is about drawing on archetypal strengths
of pan-cultural and iconic figures: communication,
champion of the business, champion of ‘users’ needs,
collaboration, analysis, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer,
problem solving
• These strengths are vital and important for IT jobs
• You can have a cool IT job as well! (Geek = Black)

48. FIN

49. Questions?
Maria Horrigan
Principal Consultant
Email: maria.horrigan@oakton.com.au
Blog: www.barocks.com
Slideshare: www.slideshare.com/murph
Twitter: @miahorri