28 April 2022 is International Girls in ICT Day. The initiative was established by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is acknowledged in over 150 countries around the world. It celebrates girls and young women looking to pursue studies and careers in the technology sector.
At Neos Networks, we’re very proud of all the women who make up our company! Not only do we want to encourage girls to consider a career in ICT, we also feel it’s important to mark the day. With that in mind, we caught up with a number of our female employees to find out about their experiences getting into the sector and to see what advice they would give to those considering a career in ICT.
Diane Hill is Director of the Infrastructure Delivery & Cost Transformation Programme. She has a First-Class Honours Degree in Management Sciences, which was based on Technology and Science. This naturally led her to start her career in ICT as a graduate at BT.
“I initially started working as a Project Manager in the Payphones Business (I know that really ages me!), and then was chosen on a graduate high potential fast-track within BT, which involved me moving around the whole of the business getting exposure of many different types of technology and businesses. From the get-go, I was hooked on Telecoms, and haven’t looked back since!”
When asked what inspires her, Diane said “I am inspired by other’s attitude and their values in how they approach their day-to-day life. I believe that having strong and consistent integrity, values and behaviours in your professional life will not only make your time more fulfilling, it also has a positive impact on others around you.”
For girls looking to start a career in the ICT industry, Diane would advise that the most important thing is to ALWAYS be yourself!
She states, “Be fearless in your questions, never assume that because someone is more senior than you, you can’t question what their strategy is, the approach or suggest alternative ways to doing things.”
Diane has faced challenges in her career in ICT but has always turned these into a positive. “When starting in Telecoms, I was the only female in both my graduate group and my business unit – and significantly younger than most of my project teams. However, I refused to let that define me. I actively decided to be myself, not accept that I was anything different and not accept being treated differently to my counterparts. It wasn’t always easy, but in choosing that mindset, I carved my career in the industry.”
Stacey Burge is a Project Management Office (PMO) analyst. She is involved in activities including supporting governance processes, as well as reporting and analysis. Stacey is also involved in various voluntary sub-groups within Neos Networks helping to improve our Environmental and Sustainability initiatives.
Stacey got into the industry by pulling together skills from previous experiences. Her professional focus has always been how we can operate more sustainably as a society. After her undergraduate degree, she sought work in many different areas to learn what part she could play in this. She went from working in flood prevention, waste and recycling, water retail services and then, more recently, moved into her current role in ICT. Each step opened the door to the next and she learned a lot about herself along the way.
When asked who inspires her, Stacey said “Firstly, the Head of Technology at Isle Utilities was my mentor in a previous role and secondly, the Director of Resilience at CPEX Louisiana, who was integral in my MSc research. They both provided me with the access, support and tools necessary in order to reach opportunities I never would have thought possible, including publishing academic work. This also led to projects that were outside my day job, giving me deeper technical skills, ultimately contributing to my now working in ICT. I plan to pay this forward as much as I can.”
For girls looking to start a career in the ICT industry, Stacey would advise that when it comes to thinking about your future and choosing opportunities, it’s ok to have a change of heart from what you originally planned and risk stepping outside of your comfort zone to try something new.
“I think we can sometimes get bogged down with what we ‘should’ be doing, rather than what we simply want to do."
Stacey has also faced challenges in her career in ICT but has always turned these into a positive. She said “A challenge has been getting through the door and progressing with scarce technical expertise and little confidence. Instead of focussing on this, I’ve highlighted what I do have to offer and made an impact really demonstrating transferable skills which are vital, whatever industry you work in”
Kelly Billing is Head of Marketing and leads the marketing and campaigns team. Her role is to make sure that our brand is thoroughly represented in the marketplace and that when customers and prospects are looking for a business connectivity provider, Neos Networks is front of mind.
Kelly’s path into the ICT industry started with carrying out a degree in marketing and design. Following completion of this, she then got ‘the first job she could to pay the rent’ and found herself working in an engineering organisation as a Service Planner. Knowing her heart was in marketing, she opened up to her then-CEO and he agreed to allow her to pick up ad-hoc marketing tasks outside of working hours to better her knowledge. From here she moved into a technology-focused marketing agency, then moved in-house to a well-known communications company and, six years ago, joined the Neos Networks marketing team.
When asked if Kelly met any inspiring women along her career, she said
“I’ve met some amazingly inspirational women in my career, from my first manager in my first role in engineering who made it clear from the get-go that, while women don’t dominate our industry, that doesn’t mean they can’t gain a substantial spot at the table, to a number of women across my previous telecoms role and more recently at Neos Networks who inspire me every day with their industry knowledge, expertise and skills.
For girls looking to start a career in the ICT industry, Kelly would advise “don’t be put off by the fact the sector is still very male-dominant. The market is very much looking for new blood and new expertise, regardless of gender. The sector itself is hugely exciting with some real leading-tech changing the way that we all go about our lives (both in work and at home). It’s an ideal time to get involved.”
Lisa Miles is our Head of Service Management. Her role is to ensure that our customers are receiving the very highest standard of service and that we deliver a great customer experience every time.
Lisa started her career at Vodafone in 2000 working as a call centre agent, managing the mobile base for corporate clients. Back then mobile phones were really taking off and she found the fast pace of the industry exciting. It was here that she really developed her passion for people and customers. She progressed to Team Manager then Operations Manager and finally took the leap into Service Management. In 2015 we were lucky enough to have her join our ranks.
When asked who inspires her, Lisa said
“I don’t have an individual person that has inspired me however collectively I want to shout out to all of the working mums I have met during my career. Balancing full time work, managing children and day-to-day life can be tough, even more so during a pandemic when you add home schooling into the mix. It’s taken my organisational skills and tolerance to a whole new level.”
For girls looking to start a career in the ICT industry, Lisa would advise “Go for it! The ICT industry is no different to any other. If you are resilient, passionate about what you do and are focussed on achieving your goals, you can do anything.”
Lisa loves working in the ICT industry and sees a lot of positives. She didn’t have any challenges getting into the industry and although her direct peers are all male, she feels she is judged on her performance and skills and not her gender.
At Neos Networks, we’re really proud of the talent and skill that our employees bring to our business every day. Days like ‘International Girls in ICT’ really bring to the forefront the importance of bringing fresh, new talent to the industry. If you’re looking to develop your career in the sector, take a look at our Careers page and see if Neos Networks could be the right next step for you.
