What does your job entail?
Pretty much everything! I always have plans in my head about what I will be doing in a day and sometimes those plans come to fruition but very often the day throws up other challenges. Overall, I head up the Accounts, Admin, HR and IT departments. I am often a point of escalation for those departments. I work alongside the rest of the C-suite to build and achieve the company strategy and I also help with bid writing (especially the social value questions) and bid reviews. In addition, I am responsible for reading contracts and paperwork that comes in from clients and negotiating amendments where necessary.
Did you always plan to have a career in tech?
No, definitely not. My intention was to teach dance in secondary schools but part way through my PGCE I decided it wasn’t the environment for me. Similar to many others, I fell into my career.
What has been your career path to getting to Mercator?
Previous companies have included a book and magazine publisher, a dance company teaching adults to dance, a mortgage broker and an IT recruitment company. It was the IT recruitment company where I met the Directors of Mercator and the rest as they say is history.
Have you found it challenging breaking into your profession? If so why do you think that is?
I have been very lucky as I have managed to work for people who recognised my abilities and wanted me to progress. This happened firstly at the IT recruitment company (female owned) and subsequently at Mercator. I have worked at Mercator for nearly 17 years and was the first employee – I have continually been pushed by the Directors (often out of my comfort zone – their belief in me was unwavering!) and as a result have been able to grow with the company. I can see that outside of Mercator the challenges are very real. The stereotypes still exist and breaking into senior management is tough when the roles are largely occupied by men. Within the industry this disparity is more evident being traditionally more male dominated even at lower levels. We’ve all been in that meeting where we have to speak a bit more forcefully or loudly to get our point across.
What could be done differently to combat the above?
I really believe that it’s a systemic problem that is cultivated at a school age. The curriculum for ICT is still largely framed around coding when a career in tech/digital goes far beyond that. Most people are unaware of the other roles that are required for a digital project – Service Designer, Content Designer, User Researcher, etc. A broader digital curriculum would potentially get more interest from both genders at an earlier age and would help to break down the stereotype. Ensuring companies recruit from a diverse range of people and provide apprenticeships and re-training is also vital. Part of the recruitment strategy has to be to work with other companies who specialise in and have access to specific pools of people (whether that is women, those who are neurodiverse or from an ethnic minority). Looking at how roles are structured also helps – is there enough flexibility? Are specific needs assessed and addressed? I think if companies can work on the problem at the top (those already working) whilst the curriculum is revised at the bottom, slowly the barriers to a career in tech could be removed.
How have you found working at Mercator Digital?
Challenging, exciting, never dull, enjoyable, thrilling. I’ve probably felt every emotion under the sun working here but I’m still here after 16 years so I think that speaks volumes.
What advice would you give to other women who may want a career in tech?
Go for it. Work hard, keep pushing and find someone who believes in you as much as you believe in yourself (or possibly more) to help you progress. Once you are there do the same for others coming through the ranks. Don’t ever limit yourself.