Disclaimer: The below advice, experiences and opinions are gathered from a collective discussion from a live in-person workshop and do not necessarily reflect the official advice or stance of Women in Tech Birmingham. Readers are encouraged to exercise their own judgement.

1) “I can’t help but feel that there isn’t enough done to encourage gender equality at my workplace. Their HR policies are OK in the main, but I think they could do a lot better. How do I go about suggesting this to the company? I have only been working there for 6 months so I don’t feel that confident that I will be taken seriously enough.”

Give them the benefit of the doubt in the first instance: it might be a naïve oversight rather than an active decision to not have these kinds of initiatives in place. Also, if it’s a smaller start-up, it could be that they haven’t yet found their feet.

Regardless of how long you’ve been there for, it might be worth asking the question, and to start speaking to others in the company. Your opinion is valid whether you’ve been there for 1 year or 1 day.

There will be others at the company who also might be interested in it. Keep in mind that you have to start small, but that it will ultimately bring a lot of positives for everyone.

Do your research ahead of these conversations: what are the company’s competitors doing? What would good look like to you? Can you point to stats that will demonstrate why introducing positive gender equality initiatives will ultimately benefit the business? Or other company leaders who have spoken on the topic? The likes of current female leaders in tech like Sheryl Sandberg and Melissa Di Donato have been very vocal in their advocacy for gender equality for example.  These can all be really strong, persuasive points that can be used as you look to encourage organisational change.

Down the line, if it becomes clear that the organisation has no intention to change and do better, it might be time to consider if it’s the right business for you.

2) “I have been working at the same company for years and have been overlooked a few times for promotions and chances to get more responsibilities. My male colleagues seem to get more opportunities, but when I brought it up with HR, I was told that they were just more qualified. I am starting to think I might just not be as skilled as them but I don’t know how to get to the point where I can also be considered.”

Firstly, it is always worth raising that concern with managers and/or HR. Ask them if they can provide constructive feedback around the “qualifications” that your peers have, and advice on how you too can build up similar experience. Taking this approach will give you a better sense of whether a) you are unfairly being overlooked, or b) if there is a learning opportunity available to you that you hadn’t previously been aware of.

Make sure to regularly journal your achievements, document conversations and questions and make sure you can build a case for yourself. Make sure that you are in the right frame of mind to start that conversation as it might require a bit of resiliency to get through; keep it concise, clear and factual.

3) “I’m an ex-teacher and scientist and changed my career to be in tech. After completing a bootcamp, I still don’t feel I am the strongest coder. Unfortunately, companies won’t usually consider me for entry level roles and when I do get an opportunity, I flake completely. How can I strengthen my skills and be a stronger candidate?”

Internships and work experience are your bestfriend here, do lots and lots of practice, and build a portfolio of projects and apps to showcase at interviews.

During the interview itself, it can be useful to talk about your soft skills as well, such as problem solving, communicating with team members etc. Also, if you do come across a question that you don’t know the answer to, explain to the interviewer how you would go about finding the answer.

4) “Whenever we are in meetings, being the only woman means I am always the designated secretary by default. People will assume I am taking notes and that I will organise the meeting, when I am doing the exact same role as them! I care about the product and want our team to succeed, but I don’t appreciate the outdated assumptions about women. How to bring it up?”

In this case, it is important to be firm and assertive.

You could also agree before the meeting on who will be taking notes, and maybe suggest rotating that role amongst the team members attending those meetings.

And if the designated note taker doesn’t do a proper job, pleaaaseee don’t “just do it for them”. Let them be accountable!

5) I hear so much about the benefits of a mentor. However, there isn’t any kind of mentorship programme in my workplace and I can’t afford to pay for a business coach. How can I go about finding one?

You can find mentors in your own organisation, it doesn’t have to be a specific programme to pair you up with one. A manager, tech lead or anyone that you lookup to can help you and give some advice.

Also, Linkedin is a great resource, feel free to message people that you think might be able to give you valuable insight and ask them for advice. Make sure that you know what your goals are and what help you would need. You can also reach out to the following organisations:

https://onemillionmentors.org.uk/

https://techshecan.org/

https://codeyourfuture.io/

https://codefirstgirls.com/

In the meantime, if a mentor still isn’t available to you immediately, then figure out who your career role models are. Ask yourself: Why do you admire them? How did they get to where they are? Is there anything they’ve done or studied that you could have a go at? It isn’t a direct replacement for a mentor but can provide some inspiration for the direction you want to take your own career.