It was my pleasure to sit on a panel of women leaders talking about our careers in tech. We had a friendly audience and the event was very well organised by Ellen, Fiona and Katie. One of the questions from the floor was about women who have inspired us, and we all chose women who we knew or had worked with, not necessarily in tech, but who embody the character and behaviors that we aspire to.
I mentioned a colleague from University of Leeds who was my mentor briefly, before she went on to bigger things, Miriam Zukas. Miriam was/is a professor of adult and lifelong learning, and she didn’t have a Wikipedia page. But now she does. Miriam Zukas – Wikipedia . Wikipedia pages are not really the place to celebrate the way people do their work and the impact they have on people because it is hard to cite, but this oration from Birkbeck’s master sounds a lot like the woman I knew. Miriam Zukas — Birkbeck, University of London .
If pushed to think of an inspiring woman in tech, I might mention Martha Lane Fox. I liked when she said ‘It’s not ok not to know how the internet works’.
And I agree with her again today.‘Musk? He’s horrendous’: Martha Lane Fox on diversity, tech bros and International Women’s Day | Martha Lane Fox | The Guardian
Another question from the floor was about specific things we each do, every day, to optimise our resilience and success at work. I said blogging, obviously.
