We interviewed Katy Shaw Phillips, Tech Graduate at IAG Tech on her experience and thoughts on women in tech.
I work for International Airlines Group as an IAG Tech grad where I am undergoing placements in a variety of tech roles. I am focusing on data science and software development, for example, my most recent placement involved doing front end development for the Aer Lingus website. I had no experience in this area but undertook various training to get me adding code to the website within just a few months.
My academic background is in STEM subjects, and I studied Maths at degree level so there was always some crossover with tech in my studies. However, whilst at university, I realised that my passion lay in the real-world technical applications of maths, for example, data science and analytics, rather than the theoretical content. Working in tech is always exciting as it is so fast-paced and there are constantly new applications of technology emerging that we can make use of.
Whilst in my last year of university I wasn’t 100% sure on what I wanted to do as a career, so I was drawn to the IAG Tech grad programme as it offered a range of technology-based roles. This has given me the opportunity to get involved in such a wide range of activities and has helped me to figure out which areas of tech I am most interested in. I have been able to learn a huge amount in such a short time and gain lots of technical and soft skills, whilst picking up knowledge in such an interesting industry.
There is a definite lack of women working in IT and although it has improved more recently there still needs to be a push to increase the proportion of women in tech, especially in senior management roles. However, since starting my grad scheme, I have felt supported and have not noticed any difference in treatment because of my gender which is promising for the future of women in tech. I am grateful to have successful women in management positions to look up to and I am lucky enough to be part of a mentoring group, specifically looking at how to break the habits that hold back many women in the workplace.