International Women’s Day (March 8th), a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The tech industry is full of innovative and inspiring women who are making a difference in their fields. From computer science to software development, many women are leading the way!
This blog post focuses on the different journeys of two women in the IT Partners team – Kim Lander and Teagan King. We spoke to them about how they broke into the tech industry, the challenges, lessons learnt and advice for other women looking to work in the tech.
Between managing a team of 12+ Engineers, a mum of four very busy teens, and the reality of working in IT where some things just don’t go to plan, Kim’s natural edge to stay present and measured in moments of chaos and confusion is a calming gift to the IT Partners team.
Kim began her career journey in IT for Telecom back in the 90s, that was the start of a 17-year spell with the organisation. Over that time, Telecom moved from a pure telco to ICT and eventually transitioned into Gen-i. During this span of time, she had the opportunity to have many roles both technical and non-technical within the organisation. It was through her network of connections that Kim entered the IT industry all while studying for an IT degree. However, Kim quickly realised that she was gaining more first-hand experience through the practical nature of her work and eventually decided to jump all into her role at Telecom.
Kim went on to hold roles in several leading IT organisations in both Auckland and Hamilton. She notes that the changes she has seen in the industry, from the early years where most women she worked with held more operational or project management-based roles with fewer women in technical roles, to now seeing a shift in that paradigm with a lot more women working as Engineers.
Understanding people and how they like to work has been the biggest learning curve for Kim, as managing a large team comes with challenges. She highlights the importance of getting the balance right between process, people, and operational management, whilst also “making sure you block out those focus times”.
According to the Harvard Business Review and Forbes “men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100%”. As a hiring manager, Kim stresses the importance that women need to realise they don’t need to meet 100% of the requirements, as a lot of skills are taught and learnt on the job.
With wisdom beyond her years, Teagan King is the next generation of emerging women in tech! Teagan began her career working for a Waikato-based IT services provider, before joining the IT Partners team in July of 2022.
Teagan’s passion for all things IT began in high school, gaining high marks in her computer science class and seeing a huge demand for more women in the IT industry, which saw her want to pursue it as a career.
A challenge Tegan has faced in her career to date is the limited number of female mentors in the industry. Teagan anticipates seeing this change over the years and one day hopes to be a mentor for other women looking to enter the industry.
Fast forward to now, Teagan’s role at IT Partners sees her working with our clients on a range of tasks including rolling out Multi-Factor Authentication, Operating System updates, and triaging any urgent client tickets. Teagan says, “every day differs for us, we have a variety of clients raise tickets or requests so it’s rare that we have the same things to do on consecutive days”.
If you’re interested in joining the IT industry, Teagan states “I would tell any women looking to get into IT to absolutely do it – there are so many benefits for us now and the world is our oyster”.
Having a mentor or role model in the tech industry is hugely beneficial (especially in those early years). If you’re interested in networking or just hearing about other inspiring women’s stories, here are some resources:
As always, if you’re interested in exploring potential opportunities at IT Partners, please reach out to careers@itpartners.co.nz
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