INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
vs. the persona I learned to become as I grew up in tech, was by listening and understanding everyone around me and taking action that benefits as many in that group as possible. Can you elaborate on that? Tech was once completely male dominant, and in many industries, especially cable there is still an imbalance. Recently, the pendulum has swung, so much so that the voice of women is present. Like everything, we go all the way from one side to the other to reach a healthy middle ground. We had a moment where many men were nervous to say anything to a woman. If I’m honest, that’s probably good. Men need to learn how to interact with women in business like equal partners. In business we need to look at people as people and not even see gender. My first role in sales at 23 was in an environment of men in their 40s and 50s; I was such a fish out of water, men didn’t know what to say to me. To get ahead I just adapted; I learned to talk about sports, to banter, to be funny. I learned how to make these people like me; that if I was really sarcastic and became adept at male behaviour – the way they jab each other in the locker room - if I can do that and I can be the first to do that, they feel disarmed and think oh, she’s one of us. So, I became this really quick-witted, funny person. I flexed so hard into that it became a part of who I was. Then I went on to the next company, and that persona got me the job. So, I flexed even harder into that. I think I lost a bit of myself, honestly, until my mid-30s. I eventually realised how exhausted I was, and I needed to take a step back. That was when I met my second mentor. He helped me see that tech sales has space for every kind of person, and in fact, the industry needs women, needs introverts, needs diversity. Like most women I’ve had unfortuante experiences in my career and fortunately, I have also had strong support and allyship that helped me frame those experiences as reminders of who I don’t want to be as a leader and what I won’t tolerate in my organisations. They also taught me how to intervene, support and advocate for the women around me. I will share one story. At that first company I mentioned earler, I asked my leader ‘hey, it seems like I keep getting passed up for opportunities’. Sales leads were being passed onto my colleagues. I was confused. Had I done something wrong? What did I need to do to show him I was ready for them? He told
Volume 48 No.2 MAY 2026
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