Gen Z – Women Across Generations

In celebration of TechWeek24, discover the career journeys of women from Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z through our Women Across Generations Series. Featuring interviews with Yvonne Daymond, Amanda Watson, Esther Wafula, Vanessa Leite, Meg Ryan, and Amanda Veldman, we explore how they relate to the stereotypes of their generation, the impact of ShadowTech on our younger wāhine, and the opportunities available for women in tech today. 

We’re excited to share the stories of these amazing women starting today with Gen Z.

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Meg Ryan, Team Administrator and Marketing Assistant, TEAM IM

Meg Ryan is the Team Administrator and Marketing Assistant at TEAM IM, in Wellington. She has been in the IT industry for just over a year. Meg comes from a non-technological background but has enjoyed learning and developing her skills within the tech industry.

What is your generation and how do you identify with their top five traits? 

I am a Generation Z. Gen Z really grew up with technology (especially the development of the smartphone) and as a result are considered ‘Digital Natives’. My childhood consisted of watching absolute prime Disney Channel (Hannah Montana), playing Club Penguin, and listening to music on an iPod nano. I liked the amount of technology in my childhood, I believe it was very balanced and I did spend a lot of time entertaining myself away from technology, e.g. playing with barbies and running around outside pretending to be in Harry Potter.

Gen Z are typically politically progressive, collaborative, flexible, boundary setters and unapologetically more comfortable being who they are. In my opinion, Gen Z were constantly undermined when growing up and made to feel lazy by our elders who criticised us for spending too much time on our phones. There has been this stigma passed down from generations that makes people feel that being stressed and always working on overdrive equates to being productive and successful. Therefore, this more relaxed structure for Gen Z is engrained in this idea that we must be lazy.

Now that a lot of Gen Z are adults and entering the workforce our comfort and familiarity with technology is proving to be helpful. This has also resulted in many Gen Z people being able to multitask well and thriving in a chaotic environment. Personally, listening to music (especially house music) locks me in to work. 

What technology job do you do today? Tell us a bit about your day-to-day life.

I am the Administrator and Marketing Assistant for TEAM IM which is an IT company that provides IT services and consulting for both the public and private sector. This was my first role out of university, I started as the Administrator and just recently moved into a Marketing Assistant position as well. I have been working in technology for a little over a year and my day-to-day activities are varied. Administrator activities include assisting with the day-to-day operations within the company & office, events, and providing general assistance where required. My marketing activities include creating website pages, blogs, creating and posting content and assisting with whatever tasks are required by my Marketing Manager. Things are always happening and moving along, and I enjoy working across a range of activities.

What inspired you to pursue a career in technology?

Technology is something I fell into, as opposed to pursuing. I never envisioned myself working in technology. I graduated University with a Communications degree majoring in Media Studies, so I always saw myself as the creative type. Post university I went into job hunting with a very open mind and more of a certainty on the kind of jobs I didn’t see myself in as opposed to what I did. I’m still figuring things out and it’s comforting to know that your career can go a million different ways over the years. I’m happy with the position I’m in and everything I am learning. I have a very much a go with the flow mentality, but I would never stick at something if I was miserable. It feels empowering to be able to tell people that I work in technology, and I admire everyone in this space. I work around some incredible people and some wonderful intelligent ladies who are happy to mentor and guide me.

In your early career, what were some of the perceptions or stereotypes about women in technology?

Well… my early career years are now. Currently I work with women in technology every day. However, we are the minority, especially in management and higher positions. Society now has more of a push for representation and inclusion so therefore these numbers of diversity are increasing, but there is clearly still a long way to go. It’s important that we teach and instill in the next generation that they can be whatever they want in life and that we move away from assigning genders/stereotypes to jobs because it’s dated and ugly.

How did your educational background or experiences shape your entry into the technology industry?

I always considered myself more of a creative type but there’s still things I have learned over the years that have been useful. In high school I loved art but couldn’t draw to save myself so jumped at the chance to take Digital Art where I learned to use Photoshop and Illustrator. Media Studies was one of my favourite subjects, so I got familiar with video editing and Adobe Premiere Pro. As a result, I can pick up programs quite quickly which has been helpful entering into the industry because there’s many different programs and platforms to get familiar with. Currently, I’m learning how to use HubSpot for our website and other marketing tasks. 

What are the views of your peer group on women in leadership? What general conversations are you having about this?

I choose to surround myself with people who share the same values and opinions as me when it comes to things like human rights, gender equality, diversity, sexuality etc. Being Gen Z, we have grown up in this time of change, we’ve learned in schools about activism and people fighting for what they believe in. My peers and I often find ourselves having deep conversations about the state of the world and how it impacts us and others. Women in leadership positions shouldn’t be an anomaly, it should be the standard.

What changes have you observed or experienced regarding gender diversity and inclusion in technology since you began your career?

When I started my role, it was a small company but strongly male dominated with only four other women. Over the last year that number has grown to eleven, including myself. It is still a male dominated company but it’s a steady improvement and you must acknowledge the little wins sometimes. A few of my friends during university were studying engineering and when introduced to their group I was pleased to see a good mix of genders and ethnicities. It is early days for me, so I just hope that we see things continue to evolve for the better and that our generation and the next will have a positive impact for change. I would love to see an increase of women in higher up and executive positions because these roles are still dominated by men.

What do you think are the most significant opportunities for women in technology today, compared to when you first entered the industry?

As the world is shifting so is the workplace and there are positive improvements that we have seen regarding opportunities for women in technology or the workplace. The shift towards flexible and remote work options has been beneficial in allowing women to focus on their careers while balancing any personal commitments. Parental leave can be taken by either parent allowing more flexibility. Women shouldn’t have to choose between having a career or having a family. For those entering the technology industry TEAM IM have used the Summer of Tech program for two years now and it is a platform that helps students and graduates find tech jobs. They didn’t have anything like Summer of Tech for my degree at university, so it is a good opportunity for those studying to transfer into the workforce.

How do you think initiatives like ShadowTech could have helped you on your journey?

Initiatives like ShadowTech are incredible in their mission to improve diversity in the tech workplace and encourage young women to pursue STEM education and careers. I think other industries would benefit from having something like ShadowTech to help, inspire and guide people. ShadowTech would’ve been helpful in regard to learning about what a career in tech can actually entail, the day-to-day activities, all the different job opportunities and getting the word out there that it is such a broad career space. For people out there like me, just know you don’t always have to have a tech background to be in the industry!

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Amanda Veldman (She / They), Senior Consultant,  Datacom 

As a Senior Consultant, Amanda weaves a background in technology with a startup mindset, strategic thinking and some creative confidence, to deliver innovative solutions that work for real people. She enjoys working with cross-functional teams, drawing on her breadth of experience across industry and various roles, to enable teams to work to their strengths and collaborate to design, make and deliver amazing outcomes. 

What is your generation and how do you identify with their top five traits? 

I am exactly on the cusp of Millennials and Gen Z so, depending on which definition you use, I could be either. This tends to play out with me coming across more as a millennial at work, because in ‘being professional’ I tend to tone down my Gen Z tendencies, but out of office hours I identify more with Gen Z. 

What technology job do you do today? Tell us a bit about your day-to-day life.

My current role is a Senior Consultant for Datacom. I work in a project based world so the work I am doing changes completely every few months but I typically end up in roles where I help the technical team and businesses we work with better understand each other as a Project Manager, Scrum Master or Business Analyst. 

Day-to-day you’ll find me keeping in the loop with what our developers are working on, helping them to problem solve and identify who can help them get the information they need, making big sticky note maps to help us understand how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, and planning ahead to make sure we know what we need to do next, how long it’s going to take and who we need to help us out.

What inspired you to pursue a career in technology?

During high school I loved digital technology but we did more Photoshop than coding because “girls don’t want to learn how to code”. When I got to university, Computer Science sounded like a responsible choice, and I was really lucky that logic and problem solving skills came naturally to me, even if some of the complex third year coding didn’t. I wouldn’t have known the world I work in exists today without my Mum. She introduced me to the space between Business and Technology, and helped me understand the importance of roles like Business Analysts and Project Managers. 

In your early career, what were some of the perceptions or stereotypes about women in technology?

I joined the technology industry at a time where negative attitudes and stereotypes were seen as unacceptable, and so I haven’t seen many overt instances of the ‘typical’ perceptions or behaviours come into play. Looking back on my career though there are still a lot of ‘small’ habits, comments and experiences that still lean into the stereotypes and perceptions we like to think we’re better than. 

Subtle use of language that diminishes the experience and skill of women can still be found, such as referring to colleagues as ‘lovely ladies’. And I see more of the women picking up the ‘emotional labour’ style tasks in my teams such as hosting meetings, organising morning tea, taking the notes.

Unfortunately these ‘small’ things can be exacerbated by the feeling of imposter syndrome many women, particularly those who are more junior, feel at work. When you want to be seen to be ‘doing a good job’ it’s tempting to pick up the tasks no one wants, and to put aside small remarks so you’re not seen as ‘difficult’. In doing so, we also perpetuate the cycle that keeps these things happening. 

How did your educational background or experiences shape your entry into the technology industry?

I went to an all girls high school which was awesome in a lot of ways, but in my digital technology class there were only about 14 of us. We did once ask about learning to code and were told “oh no, girls don’t want to learn that” so instead we did much more Photoshop and PowerPoint than technical learning. 

University was the first time I ever did any coding and the first time I really ‘saw’ the gender disparity in tech. While I thrive in challenging environments, the biggest impact was the group of friends I found who worked together when the going got tough and were always willing to share, problem solve and study together. 

If it wasn’t for my general attitude of enjoying proving people wrong, and the outstanding friends I met at university who supported me through some really complex coding, I don’t think I would have ended up in tech. 

What are the views of your peer group on women in technology and leadership? What general conversations are you having about this?

More than anything I think my peers are fed up when it comes to the general lack of progress we’ve seen with women in leadership roles. We see the goals for gender balance get announced, and then we also see the dates get pushed back quietly when they’re not reached. The few women making strides in the tech leadership world are doing great so we know it can be done, but it can be really frustrating seeing that drive to get MORE women into those roles halt. 

What changes have you observed or experienced regarding gender diversity and inclusion in technology since you began your career?

When I started in the tech industry it really felt like a momentous time where the balance was shifting and we were on the cusp of something huge. We have seen enormous efforts to improve inclusion and diversity at entry level roles, and it’s been great to see more organisations publicly stand up for the values they believe in, but I’m still waiting to see the shift flow up through organisations right to the highest levels of leadership. We are on the way though, and it has been really heartening to see some key examples of leaders in my industry change, evolve and become allies for underrepresented groups so we’ve just got to keep the ball rolling!

What do you think are the most significant opportunities for women in technology today, compared to when you first entered the industry?

I think there is a place for any woman who wants to enter the tech industry in 2024 or beyond. While there are still pathways and roles that are more complex to navigate than others, with a few allies and a good support network I really do believe we can see women striving for the things they want in all areas of technology.

How do you think initiatives like ShadowTech could have helped you on your journey?

It’s so hard to imagine a future that you can’t see, so meeting people who work in technology would have been so beneficial for me and my peers in school. It’s not a coincidence that so many young people want to be teachers or nurses or musicians or in similar jobs to their parents when they grow up – it’s much easier to aspire to be something that you know exists. The more we help young people see what opportunities there are in technology, the more of them can start to see their own path into the tech world