It is not just about closing the gap in terms of both gender and skill, but it is about keeping the gap closed, and technology will be something that can help us to do that.

A lot of women have had to fight for a right to be in technology industry, but why? Males don’t have to go through the same hoops, men don’t have to research their rights to see what they are entitled to.

Holly Landry, of Maersk recently said: “I didn’t have a technology degree or training, and to start with bosses wouldn’t look at my CV. I have had to lean on people around me to help me build up my skills and learn from primarily experience.”

A lot of women depend on relying on their community around them.

But for many obstacles are just a detour when you are heading in the right direction. It is good to have a plan, but you don’t have to get tied down with this plan and it doesn’t matter if you do end up going off track, either slightly or completely. Katica Roy of Pipeline Equity said: “The goal changes, and that’s okay. In fact, you will likely hit it and then need to create a new goal.”

Pivoting and adapting is important. Having the ability to adapt is great, but you still need to ensure you can remain focused. Try to ask yourself: “What’s the one thing specifically I can work at and concentrate on.” From this you will win, or you’ll learn – either way something to take away.

As a society we need to make sure data and technology is ethical. Holly added: “Its about building blocks and making sure people really understand the business.”

It is not a one size fits all method. What is great is all the different opportunities out there, and technology enhances this. Technology is allowing us to do so much new, and different things. It is not only exciting, but also a great opportunity as the jobs in ten years time don’t currently exist yet!

We need to know its good to have courage, even if that sometimes means failure. Then it is about learning what is a success and what we can do better next time.

Our generation now needs to teach and fix the system. We need to teach women that they will be interrupted, undermined, and assumed they don’t know what they are talking about, but we can overcome this. We need to teach the young girls the skills to deal with this and call behaviour like this out.

The pandemic has changed this, and so there are two key points we need to ensure:

1. Ensuring everyone has access to skilling
2. Ensuring equitable opportunity is out there to apply these skills

It is essential we remember and acknowledge that we do need to give back too. Looking at building a future in a responsible and equitable way is key. A lot of people have started to acknowledge they are high up on the privileged tree, and are now wanting to give back and help, to make sure no one will have to go through what others have been through.