“When we inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. Collectively, let's forge a more inclusive world for women.”

The world of technology is often seen as being a male-dominated sector – in 2023, women held only 26.7% of tech-related jobs, and worryingly more than half of women in tech leave the industry by the mid-point of their career – more than double the rate of men.

Bucking this trend, Thrive Learning – the award-winning and fast-growing modern-day learning management system – is celebrating its incredible talent across the company and at a senior level.

Thrive is an organisation which is striving towards true inclusion and equality. Forty-four percent of positions within Thrive are held by women – 17.3% higher than the tech average. With a number of key appointments at the start of 2024, today an incredible 45% of Senior Leadership positions are also held by women. 

We hear from some of the leading women at Thrive, their successes and advice for women looking to enter the tech industry. 

Helen Marshall, Chief Learning Officer at Thrive

Joining Thrive in 2021, Helen’s primary focus is ensuring the business practises what it preaches, leading the vision of what good learning looks like and what Thrive represents as a company.

Helen is focused on building relationships and trust, and challenging convention along the way. During her time at Thrive, Helen has founded WomeIn, a community for people who identify as women in L&D, HR and beyond to come together and share in common challenges and best practices.

Helen also is the host of Thrive’s podcast, Diary of a CLO, which shares secrets, experiences, practices, and insights from some of the world's best learners and leaders both inside and outside the L&D industry.

Prior to joining Thrive, Helen held positions in other technology-driven businesses including Learning Pool, Capita, and Thomson Reuters.  

“True inclusion isn't a tick-box exercise. It means creating spaces where anyone can show up as themselves and feel seen and heard. If I can encourage people to lead a crusade for more equitable and inclusive environments by talking about important issues or amplifying the voices of others, that's what inspiring inclusion means to me. Inclusion is a choice, you either do it or you don't.

“When it comes to supporting other women to enter and be part of the incredibly vibrant and dynamic tech industry, it is something I'm conscious of in everything I do. On a small scale I make sure everyone's voice is being heard. Are people being given the space and time to talk? Are people being given the flexibility they need as an individual? Talking about it and helping others on that journey is important too. But then on a much broader scale I run a WhatsApp community for people who identify as women in L&D, HR and beyond to come together and share in common challenges and best practices. You've got to pick your battles, and female empowerment is one of mine.

“I am fortunate enough to be inspired and empowered by the women I work with every day. For example, at our company kick-off in January, when Georgina Newton stood on stage to introduce the new approach to Account Management, she spoke about how Thrive has supported her as a working parent – talking about this and role-modelling being a working parent is really important.

“Outside of this, there was recently a discussion on WomenIn about how few opportunities there are in L&D to job share. As a result, two members of the WomenIn community approached an internal recruiter and asked them to consider them both for a job share on what was advertised as a 'full time' role. This wouldn't have happened without the group - change requires change makers.

“My advice for people looking to enter the tech industry would be to build relationships based on mutual respect, transparency. Trust is so important to me. To do this I ask a lot of questions – whether that's about work, or about you as a person – and that's how I start to really understand what makes different people tick. You can only influence people if they respect you and trust you, and that means being as transparent as possible. That's what I focus my energy on building.

“Secondly, find a company which gives you the opportunity to be involved in brilliant things you otherwise wouldn’t be able to do. During my time at Thrive I have interviewed Stuart Broad in front of 250 people LIVE, appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Bottom Line, and hosted our 2023 customer event on stage at The Science Museum which pushed me out of my comfort zone. See what I mean? What brings me the most joy is the Diary of a CLO. Not only has it been hugely successful – with 420 active subscribers and 12,500 unique listens – but it's helped me develop as a person in how I communicate, ask questions and listen. It's the best part of my job."

Al Thompson, Chief Content Officer at Thrive

Also joining Thrive in 2021 after 20 years of experience in the industry, Al’s role at Thrive includes defining the Thrive Content strategy, vision, and roadmap. With her finger on the pulse, Al is continuously evaluating and monitoring the market to adapt, adjust, and evolve the learning content Thrive creates to ensure it constantly meets growing customer needs. Prior to joining Thrive, Al held notable positions in businesses including The Access Group, Learning Pool and Mind Click, to name a few. 

Leanne Ainsworth, Chief Operating Officer at Thrive

Joining the team in 2023, and promoted to Chief Operating Officer in January 2024, Leanne heads up business and customer operations for Thrive, managing the business’ implementation, project management, customer success, and business admin teams. All to ensure the business is as effective as possible and delivers the highest quality service every time. Focusing on operations and customer experience, Leanne joined Thrive with years of experience at organisations including Saba Software, E.ON, and Cornerstone OnDemand. 

Cassie Gasson, Chief Marketing Officer at Thrive

Cassie has been part of the Thrive team since 2019, leading the business’ marketing strategy in order to raise awareness of Thrive as a brand and help drive people to understand what makes Thrive unique. In November 2023, Cassie’s dedication and hard work was recognised at the Women in Marketing awards, where she won the ‘Best Leader in Marketing – Brand’ category. Cassie’s background is in tech-driven businesses, including Mind Click and the Student Room prior to joining the team at Thrive. 

“To me, female empowerment means lifting each other up. Focussing on the bond between women and celebrating each other's talents rather than seeing each other as competition. As women in leadership roles, especially those in male-dominated industries, we need to create nurturing environments which empower women to ensure our voices are truly heard, our contributions are equally valued, and our opinions are valued as much as our male counterparts. 

“Thrive has so many talented women spanning all departments from Senior Leadership to Technical Development roles. It’s so inspirational to learn and work alongside empowered women, and I believe that by continuing to shine a spotlight on this sets a real example for our industry and shows young women and girls there are opportunities where the barriers have been taken down to allow them to thrive.” 

Anna Bowers, Head of Delivery at Thrive

Appointed as Head of Delivery in January 2023, Anna leads in the delivery management function at Thrive, which includes building and maintaining teams, ensuring people within the company are motivated and working collaboratively, as well as identifying potential obstacles, and working with the team to help overcome them – including the introduction of key delivery playbooks to help reduce uncertainty and increase stability. Anna brought with her experience across companies including FutureLearn and AKQA, to name a few. 

“When I think of this year’s theme, #InspireInclusion, for me it means having humility and compassion for others' lived experience and taking a proactive stance in creating a space where people with their differences, can flourish together. Personally, I try to approach any situation as a joint venture and an opportunity to learn, by sharing problems and questions, and creating space for mutual engagement in any task. 

“There are so many incredible role models for young women to look up to today. Leila Pereira, the president of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (one of the top soccer clubs in Latin America) recently held a press conference exclusively for women reporters to exemplify how women athletes want the space to show up and contribute to something meaningful in the same way men do. She said the following: ‘Don’t be hysterical. Isn’t that what they say about us when we complain? When we need to be heard? Don’t they say we’re hysterical. We’re not hysterical. What I would like today is for this meeting to symbolise for men, during the one hour that we will be here today may they feel what we women feel in the one hour they don’t have men here at this press conference.

‘I want them to feel in this one hour, what we women have felt since we were born. Because I want them to feel that the whole society focuses on this. That we women don’t want under no circumstances no privilege. We just want to have the opportunity to show that we are competent. That we want space in this world.’

“I hope that I am leading by example as a female Head of Department in a male-dominated tech world, and other women will be able to see themselves represented in this world. One of my proudest achievements at Thrive has been building a team of Delivery Managers that feels inclusive and open, where people can build on their mastery of the craft but equally safely make mistakes, ask for help, and have fun. I encourage anyone regardless of what stage you are in your career to find a role which offers you the same opportunities in order to truly succeed.” 

Niloufar Zarin, Head of AI at Thrive, PhD

A new appointment at Thrive, Niloufar has joined as Head of AI as the team looks to expand and enhance its AI capabilities in order to deliver an even smoother experience and tailored approach for clients. Niloufar comes to Thrive with a rich background in R&D at tech-driven businesses, including Dyson, Healx and Acorai, where she worked to overcome challenging technical and market needs and barriers. 

“#InspireInclusion means creating a world where everyone feels valued, respected, heard, included, and empowered to contribute their unique skills and perspectives, regardless of gender, background, or any other factor. It's about celebrating our differences and working together towards a common goal. This theme is particularly important to me because I believe that diversity and inclusion are essential for a thriving and innovative society.

“I truly believe in collaboration, empowerment, and inclusivity. Creating an environment with a rich culture of learning, continuous improvement, respect and equality. I encourage diverse perspectives to drive innovative solutions to help influence and contribute to the wider organisation.

“My advice to people looking to find their place in the world of technology would be to find a mentor and someone who can support you to reach your goals. Personally, I make an effort to be a role model and mentor myself, to share my knowledge, and foster open communication, not only for women but for everyone regardless of gender or background.” 

Kathryn Hutchinson, Lead Backend Developer at Thrive

A new appointment to the team, joining in January 2024, Kathryn will collaborate closely with people across Thrive to provide technical leadership across Engineering. Kathryn comes from a background of working in ecommerce and supply chain specialising in writing backend microservices and handling high volume data migrations. If that wasn’t quite enough to keep her busy, Kathryn is also a keen ultra-marathon runner too.