itSMFI 2017 Forum Focus - June Forum Focus ITSMFI | Page 3

A Word from the International Chair—Kathryn Heaton Dear Members, It’s 3 months now since I commenced my role as Chair of the International Board and I’d like to thank Shari Brunette for the excellent guidance she has provided to me and the Board over the last 2 years. In particular, Shari was instrumental in establishing a regular schedule of Town Halls to improve the communication between Chapters, and we have recently extended the invitation to not only the Chapter Chairs but anyone on the Chapter boards. If you have anything you would like raised to International, get in contact with one of your local representatives! I have been very encouraged over the last few weeks to hear that a couple of Chapters that were struggling have decided to reform – this is fantastic news – the value of local meetups, conferences and just the opportunity to speak to fellow Service Management professionals can’t be underestimated and International will help out wherever possible to facilitate this turnaround. To continue the theme of improved communications, the Board has been road testing a few collaboration platforms, Yammer, Workplace & Slack to see which will provide the best forum to allow informal communication between Chapter Boards and members. We will be agreeing on one in the next few days and will provide these details to our Chapter Chairs and Boards. Now is the perfect opportunity for you to make a tangible contribution to your own industry journal. We are calling for articles from Members for publication in The Forum Focus based on your direct experience. Articles should be in the order of 800 – 1,000 words, although both shorter and longer contributions will be welcome depending on 3 itSMFI Forum Focus—June 2017 On a personal note, over my 30-year career, most of which has been in the IT industry and has included working for many different businesses from corporates, to small business, to local and national government, running my own business and everything in between, I have become more and more aware of how important it is to have the right gender balance in a business and how this can critically affect the culture and success of this business. Across the world we are seeing less and less women taking on a career in technology, as evidenced by the recent Melinda Gates article. In addition, a recent article stated that if you don’t capture girls’ attention towards STEM subjects, (Science, Maths, Engineering and Maths) by age 8 it’s too late; they don’t see the opportunity or relevance to continue their studies. We are experiencing the same thing in Australia and I have recently joined a group called HerTechPath that organises information sessions in senior schools for girls to really understand the scope and possibilities of the careers that are available in the technology space. As a Service Management professional, I know that there are many diverse, interesting, rewarding and exciting careers you can undertake. To me, anything our industry can do to encourage girls to keep these careers in mind when thinking about their future is worthwhile. space and of course content. They may re- flect your own workplace triumphs, (or trage- dies) or relate to your analysis of issues you see playing out in the Industry. Your First Step? Contact: [email protected]