WOMEN IN DATA CENTRES women working in the sector and see the value of equality and diversity , but we have a long way to go .
I hope that as more young people join the industry , things change at the top and we no longer need to have these kinds of conversations .
It ’ s important to attract more women into the data centre space but it ’ s arguably more important to retain them – how do you suggest this can be achieved ?
This industry is not unique in failing to retain women . Coming from a product design background , that and the engineering sector often face similar problems . Part of the challenge is that although there is legislation relating to maternity leave and childcare and so forth , most companies adhere to the minimum baseline .
We need a definitive shift . When people go on maternity / paternity leave , their work becomes the responsibility of other members of staff which isn ’ t ideal . There are serious managerial issues here and management need to reconsider how they support all members of staff in this instance .
The other aspect is making sure there ’ s a positive and definitive career structure for women in the industry . There seems to be a glass ceiling and we need a more defining management and promotion career ladder to encourage women to stay in the sector and not be bypassed when promotion arises .
It ’ s extremely frustrating when people suggest women being promoted is tokenism to tick an equality and diversity box . Most are promoted on merit and this should not be undermined . It wouldn ’ t make business sense and these sorts of comments need to be eradicated .
What sort of employment model do you think best suits the modern way of working for women in today ’ s society and how can organisations support this ? example , men are entitled to six months paternity leave and I think for women it might be a year , but it ’ s certainly an awful lot longer than in the UK .
It would be appreciated if the data centre industry took the lead on this and displayed the benefits of having extended equal parental leave . Achieving this requires management and organisational support to ensure workloads are not simply shifted to full-time employees – and this is built into the business model .
How can we change the dismissive attitudes that exist towards women in this field and is it a case of starting at the education level ?
I ’ m extremely concerned about the rise of misogyny online , particularly amongst young boys . Education is important both in the home and in schools . The misogyny is really divisive and male attitudes and behaviours towards women can be really toxic .
However , on a more positive note , I ’ m aware there are a lot of programmes in schools to encourage young females to study engineering , for example , but we also need to encourage them to study art and design . We need shifts in education to encourage young women to be confident about the different subjects available to them .
Can you offer insight into the opportunities available to women and young girls in this industry that exist outside of the day-to-day role – such as panel discussions , speaker opportunities – and how people can get involved ?
As an academic , I ’ m involved in theoretical research , but also a lot of industry linked research . There ’ s the opportunity to submit articles to academic journals and publications and to contact editorial boards or media companies who can facilitate relationships with publications and industry events . I ’ ve worked with people who don ’ t like public speaking , so instead they write .
With panel discussions , once you get your foot in the door and become known to people in the industry , it ’ s quite likely you ’ ll be asked more and more to participate . It ’ s also a good idea to research industry events , find out who the organisers are and contact them to ask whether there are any research projects .
It ’ s important to understand the various routes available and it ’ s great to promote research at industry events like Data Centre World . These events are extremely beneficial for reaching people in influential positions very quickly , not to mention getting the chance to network with others in the field . �
Until maternity and paternity leave become more equal , there ’ s always going to be bias against women . In Spain , for
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