A Northern Ireland-based learning technology company is celebrating International Women in Engineering Day 2021 by shining a light on the accomplishments of one of its female software engineers.
To mark this year's celebration of International Women in Engineering Day (23 June 2021), Danielle Williams from Synergy Learning is sharing her story in the hope that her experiences will bring awareness to the importance of encouraging more women to embrace careers in STEM.
Launched in the UK in 2014, International Women in Engineering Day is a global awareness campaign that celebrates women in engineering. In 2021, the campaign theme is Engineering Heroes, documenting the untold stories of the incredible women working in engineering.
Danielle graduated from Dundee University with a first class honours degree in Applied Computing in 2018 and now works as a UX Developer at Synergy Learning. Currently working out of her home office in Bangor, Danielle plays a key role on the team that provides world-class learning technology services to a global customer base.
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Speaking on her experience of studying and working in the male dominated software engineering industry, the 25-year-old said:
“The Applied Computing degree I did at university was definitely male dominated, which surprised me at the beginning because the split between males and females who were interested in tech and engineering at school seemed to be 50/50. I was always encouraged to pursue my dreams and find a career that I loved, so I’d never previously considered that my desire to work in software engineering might be niche.
“I work in an extremely supportive environment at Synergy Learning, and the opportunities they’ve given me are a testament to their inclusivity and ambition to recruit and train female engineers. However, this isn’t reflected across the industry as the majority of these roles are still being done by men.
“Whilst there are challenges associated with being one of the few females working in software engineering, being in the minority has encouraged me to cultivate deep friendships with my like-minded female peers and team members. These relationships continue to be important to me as I develop my skills and progress in my career, as the sisterhoods we form inside and outside the workplace help to spur each other on.
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“The female engineers I know have amazing talent and are assets to any team they join. As women, it’s exciting to be able to bring fresh insights and ideas that are necessary and valuable to our unique areas of engineering, including creativity, an ethos of hard-work, and positive attitudes in the face of adversity.
“Female engineers typically feel that they have to work harder than their male colleagues to prove themselves,” Danielle continues. “That’s why we need to get more women into engineering roles, including software engineering, so that our presence in the workplace becomes the norm. We should start getting young girls excited about tech and engineering by showcasing the talent of female engineers in schools and shouting about the incredible opportunities that arise for everyone in the industry, regardless of gender.
“I absolutely love my job as a UX Developer at Synergy Learning, as I get to combine my love of art with my technical capabilities to design unique e-learning platforms for our customers. I love working alongside the rest of the team to tackle each challenge that arises, and find great satisfaction in my work when our customers love our creations. Synergy Learning focuses on building one strong, unified team, and it provides the perfect nurturing environment for me to test my abilities and be creative as an engineer.
“For any women - young or old - thinking about pursing a career in engineering, I would say just go for it. Female engineers have incredible things to offer and should be encouraged to show off their talent and not be afraid to get stuck in. There are so many different facets to engineering that women just don’t know enough about, so if you search around you’ll find that there’s a role out there that’s perfect for you. Even within software engineering there are multiple areas of specialisation, so the options are endless.
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“In the future, I would love to break the glass ceiling in the tech industry and lead a software engineering team of my own. I’ve not yet had a female mentor or witnessed female leadership in my career, so as I progress, I would love to develop my leadership skills and be part of a turning point for the industry, led by Synergy Learning, to cultivate a culture in the workplace where women are celebrated and appreciated for their great skill and the love of their craft.”
Tory Kerley, Head of People at Synergy Learning, added:
“The team at Synergy Learning is very proud of Danielle and we hope that her story will help inspire future generations of female engineers to find success in this rewarding industry.
“As part of our commitment to make Synergy Learning a great place to work, we are currently on the hunt for more talented female software engineers to join our dynamic and innovative team. If you think you could help us to continue delivering excellence to our customers across the globe, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
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Synergy Learning is a homegrown, remote-first provider of world-class learning technology services to a global customer base. The business works with brands like Samsung, Save the Children & numerous NHS Trusts to create engaging, intuitive and accessible learning technology that delivers meaningful, measurable results to over two million learners in over 40 countries worldwide.
