Anna Liu interview continued

More from my conversation with Anna Liu:

Let’s start with an anecdote; a situation that will likely feel very familiar to other women in male dominated workplaces:

Anna mentioned a time early in her career when she was the only woman in a software development team. It was not uncommon for their weekly meeting to descend into a conversation about whatever sporting event was in season: Whether AFL or soccer, boxing or motor sports, these are topics highly likely to exclude a female audience. And while it may not have been intentional, it certainly contributed to a sense of frustration and boredom at the time.

Is this an uncommon experience?

I suspect not. If we accept that women are looking for meaningful human interaction in their workplace (see my earlier “Assumptions” post) then I can see this sort of situation being a major factor in driving women out of male dominated environments and perhaps as a result into less technical roles.

Anna feels that successful IT women have a responsibility to clearly call out to the next generation, to tell them what it is really about.

“This has been a tough career,” she admits. “Whilst I have had some privileged support (for example a Women In Engineering Scholarship throughout), it is a tough profession compared to other areas where you can turn up as a woman and be accepted; even now I attend conferences where they were they didn’t realise I was a woman, and I have had to quickly demonstrate my credibility.”