In celebration of women in technology we thought what better way to promote a world free from bias, stereotypes and discrimination than to share with you the thoughts of some of our female technologists in a two-part story. Welcome then to Part One. Read Part Two here.
A career choice traditionally favoured by men; technology is gaining momentum with women in all areas of our business. Across RELX we have around 10,000 technologists, a quarter of whom are women. While we still have more work to do, RELX as an organisation and the people within it work hard every day to create a workplace that is always equitable, diverse and inclusive. We are proud to be a signatory of the Women’s Empowerment Principles and to be included in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.
In building this showcase we were spoilt for choice in whom to profile but we hope that the stories below will inspire women to build their tech careers with us. Not only because we make it challenging and have never forgotten that it should be fun, but because the work itself offers real purpose in helping to build a better society for everyone.
Every day across RELX our people are inspired to develop new ideas that make unique contributions to society and the communities in which we operate.
We think that’s a career choice worth making.
Emili Budell-Rhodes
Lead Evangelist: Legal; UK
I started my new role in tech with Legal on International Women’s Day last year, so there’s some serendipity about being asked to take part in this article one year on. I joined RELX in 2014 working within the corporate responsibility team building our global community programme. I had never worked in technology but was always interested in how it shapes people’s lives. So, when I had a chance to do an internal secondment where I got to follow my passion and add value to the business at the same time, I jumped at it. Despite the unknowns.
I was invited to do a secondment creating our RELX-wide Responsible AI Principles and a risk-based governance framework underpinning them. The secondment wasn’t just a formative, amazing experience, it was the result of being supported by colleagues across the RELX family, allowing me to explore and follow through with an idea that I was convinced would make a difference for the company. Today I report to the chief engineer and evangelise LexisNexis’ engineering culture change where technology drives the rule of law around the world.
Gender diversity doesn’t just introduce diversity of thought. It introduces different lived experiences. That means broader perspectives, fewer assumptions and more empathy for customer needs and what the technology will do once it has been released into the real world. At RELX, our solutions often form part of the fundamental fabric of society in many countries around the world, so gender diversity matters. I think the prospects for women in tech are great too. My guess is that there’ll be ever more diversification and new types of jobs we haven’t even conceived of yet, as solutions and applications get more sophisticated.
‘I have always felt incredibly supported as a woman in technology at RELX. The Women in Technology Mentoring Programme has been a great help in finding my way in a new field and in building my confidence.’
Learn more about Emili's experiences in this short video:
Min Chen
VP & CTO, global platforms, Asia & Pacific and RELX Distinguished Technologist: Legal; China
To me, gender diversity generates a real force for driving innovation, which is the key to business growth and customer satisfaction. When we talk about innovation, we usually just think about a specific solution or process but, behind that, these innovations are driven through diversity and one vital ingredient is gender balance. This is reflected in my daily work - I often find the most sparkling moments happen when you have the best diversity. So, gender balance doesn’t mean we have to favour a particular gender, it means we must consciously check whether we have enough difference in the team.
My math teacher, who I respected the most in high school, encouraged me to pick computer and science as the major subject in college. Initially I just followed his instruction as he was my favorite teacher. As soon as I entered the college, I found myself obsessed with programming. I could spend hours in the library writing code to test myself. Naturally, I pursued a career in the technology industry after graduation. In my class there were 50 students, and only eight were female and I was the only one out of that eight to go into tech.
But things are changing. At RELX I’ve seen lots of forums, panels and programmes organised to promote gender diversity in technology and we have been changing the way we make hiring and promotion decisions to ensure that eligible women are given serious consideration. The progress that is being made is reflected by an increase of female technologists in our organisation. The gender imbalance we have will not alter overnight and we need the support of our male colleagues to help bring about further change.
I think one key premise of your career is that you must work on things you love, otherwise it won’t last. To me, I have gravitated towards technology and consider it as a dream career choice because I am passionate about it. Whatever career path you choose, you will encounter hardship at times but when you are frustrated or struggling with those difficulties, you will find it much easier to persevere with those things that you are truly passionate about. For example, if your expertise is search, make your search experience the best in the market. If you are strong at innovation, get those creative ideas launched to the market as quickly as possible. This is the beauty of technology as we can leverage it to change the world into a better place.
‘Sometimes it doesn’t matter how many people you have in the room, it matters how many different mindsets you have with you, and the best balance of gender often contributes to the most exciting innovations.’
Nova Rose
Senior director of program management: Risk; US
My team’s mission is to lead change and enable excellent global product delivery by collaborating flexibly and transparently with our partners across the organisation. My team handles technology project management along with incident and change management. I have been with RELX 10 years.
I was born and raised in Jamaica. When I applied to college and was asked to choose a major, I decided on Information Technology. It wasn’t that I had any particular passion for it. It’s just I couldn’t decide. Through my career I have had the opportunity to try different paths in technology and 2001, I moved to the United States. I found that project management resonated with me and was the best fit for my abilities - it was my sweet spot. My career has grown tremendously over the last decade with RELX.
Gender diversity is important to our long-term success not only in our everyday interactions outside of work but also from a professional perspective. Different backgrounds and experiences lead to a rich and fulfilling work environment. It is important to have women leaders so there are role models and mentors for inspiring women new to the industry. We have a way to go, but RELX has the right programmes in place to make this happen. We are getting into high school and college career fairs while funding technology programmes in schools. And today, we are starting even earlier in elementary schools to encourage girls in STEM.
Technology is broad and varied with many different interesting paths to pursue. You can never get bored in technology and it is easy to pivot if the fit isn’t right. There is always something new to learn so it is perfect for people with a thirst for knowledge. Because the industry is now recognising the need for more women, this is the time to get in. There are more female mentors and leaders in tech and more male leaders who recognise the need for female talent than ever before. That means there are more chances for women to have a successful future in technology.
‘It is impressive that we put as much effort into gender as we do with other areas of diversity, and this makes it clear that everyone has a place in the organisation.’
Ashwini Naveen
Director of software engineering: STM; India
I head the automation centre of excellence and act as site leader for the tech group in Chennai. I drive automation solutions across different departments within Elsevier by collaborating with internal stakeholders and improve software engineering operational processes. I also provide leadership to the whole technology group based in Chennai to promote a strong culture of cross-team collaboration.
While in college I completed diploma courses in technology and got my first internship in a tech start-up. This set my path to build my career, brought out my passion, enabled me to learn on the ground and helped me with some pocket money during my college days.
Women need to be encouraged in the technology sphere, which is happening globally where companies are helping women progress into leadership roles in tech companies. RELX is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion and has many women in managerial and leadership roles. As technology innovation unfolds, which requires many perspectives, gender diversity matters. I feel a complete sense of cultural diversity which is deep-rooted in our company's culture with an even bigger focus on gender diversity.
There's so much importance given to women's career growth especially keeping in mind the personal challenges they go through and many alternate options are provided to help them continue in their career. It is my experience that women are adept at multi-tasking, often more empathetic and willing to share knowledge which makes for great leadership.
‘It’s never too late to start a new career in technology. With numerous opportunities and flexibility at work, it can be a great career choice compared with other industries.’
Dorota Tsatsaris
VP of technology: Risk; UK
I lead the technology department for ICIS, part of Risk, and a provider of critical data and expertise to the chemical and energy industries. My focus is to enable the business strategy via technology solutions, providing data and insight to our customers in the way that best suits them.
I got into technology through my family background - both of my parents being technologists. I love working in technology as, for me, it is a creative space. I love the feeling of satisfaction when a new product launches, delivering a new capability that wasn’t there before - making things happen in innovative ways and working with highly capable people.
Technology needs innovative thinking. To think innovatively you need to be psychologically safe. The more inclusive and diverse the group, the more everyone feels safe and relaxed and can innovate together. Gender diversity delivers better results. In technology we are providing solutions for a diverse customer base so the teams designing the solutions should also be diverse.
There are many programmes and initiatives at RELX that support diversity. For a few years now, I had been a part of the many Women in Technology initiatives. We are signatories of the TechTalent charter, we’ve worked with young girls in schools to encourage them to consider future careers in tech and we’ve organised hackathons, mentorships and awareness programmes. We have promoted advocacy and allyship and worked within an employee resource group to bring together and empower the women working in tech as well as looking at skills and training opportunities.
‘Technology is probably one of the hottest markets for jobs right now, with plenty of growth. I have seen predictions of demand for technology resources tripling in the next decade. This provides career safety for anyone choosing to work in tech. It is fun to solve problems together and that’s what we do most of the time in tech.’
Gaby Appleton
Chief digital product officer: Exhibitions; UK
My role is to build digital products that help our exhibitions customers generate new leads or find new suppliers, build their network and gain new insights about their industry. Central to this is building and developing a fantastic digital products and tech team
I have been with RELX 11 years. When I was head of strategy at Elsevier, another RELX business, I realised that digital product development was critical to the future of the company. I asked for the opportunity to join the Elsevier research product team and set about learning the craft of data-driven, customer-centric digital product development. I was mentored by some wonderful technology and product leaders who helped me gain the skills I needed to succeed.
Our customers have complex information problems that require smart, creative and often technical solutions. Therefore, it’s obvious that we need to bring people with different skills, experiences and perspectives together to understand those problems and come up with the best solutions. Gender diversity is just one aspect of the many types of diversity that will help us to do that and to have fulfilling and fun team experiences as we do so. I want everyone to be able to bring their full selves to work, so that they can achieve their maximum potential. Women in Tech initiatives are part of that journey.
We have many wonderful female leaders especially in the RX leadership team, but we continue trying to help more women into leadership positions around the world. We have company-wide efforts in mentoring, training, recruiting and community-building to support this. I’m also looking forward to engaging with our customers on diversity by increasing visibility of these topics at our events and exhibitions.
Technology and product are fast moving fields with many sub-disciplines that require different skills. So, there is a role for every kind of person and because these skills are in high demand, you can learn fast and grow your career quickly. The skills are hugely transferable across industries and geographies so tech gives you many options of places to work in the future.
‘If you are thinking of switching your career to tech I would simply say don’t be scared to take the plunge. Start small or take a sideways move to get started.’
If you are looking to work somewhere that truly cares about gender diversity and inclusion in tech, check out our careers page
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