Being a woman working in IT

Hi Océane, could you introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Océane Miller, I am 24 and I have been a BuSI consultant for one year and a half now.

What’s your professional journey?

I am from a small town of northern France. After getting my baccalaureate, I decided to pursue my studies in the big European city that Brussels is. After three years studying at the Haute école Libre de Bruxelles (HELB), I got my bachelor’s degree in management computing.

During my third year and last year, I got the opportunity to do an internship in collaboration with the MIC (Microsoft Innovation Center). The MIC is a non-profit organization that connects computing students with enterprises in order to realize a project within one of them while being coached by professionals of the Microsoft technologies.

What made you want to become a developer?

Within my family, I was always considered as passionate about technologies; I already was kind of a “consultant” for the daily computing issues. That’s why the computing studies seemed like a logical choice, knowing it’s a big advantage on the professional market.

Why the .Net technology?

During my studies, I had the chance to work with both Java and .Net technologies. Already then, I had a preference for the .Net technology. That’s actually the reason why I chose to contact the MIC. It’s during my final year internship that I befriended the .Net technology. The tools and services offered by Microsoft seemed more intuitive to me and the more I learned, the wider the gap of knowledge between the two technologies grew, as my choice.

Become BuSI’s next consultant

How is it going at BuSI?

As from the beginning of my journey at BuSI, I was very well welcomed by all the members of the team. I had the chance to take part to many events threw by BuSI: Awareness’s, new facilities inauguration, afterworks,… and to meet a lot of my peers.

When COVID and its constraints first came, I was afraid that the distancing would affect me on a mental level as I am quite sociable. BuSI does its best to lighten the mental load of the crises by keeping in touch, organizing small remote events as trainings, having small attentions for Holidays and so on.

I am currently on a mission within a team I really get along with. We have daily meetings which reduces the feeling of isolation.

Do you encounter difficulties being a woman working in IT?

Whether during my studies or in my professional career, I have never encountered difficulties as a woman. I have always been treated with respect and equity by my male peers. Despite the small number of women in my area, I had the chance to never experience sexism. On the contrary, I live a very positive experience being a woman working in IT, and tend to remark that women are pushed to integrate this field.

I know my positive experience is not the one lived by all women and that’s why those kinds of misconducts have to be punished, no matter what area they work in.

Do you have a message for all the women willing to work in IT?

Go for it, ladies! Do not let stereotypes or other people define the paths you’re going to take for your life.

Professions do not have a gender and if IT is a field that some women are tempted by, I can only encourage them. Mentalities will eventually evolve, and women have a crucial place in IT, as in every path of Society.

Nowadays, it is important to push women to fulfill their professional goals, no matter what they are. It is by persevering and with solidarity that we will evolve to a world of equality and fulfilment.