Barclays' Glasgow team are inspiring role models for the next tech generation

Created by VERCIDA for Barclays

 

Meet Hannah Fairlie and Zhou Zhou from Barclays' Glasgow team whose success in the technology sector is setting an example for young people across Scotland to get involved.

 

Hannah

 

Tell us more about your jobs with Barclays.

Hannah: I started with Barclays in August 2020 on a graduate programme, after doing a nine-week internship during my third and fourth years at university, where I studied computer science. Now I am working as a developer on our voice surveillance project within Compliance.

Zhou: In my day job, I am head of Horizon scanning in the regulatory tech space, covering all Barclays’ private bank jurisdictions, after joining Barclays in 2019. We are trying to take a proactive approach to meeting regulatory requirements and this requires significant technology changes as our strategic solution. I started my career as a chartered accountant 15 years ago, but as fintech has become more and more important, I went along for the ride, rather than being left behind. Before Barclays, I worked in consultancy and financial services, where tech solutions are required.

 

Zhou

 

What does your work with Women in Technology involve?

Hannah: I'm co-chair of the network within Scotland. I help organise and navigate the work we're doing with women intakes, including promoting women internally to retain our great tech talent and attract new talent externally. We are providing support mechanisms for our colleagues, creating a supportive, encouraging, forward-thinking way for women to grow in the technology space.

Zhou: I am the co-founder and the other co-chair. We have realised that the gender gap for women in tech starts early, before college and university. To address this, we are working with pupils from an even younger age. Last year, we started a number of initiatives with schools, working with children from the age of eight. We give them an opportunity to explore careers in technology in different ways, such as coding games to spark their interest in computer science.

 

So, it’s important to start developing that awareness about tech careers from a young age?

Zhou: Absolutely. We should be engaging with children from the age of eight or nine before they start picking their subjects at high school. It is about encouraging girls and boys from different backgrounds to get interested in tech. Social mobility is a really important part of what we do.

Hannah: We are committed to really sparking their interest in technology, especially for children who may not have seen role models in the technology sector. We look at schools that are close to our Scottish campus, the schools that need a little extra help and don’t have the same opportunities as other schools, and we look at how we can help develop their tech skills and maintain their interest. We can bring students to the campus so they can see what jobs in technology look like – and it’s right on their doorstep. 

The cost of living crisis has had an impact. Some kids might not have access to a computer or a tablet at home, so it is great to be able to help enable those opportunities in school and help develop skills like coding.

 

 

Is the desire to encourage girls and women in technology a personal, as well as professional, challenge?

Zhou: I have two girls myself –they are nine and 11. During the pandemic, I started doing coding games with them when the schools were closed. They didn’t like it to start with, but then they really got interested, especially when they could play games with other kids. My kids are lucky because I am able to show them what my working environment looks like and I can introduce them to this ecosystem. But it is important to be an inspirational figure for boys and girls who might not have these opportunities – it is about equity.

Hannah: My personal experience is why I decided to study computer science at university. I had seen it growing up with my mum – she had a very similar career to the one I am enjoying now. I’m not totally sure if I would have ended up working in tech if it wasn’t for my mother. Those role models are so important to give you an idea of what certain jobs might look like.

 

 

Is Barclays a supportive employer for women?

Hannah: There is so much support for us. We have a community with our employee resource group (ERG) that focuses specifically on gender. But because there are so many different parts to who we all are, we work with other ERGs. Diversity and inclusion are so important, and the ERGs work really well together. There are so many women that we can talk to if we’re struggling with anything. Even if it’s a technical question, someone will be able to help. We come together to lift each other up, making each other better and really developing ourselves.

Zhou: There are real career paths. We are looking at people’s development and their motivations. Not everyone wants to be a managing director, some women are happy being a technical subject matter expert, but they might want to gain some wider experience. Some people are very happy in one place for a long time. Others, like Hannah, are high flyers from a very young age and they are looking for mentorship and opportunities to develop skills that they might not get from their day job. Developing soft skills, like confidence and presentation skills, are important too. We are doing so many different things – providing a support network for under-represented groups, and recently we had a lunchtime TED Talk on quantum computing.

 

 

Hannah: As well as working internally, we partner with external organisations like Scotland Women In Technology. Only by working together across the whole industry can we do something more impactful for the community. And we are able to talk directly with senior management at special sessions and ask them tough questions about things like balancing work and personal life. It is so important that the door is open so we can have that interaction and inspirational leadership – again, it’s all about having those role models.

 

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