Interview: Carol Johnson of the Telegraph, CIO of the year

'I realised I'd be a role model but I didn't know what that was supposed to be - so I set up a network'

The Women in IT Excellence Awards 2018 was an important event, attended by more than 600 of the UK foremost technology leaders, gathered together to celebrate the many female success stories the UK has to offer.

Computing has previously published a full rundown of all the winners on the night, and a gallery of all the best photographs from the evening.

Carol Johnson is IT director at Telegraph Media Group. Computing caught up with her to find out what the win means for her, and what opportunities she sees to encourage more women into the industry.

Computing: What did you think of the awards?

Carol Johnson: It was such an experience, really motivating. Our team came away with two awards and a highly commended which has done wonders for the morale of the team.

CTG: How did you feel when you heard you'd won an award?

CJ: I felt extremely honoured and really proud, overwhelmed really. It was the last award of the evening and I'd already seen all these great people so I just couldn't believe it.

CTG: What do we need to do to encourage more women in IT, particularly at a senior level?

CJ: You really need role models. The trouble is you don't always get a sense of the things they've achieved or the obstacles they've faced. We really need to understand their individual journeys.

What we tend to see is the women who are strong characters, but what I've seen a lot is that people don't know where to start. If the organisation can build that role model internally, it helps break some barriers.

That's one of the things we've tried to do - we have a really good Women in IT support network now [at the Telegraph]. When I share my story people understand it. They see it's not something that's unattainable.

CTG: Is IT a special case?

Yes it is, because there's a lot of focus on it. We all know there's a shortage of software developers and engineers so there's a lot of focus on that, but if that's not where your interests lie and if you don't have that skillset you don't realise you could have a brilliant career in technology.

CTG So what else needs to happen?

As well as building role models within the organisation so it grows from within I also think we have to go right back into schools because we don't have jobs that are relatable in everyday life. Most people who work in the technology department aren't coders. All we hear about is STEM - but I'm not from that kind of background for example. It's bigger than that, and it's just about being more relatable about the jobs that are available.

CTG How did the Telegraph's Women in IT group start?

I became IT director two years ago and recognised that I needed to do something to help. I realised I'd be a role model but I didn't know what that was supposed to be. So I set up a network internally - with both males and females - and that gave us an opportunity to talk about the challenges. It's been a really great enabler to get the conversation going. We realised that many managers hadn't thought about women in technology or about inclusion more generally. We started to change the mindset. We talk at events, go to Meetups and write blogs and it's really helped to build a sense of community.

CTG: Was this something recognised by the judges do you think?

We actually have quite a good number of women in the technology department. Not as high as we'd like but it's 25 or 30 per cent, and we're always looking at new ways to innovate. The fact that we were able to come to the awards and do as well as we did is a testament to what we're trying to achieve.