Louise Clayton has seen some big changes during her 18 years in the tech industry.

Now Managing Director of Talk Think Do, the Wimborne-based software company, she’s one of a growing number of women reaching the top in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Her thoughts on breaking through the glass ceiling are particularly relevant on International Women’s Day.

The global theme this year is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’.

Louise joined Talk Think Do in 2019 as Customer Focus Manager.

A year later she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer before being appointed MD in October last year.

Talk Think Do has seen its revenues grow by more than 750 per cent in recent years, from £267,000 in 2018 to £2.3 million in 2022.

Louise said: “The gender split in tech has certainly changed over the past 18 years, but it still firmly remains male-dominated.

“Women in the tech industry tend to be in non-technical roles focused on analysis or management, whereas you’ll find the majority of technical roles, for example engineering and architecture, are fulfilled by men.

“In this scenario, it’s easy to feel like you don’t know enough when you can’t fully understand a detailed technical conversation.

“The trick is to remember that everybody brings their own set of skills.

“It takes all the roles with all the skills to successfully deliver expert services.”

Louise, who initially worked for NatWest and HSBC before joining insurance giant Ageas, said now was a great time to enter the tech industry.

She said: “My advice to anyone just starting out is to think about your existing skills and what you get the most enjoyment from.

“You may have a general interest in tech but with a variety of roles available, you’re better focusing in a specific area that you have a natural talent for.

“If you love getting into the detail, and really understanding how business processes work and intertwine with software, then a Business Analyst role could be suitable.

“Whereas, if you enjoy learning about programming languages and databases, you’re likely to lean towards backend engineering.

“If in doubt, see if you can get involved in a few different projects covering multiple roles until you’ve worked out what you love and what you’re good at.

“Once you know, you can research the best practice qualifications to support your career progression.

“Things have already changed so much over my career in the tech industry, and I expect to see even more dramatic change over the next five years.

“I think the demand for technical expertise will continue to grow but the number and shape of the roles will start to change with the introduction of new tech into mainstream industry, such as augmented reality and AI.

“We’re already seeing more women in senior leadership tech roles.

“But with the shift to working from home through the pandemic opening up new roles that would have previously been unsuitable due to geographics or flexibility around family life, I predict that many more female leaders will come to the forefront and hopefully start to balance out the boardrooms.”

A key member of the Talk Think Do team – Mel Fountain – joined the business last December as Delivery Manager.

The excitement of working in a fast-moving industry attracted her towards a career in tech.

Mel, pictured left, said: “I thrive on change and I love that tech moves so fast.

“It’s amazing to see how transformative tech is and what a difference it can make to people’s working lives.

“You’ll often be the only woman in the room, but this does not make you any less skilled, experienced or valued.

“The tech community, whilst still very male dominated, is supportive and truly embraces inclusion and diversity.

“You don’t have to be a ‘techie’ in tech to succeed, soft skills play a huge role in positive outcomes in tech so find your niche.”

Amy St Louis began her career at Talk Think Do as a Marketing Executive after graduating from Bournemouth University.

She has since been promoted to PMO Analyst.

The role involves reporting for both internal senior managers and client stakeholders as well as leading on the delivery of ISO 27001 accreditation.

Since entering the tech industry full time, Amy, pictured right,  admits she’s learned a lot.

She said: “I didn’t know I wanted to get into tech until completing a PR & Comms internship at Microsoft.

“It was a great place to gain exposure to the tech industry.

“The opportunity to work across a variety of teams allowed me to get a good understanding of the various sectors that tech contributes to from gaming (Xbox) to commercial to consumer.

“Working in tech allows you to make real world changes.

“We’re surrounded by technology constantly and technology has had an influence on a lot of everyday items we interact with, which is only going to increase.

“Wouldn’t you want to have a say on the experiences you have, the products you buy, or the apps you use?”