Celebrating women in tech on International Women’s Day 2025

Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, but one challenge remains – achieving true gender equality in the industry. Great progress has been made. And this should be celebrated. But we must remain mindful that women in tech still face unique barriers, from representation in leadership to navigating workplace biases.

At RDS, we believe in championing diversity, inclusion and empowerment. This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating some of the incredible women driving change within our business, industry and for our customers.

We sat down with them to share their perspectives, experiences and ambitions, exploring a range of topics including what this day means to them, the role models who’ve inspired them and their advice for the next generation of women in tech.

These are the voices shaping the future – let’s hear their stories.

Agnieszka Janusz‑Uwalaka – Management Accountant

Growing up in Poland, Agnieszka remembers International Women’s Day as a widely celebrated event, where women were often given symbolic gifts like carnations or tulips.

However, even as a child, she understood that these gestures sometimes masked the real struggles women faced – such as limited career opportunities, economic hardships and inequality. “International Women’s Day remains important because, while progress has been made, barriers still exist,” she explains. “To me, it’s a day to honour women’s struggles, celebrate progress and push for true equality.”

For Agnieszka, inspiration comes from her younger sister, whose resilience and determination have shaped her own outlook. “She never gives up, no matter how hard things get,” she says. “She has endured more than most people her age should ever have to, yet she keeps fighting with love and strength. Watching her grow gives me belief in myself – she’s my rock, my best friend and I’m incredibly proud of her.”

Reflecting on the workplace, Agnieszka acknowledges that while there has been progress, more needs to be done to ensure true gender equality. “Women are still underrepresented in leadership and decision-making roles. Despite the advancements, many still experience discrimination and harassment, which is why stronger policies, education and cultural change are essential in creating a truly inclusive environment.”

Her advice to women entering the industry is to believe in themselves and seek out opportunities for growth. “Never stop investing in yourself, don’t doubt your abilities and find mentors who recognise your potential,” she encourages. “There is space for all of us to succeed.”

Lesia Tokmyna – Accounts Payable Clerk

In Ukraine, International Women’s Day is more than just a date on the calendar, it is a heartfelt celebration of women. Lesia recalls how men honour the important women in their lives, not only with flowers and thoughtful gifts but also by taking on household responsibilities, preparing meals and creating special moments. “Women truly feel like queens on this day, surrounded by warmth, attention and gratitude,” she says. “But a truly loving and supportive man makes his woman feel cherished not only on March 8, but every single day.”

Beyond personal celebrations, Lesia sees International Women’s Day as a time to reflect on progress toward gender equality and the work still to be done. “This day is about recognising the achievements of women in all aspects of life – while acknowledging the challenges that remain.”

Despite significant advancements, Lesia believes gender equality in the workplace remains an unfinished mission. “Organisations play a crucial role in driving change by offering mentorship programs, ensuring equal opportunities and actively fostering career advancement for women.”

Her advice to young women is simple but powerful: “Believe in your abilities, seek mentorship and never hesitate to voice your ideas. Confidence, learning and networking open doors. The world needs more female leaders, innovators and changemakers, and every woman deserves the chance to realise her full potential.”

Starr Sams – Customer Success Manager

For Starr, International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women and recognise how far gender equality has progressed in a relatively short period of time. However, she believes it is particularly important to highlight the contributions of women in industries where they are still underrepresented. “It’s about inspiring the next generation and showing them that they can achieve anything their male peers can.”

She draws inspiration from many women in her life, but none more so than her mum. “She is the strongest person I know. Her strength and sacrifices motivate me to achieve my goals.” Professionally, she has also been fortunate to work alongside incredible women who have thrived in traditionally male-dominated environments. “I’m lucky enough to work in an all-women Customer Engagement team here at RDS and their wealth of experience and dedication to our customers inspires me every day.”

Despite progress, she acknowledges there is still work to be done on a global scale. “While working abroad in previous roles, I saw firsthand extremes of gender inequality and societal expectations that prevent women from thriving in their careers. Even in the UK, certain industries still underrepresent women and fail to provide equal opportunities.” She believes that encouraging young women to pursue STEM subjects, alongside providing visible success stories and role models, is key to breaking down these barriers.

Sarah Pitt – Planning and Logistics

For Sarah, International Women’s Day is a valuable opportunity to highlight women’s achievements, but she remains pragmatic about its impact on her own life. “Things like the right to vote, the gender pay gap – these are important conversations and it’s good that people are recognising women’s contributions. But, at the end of the day, if senior positions are filled by middle-aged white men because they are the best people for the job, then that’s fair. The issue arises when they’re not.”

She acknowledges that different industries demand different skills and attitudes, particularly customer-facing roles, where resilience is key. “You need a thick skin,” she notes. “It’s not always about having a perfect gender balance, but about having the right mix of people in the right roles. Workplaces also need to provide an environment where everyone feels supported – including space to chill.”

When it comes to women entering industries traditionally dominated by men, Sarah believes representation is key. “Organisations should create opportunities for women to progress in areas beyond traditionally female roles. We don’t have female engineers or many women in technical roles,” she points out. “Look at professional chefs – only 13% in the UK are women, despite the fact that for centuries, women have been the ones cooking at home. Organisations should be creating real opportunities for women to progress into areas that have historically been male-dominated.”

Kuljit Haire – IT Support Desk Manager

Kuljit was promoted to IT and Customer Services Desk Manager at the start of the year, managing a key business team of 8 people, and providing essential support to RDS’s clients.

Kuljit commented: “Men have always been recognised for their achievements whereas women were underrepresented. We’re seeing this change now, over the last 5 to 10 years we’re beginning to see more women broadly across the business, a far cry from one of her previous roles where there were just 2 women in the business.”

Take the word ‘Manager’ as an example. In the past, it suggested a male, but today more managers are female, so the stereotype doesn’t fit anymore.

Accelerating through her career, starting out as an apprentice, Kuljit comments that today there are more female apprentices than ever coming through in technical roles, suggesting the stereotypes of women only going into certain types of roles like admin and customer services, are finally changing.

She added: “We need to talk more about women and praise young female entrepreneurs, rather than focusing on men all the time. Young people need to be better educated, everyone is on a journey and no two journeys are the same, so we have to be mindful of the individual too.”

Lisa-Anne Whitehouse – Customer Engagement Manager

Lisa-Anne has worked at RDS for 8 years in a client-facing role, which can sometimes come with its challenges.

Lisa-Anne explains: “Although the world has changed for women in IT, I still feel I must work harder when meeting clients for the first time to earn respect as most men can appear surprised to see me.”

But she overcomes this by being exceptionally good at her job. “Once I’ve demonstrated my technical expertise you can feel the situation change.”

“With existing clients” Lisa-Anne continued, “there is a professional respect which is maintained, it has changed a lot, but there is still room for improvement.”

Claire McGinnell – Customer Engagement Manager

Claire joined RDS as a Customer Services Manager 6 years ago, having held management positions in the past. When she joined RDS there was only one other woman in customer services.

Claire comments that there have been times in the past where it has been difficult to be a female manager in male dominated industries.

“Luckily, this mindset is shifting more and more and hopefully we will get to the point where gender isn’t seen as something that defines your capability in the workplace.”

Claire feels she’s had to work hard to make her way up the ladder in previous roles, but that’s a personal expectation on herself rather than it being a lack of equality.

Maria Brasso – Head of Finance

“It’s about recognition that women can achieve the same as men in society. Men used to control environments, but you can see today that there are so many more women making key decisions.”

“There has been progress, in particularly in senior business roles. Women can be on the same level as men and perform to the same standard.”

Maria started working at RDS 18 years ago, climbing the ladder to become Senior Head of Finance, reporting to Finance Director, Victoria Goryashina. “RDS has always treated me respectfully during my employment. We are a highly diverse company both in gender equality and ethnicity.”

“Today we have a woman running our IT team today. Although I do want to see the day when we have female engineers in the business too.”

“I’ve also seen male attitudes towards women change. Men do seek and value the female perspective and opinion more than they used to. There are still generational differences in male attitudes, but we’re 80% of the way there.”

“Elevating equality on the agenda has helped. Social media, people talking about it and raising its profile. In the past I think ignorance was often the issue, today everyone talks about it. Female salaries versus male salaries is a good example. Because it’s highlighted, it’s finally being addressed.”

Eda Aksu – Senior Sales Order Administrator

Eda said: “International Women’s Day is an opportunity to think about the achievements of females in the world today, there is evidence everywhere that it’s improved so much.”

Eda has also noted: “Even from an ethnicity point of view, there is so much diversity in business, and I see equality in gender and ethnicity in the treatment of people.”

Eda also mentioned that she sees this in her native Turkey, saying it’s becoming a global agenda issue and one we need to continually move forward with.

In her 9 years at RDS, she’s seen so much change in what was once a very male-dominated environment. Women, need to continue moving upward up the ladder on their own merits.

IWD 2025

We wish everyone a Happy International Women’s Day! Looking at Agnieszka, Lesia, Starr, Sarah, Kuljit, Lisa-Anne, Claire, Maria and Eda’s journeys and insights reminds us of the progress we’ve made and the work that still lies ahead in achieving true diversity and equality in the IT industry.

Let’s continue the conversation about the importance of diversity and equality in tech!