Women in Digital: Silka Patel

Did you enjoy school?

Yes. Good variety of subjects and inspiring teachers, but sadly a clear lack of role models in sciences and tech related subjects so made to feel that those areas were just for the boys.

What qualifications do you have?

A BA Hons in Business Management and Tourism.

Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?

It’s interesting because I stumbled into the IT industry; I didn’t intentionally choose that professional route, but I’m glad I did. My background is in travel and tourism, and my course of study at university was marketing for the travel industry. However, I graduated the month after the tragic events of 911, which closed the travel industry off from me because no one was hiring or recruiting in this sector. As a result, technology discovered me due to my transferrable skills. I recall the recruitment agency telling me that if you can sell travel and you can sell a dream, you’ll be able to do just fine in technology.

What is the best career advice you can give to others?

Networks are the key factor! You must invest time in expanding your contacts and surrounding yourself with supportive, active coaches, mentors, and sponsors. Without the strength of my network, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

If you had to pick one mentor, that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?

There have been so many that have believed in me over the years so it’s difficult to name just one! If really pushed, an operational director when I was working in Cisco, Nikki Walker, who just saw a passion and drive that I was not sure how to channel. She gave me just the right amount of coaching and opened up my network to the art of possible and let me grow. She probably to date doesn’t even know the impact she had on me!

From where do you draw inspiration?

My Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) Board – such incredibly talented women who are changing the face of technology every day and my colleagues across the Leidos employee resource groups who volunteer to enhance the inclusive workplace culture we all want to be a part of, regardless of our intersectionality’s. 

What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?

Learning that there is no such thing as ‘work-life balance’ – it’s taken a decade plus to realise that it’s a pendulum that can swing from one end to another and you have to be ok with that. Understand what your non-negotiables are and stay true to that. We all have our unique values and it’s important to work for organisations that respect yours. If not, you are doing an injustice to yourself and those around you.

What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?

Authenticity by far….I think it’s key to being a good leader.

From a work viewpoint what has the last 12 months been like?

Exciting, challenging, progressing and more important learning from those around me – that’s probably been the only constant. That’s why I love the tech sector, I’ve never had the same day twice in over 24 years!

What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?

A lot of choice and a lack of guidance. Take social media for example, do our next generation truly understand digital footprint when it comes to recruitment and future role opportunities?

Digital safety and governance not being able to keep up with the pace of technology advancements and development. Sadly not all tech is used for good. We need to get better at this.

What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?

I believe that active role modelling is necessary to get to the point where women see other women in the positions, performing the roles that they believe they could go on to do. Because it is so crucial from an early age, it is the “you can’t be what you can’t see” mindset. However, we also need to consider transferable skills. Just like I did, it is possible to retrain and upskill into the tech sector and there are organisations like Leidos, where I work, or SWiT, which I founded 15 years ago, developing programmes to help women advance in technology fields because there are so many different career paths available – don’t be put off and brand yourself ‘non-technical’ if you’ve not tried.

Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know.

I love hiking, which most people know now, but won’t know that I chanced my luck and tried Mount Kilimanjaro as my first ‘hike’ when I was 22 years old. That was a real struggle, but quitting is not my thing, so even though it took me longer than those that had trained for it in my group, I got my butt up there and back. And learnt my lesson that every hike needs the right amount of prep!