Women in tech: International Women’s Day at Cyberfrog

Sue – Director

Today is a day to celebrate fantastic women who come in all shapes and sizes, creeds and colours. It is a day to honour our kick-ass female role models and possibly have our eyes opened to new ones. It is a day to revel in ground-breaking action that truly drives change in a colourful and uplifting way.

IWD is phenomenal when it comes to celebrating our gender’s achievements of course, but it also brings to light how far we still have to go to eradicate the oppression of girls around the world and improve the balance of women leaders in the workplace.

It is estimated that only 1% of the tech sector will be female by 2040, if there are no interventions.

That’s why at Cyberfrog Design we’re putting gender on the agenda. We’re proud to celebrate w omen in tech and in a digital workspace and positively working to accelerate gender parity in our sector. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #BeBoldForChange, which is something we work towards every day not only in our office but across the city and beyond. We like to work with social enterprises which aid women in business, support them and amplify their company’s message. It can be more difficult to be taken seriously as a woman in business and this does lead to a lot of doubting of ourselves, our ability and our proven credentials. It can lead to us falling prey to imposter syndrome – am I really good enough, do I deserve my place on the business scene? The answer is yes! We need to take our place as leaders in business and set ourselves up as role models for young girls with ambition everywhere who may already be questioning whether they have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. We need to keep shouting from the rooftops and celebrating each other’s successes until gender is no longer a barrier to working in any business sectors.  I would like my daughter to grow up in a world where she thinks any job is possible and her only struggle is to decide what it is she wants to do.

Happy International Women’s Day to all the fabulous women out there!

Find out how our female frogs are on a mission to create positive change and what it’s like for them to work within the digital industry:

Rachel – Content Manager

I love working in the digital sector and I am so proud to work in such an inclusive workplace.  As a young woman working in this industry, I have encountered some negative comments which resonated with me for a long time. Just one example is a job interview for a social media junior position in a large sports betting company I had a few years ago, I was dismissed outright because of my gender. The Director took one look at me, sighed and I was told outright that a girl wouldn’t really fit in his company, and a less-qualified male counterpart took the job.

This along with other scenarios caused persistent self-doubt and the repeated questioning of my place in this industry, which all changed when I began working at Cyberfrog Design. I knew as soon as I joined I was a part of something special, being surrounded by likeminded co-workers who are immensely talented in the digital field, working to drive greater change for women and move closer to gender parity. I meet other women in business around Liverpool and I am in awe of them, how they’ve smashed that challenging glass ceiling and built their successful careers.

I am also in complete admiration for many female social media and digital marketing influencers, including Deborah Lee, Chelsea Slater, Laura Fitton, and Lilach Bullock. Find them on Twitter here:

• @debsylee
• @_Slates
• @Pistachio
• @ lilachbullock

I believe that each of us; no matter if you’re female, male or non-binary, can be a leader in our own space and play our own little part to influence great change.

Happy International Women’s Day to all!

Tsvetelina – Lead Designer

In my experiences, I have found that my gender doesn’t matter in the design industry.

Being a female web designer hasn’t made me feel less adequate than my male counterparts, which is why I owe so much to the strong and progressive women designers who come before me and paved the way. I believe that talent speaks much louder than gender, and I’m proud to work in a company which believes that too.

At the end of the day, design is all about using your imagination, thoroughly researching and having a creative flair – something which is not limited by gender. I believe that there is a certain elegance, beauty and tone that the female touch can add to a design.
I work on various projects which always challenge me and take me outside of my comfort zone; just recently I have worked on a project to design biker patches for motorcyclists despite not knowing anything about this content prior to the design.

It’s no secret that there’s some difference in the ratio of males to females in the web design industry. Having said that, female and male designers are equally talented, equally hard-working and equally creative.
It’s fantastic to see many women boldly leaving their footprints in the digital field, while kicking down doors and shattering the glass ceiling and I am so proud to be one of them.

Happy International Women’s Day to my female web designer peers across the world who are meticulously ploughing through design layers in their efforts to make the Internet a fun space for us all!

Jamie-Lee – Office Administrator

Did you know that fewer than 25% of digital jobs are currently held by women?

Whilst it’s still a relatively new industry, what’s clear is that at present it is an industry that is mostly dominated by men. Because of these statistics, I was apprehensive before joining the Cyberfrog team. I didn’t know what to expect working in a digital agency seeing as though I’d heard little about opportunities in the sector and my experience of working in an office with both men and women was very limited. Therefore, I was not entirely sure what to expect and I was nervous.

There are stereotypes of the digital sector which resonate in our everyday life. It is tarred as being dull and boring, or for the ‘nerds’, and there is also a distinct lack of female role models in the digital space. This couldn’t be more wrong.

Every day is different in this continually changing and developing industry, no two days are the same and the industry is dominated with innovative people who are full of fantastic ideas.

Joining the team and seeing there were already strong women in the office who are comfortable in pursuing their career in this field alongside men eased my transition and made me feel settled immediately. It is fantastic to be a part of an innovative team who work so well together and collectively share ideas, with gender taking a back seat to talent and success.

I now feel completely established at Cyberfrog and owe it to my colleagues, especially the women, who makes working here so liberating.

Happy International Women’s Day!