How to be an IT Grrrl
by Carol Wapshere
What does it take to forge a long-term technical career as a woman? After publishing her memoir 'How to be an IT Grrrl, My Life in Tech' on that topic, Carol Wapshere is now keen to talk to other technical lifers and find out how they've done it. Subscribe for relatable and inspirational stories about the long-term careers of female techies. If you want to know about Carol Wapshere please read or listen to her 5* rated memoir, available in all the online locations including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia, Spotify, and many more. Get in touch at https://itgrrrl.xyz/contact
Episodes
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Penny Longman: How to take the stage in Cyber Sec
Growing up, Penny aspired to be on the stage. After many circuitous routes, she found her way into cyber security and felt right at home. In this episode, Penny talks about how the psychological aspects of cyber are just as important as the technical, and why all parents should take parental…
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Morgan Lucas: How to freelance in 2026
Remote working has had an enormous impact on technical career paths, as Morgan has found. In this episode she talks about a work life that looks very different to previous generations, and why your authentic voice is your greatest asset when job hunting in 2026. If you'd like to nominate a woman...
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Sarah Lean: How to be a Techie Lass
Sarah Lean, aka Techie Lass, is a respected Azure specialist with a firm focus on community. In this episode we talk about the technical grounding that farming childhood can give you, how you never know what might come out of making connections across the tech sector, and the strategic…
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Maria Blanco: How to build bridges
Maria grew up watching her parents design and build bridges all around Venezuela, and as a mathematically gifted child, even helped them draft blueprints. In this episode she talks about the lessons of her childhood and how they help her in her work as a Service Architect. Also check out the…
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Daniela Gaete-Muller: How to find the value in data
Daniela thought she was going to be a chemical engineer, but events kept leading her into data – organising it, analysing it and revealing its value. Here she talks about navigating her IT career as a single parent and why IT has something for everyone. Also learn more about why our historical...
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Carol Wapshere: How to be a Woman in Technology
Something a bit different this week while I line up my next round of podcast guests - I'm reading a chapter from my book "How to be an IT Grrrl". This chapter centres around a highly unpleasant experience I had at a Women in Technology Lunch in 2005, and then some unexpectedly positive encounters...
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Emma Turner: How to try it all
Cloud engineer Emma Turner's philosophy is to try things out and see for herself, and this is nowhere more apparent than in the job she accepted as a young woman, just out of university - one that took her into an unfamiliar country, work environment and role as a network engineer. In this…
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Anishma Mavuram: How to be a Developer connecting the bots
A choice Anishma made at only 15 years old set her on the technical track, but she couldn't have imagined where it would take her. Join us for her cross-cultural reflections on women in tech, and why AI is creating more opportunities for developers. Also meet our IT pioneer of the day: Sudha…
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Cristy Wilkins: How to be a part-time powerhouse
Cristy's career has been driven by her need for variety and interesting challenges. In this episode she talks about the sheer joy she finds in learning something new, and why a busy parent can be so much more productive when working part-time. Also meet our pioneering IT Grrrl of the day…
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Jane Palmer: How to be a self-guiding DBA
Jane Palmer managed to find her way into tech despite a lot of misdirection from poor careers advice. She also discusses the importance of strong female role models, and why one benefit of aging is that you get to bring your mum energy to work. Also meet our pioneering IT Grrrl of the day: Lynn...
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Heather Flanagan: How to be an Identity Standards activator
Following a series of chance opportunities took Heather Flanagan from librarianship to a key role in the development of global IAM standards. In this episode she also tells us why it’s important to know your values and motivations, and what people can say instead of “I’m not technical”. Also meet...
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Natalie Timms: How to be a stand-out security expert
Natalie Timms' cyber security career has taken her from Australia to the USA and back again. Here she tells how her adventurous spirit and instinct for following her interests have been at the heart of her career, and why it doesn’t hurt to stand out from the crowd. And meet our pioneering IT…
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Tania Duffield: How to be a learn-on-the-job Software Engineer
Tania Duffield’s early interest in programming was derailed by an intimidating educational environment, before she eventually found her way back to computing and a decades-long career as a software engineer, developer team lead and mentor. And meet our pioneering IT Grrrl of the day: Ada Lovelace…
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Tracey Nyholt: How to be an Identity Sensei
A globe-crossing story about Tracey Nyholt’s unlikely pivot into tech from humanities to computing, building Identity Management solutions that solve real-world customer problems, and why communication is key in the tech business. And meet our pioneering IT Grrrl of the day: Karen Spärck Jones -...
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Esther Barthel: How to be a specialist generalist
A wide-ranging chat with Esther Barthel about her fascination with tech which took her through the whole network stack, specialisations that make the most of her generalist background, experiments with AI, and why a shared passion for tech is the ultimate inclusivity. Also meet out pioneering IT...
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IT Grrrl Manifesto
Hello world, is this thing on? A little intro to get the ball rolling, and some of the reasons I'm doing this podcast. If you'd like to nominate a woman who has worked in hands-on tech for at least ten years, get in touch on [email protected] To find out more about Carol Wapshere you can read…
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About this show
What does it take to forge a long-term technical career as a woman? After publishing her memoir 'How to be an IT Grrrl, My Life in Tech' on that topic, Carol Wapshere is now keen to talk to other technical lifers and find out how they've done it. Subscribe for relatable and inspirational stories about the long-term careers of female techies.
If you want to know about Carol Wapshere please read or listen to her 5* rated memoir, available in all the online locations including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia, Spotify, and many more.
Get in touch at https://itgrrrl.xyz/contact
Hosted by
Carol Wapshere
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