Wired for Connection 8: Diversity, Leadership & Being a Strong Woman in Tech

Lenka Koppova

Wired for Connection 8: Diversity, Leadership & Being a Strong Woman in Tech image

Olivia Donnell is the Director of Channel Sales for EMEA at 1Password. She’s built an incredible career driving growth, inclusion and collaboration in the channel space. And she’s done it all while staying true to herself.

An Interview With Olivia Donnell

Why Women Succeed in Tech Companies

Women in tech and other traditionally male-dominated industries can be overlooked, but they often have strengths they’ve developed in previous roles. “For instance, if you have a history or literature background, you can speed read and pick out key points. That can be handy when reviewing contracts and policies.

“I also prefer to frame it not as ‘women in tech’, but ‘women in sales’ or ‘women in marketing’. These are roles that exist within the industry that women are excelling in. Sometimes you hear the word ‘tech’ and assume it involves coding or product development. When really, we’re women in business.

“And without wanting to generalise, in the home environment it’s the women’s role to look after the kids and do the housework. That requires organisational skills, negotiating skills. We’re used to prioritising and reprioritising. And we’re used to juggling tasks, which men often aren’t. So women in the industry may be quieter, but they’re successful.”

Why we Need to Keep Talking About Diversity

In the 25 years she’s been in the industry, Olivia has seen a lot of positive change. She describes experiencing sexism and more in the workplace, which is thankfully rare these days. But she offers a note of caution:

“We’re not in a perfect world yet. In some places, people struggle to accept each other’s differences, and tribalism and toxic masculinity is starting to creep back in. So it’s important to have a dialogue about diversity and respect, and that needs to come from senior leadership. We need to work hard to understand others.

“But we’ve seen big improvements with people being comfortable talking about their health, including mental health, and sharing their vulnerabilities. And it’s often women who are able to make emotional connections. They can tell when someone isn’t their usual self, and they can encourage them to share their problems.”

How Olivia Dealt with Difficult Situations at Work

Olivia admits that earlier on in her career, she struggled to manage difficult situations. “There was very much a sense of ‘you’re lucky to have a job and you shouldn’t complain.’ The younger generation don’t tend to have that attitude.

“But I had great mentors along the way; phenomenally strong women who showed me that you can be a strong presence in the room without having to try to be a guy. I was quite blunt when I first joined the industry, but I’ve softened my communication style over the years.

“But I make a conscious effort to guide others and help them avoid some of the experiences I had. You don’t have to wait for permission – it already exists. I felt that I had to work for years before I got permission to step up, so I don’t want anyone else to make that mistake.”

What Olivia Loves About the IT Industry

Olivia highlights the community as one of her favourite parts about the industry. “I lve the willingness to share and talk, which is unusual. I met some women last week and while we were chatting I realised how much we have to learn from each other. Our challenges are the same.

“So when you drop your guard, you start to learn. You don’t have to give everything away, but you can talk collectively about the industry. And we know things don’t stand still, so it’s good to talk about what’s going on. And I think we need to stop saying ‘the MSP community’. It’s a business community.

“But more than that, it’s a social community. And I think the social aspect is really important because we’re often working remotely these days. We need to have more conversations and bring more people in. We’re behind screens too much, and we need to get together and just have casual, open chats where we can share and learn.”

Why Young People Prefer to Work from Home

One trend that Vera and Olivia have both noticed is younger employees preferring to work from home. It’s probably a combination of being able to better protect their personal time and because they’re more comfortable without human interaction, says Olivia. But that’s not necessarily a good thing.

“I think they’ve become a bit desensitised. Life isn’t always a bed of roses and we all have to deal with conflict at work and in our personal lives. We know that people are struggling with their mental health, and maybe working from home isn’t actually helping. We need to get out and meet people.

“I do understand that it can be daunting attending industry events, so I try to keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they’re struggling. But remote working isn’t the be all and end all because it’s not a true reflection of reality. We need to get to know our colleagues face to face.”

One Piece of Advice Olivia Wants to Share

“I’ve traversed my career with honesty and integrity and a bit of boldness thrown in. So if I was going to give just one piece of advice, it’s be honest and do things with integrity. “Remember that you’re dealing with humans at the end of the day.

“If you act with integrity, it will pay you back at the end of the day. Look for the long term, don’t go for a short term win. Don’t do something that will compromise your own moral stance because you feel it’s the right thing to do at that point in time for a company.

“Always be straight and stay true to yourself. An old boss once said to me, ‘be ready for the day a company says, we don’t know how we’re going to get along without you, but we’re going to give it a try’. Because unless you run your own business, that day could come. Don’t compromise who you are for anybody.”