Narrowing the gender gap benefits both talented female IT professionals and credit unions.
Representation matters, we’re told. The more female senators are elected, the more young women can imagine themselves as a member of Congress. Wonder Woman matters because little girls can picture themselves as the hero instead of the person being rescued.
And so it is in IT. For young women trying to climb the career ladder in the notoriously male-centric tech industry, a role model or mentor is invaluable. Just ask Stephanie Hyles, SVP/chief strategy officer at $661 million Leominster Credit Union, Leominster, Mass.
“My mom is the person who got me started in computers,” she recalls. “She worked in Albany for the state of New York, and she used to program stuff on punch cards. Back when I was a kid in the late ’60s, early ’70s, I’d go to work with her once in a while and think, ‘That’s really cool.’ So, I’ve always wanted to do it.”
Hyles’s experience was an unusual one.