Ginni Rometty - Part 1: The Woman in IT

We underestimate the power of having a role model in our lives. I didn’t grow up dreaming of being in IT. The only reference I had to IT in the 90s was watching on-screen nerds, and my brother, hidden away down in the “basement”, glued to the computer screen.

I fell into IT. Like most people do in a growing industry.

I naturally filled the gaps that teams needed to fill. I could see the problem, and I would find a way to help solve it, whether that be by process, people, or design.

This meant I was quickly promoted into leadership positions. And in a male-dominated industry, you're looking up to male counterparts to see how things are done. And that’s not a bad thing at all. There are lots of things you can learn from anyone around you. But the way that a woman must navigate that arena is very, very, different. I never had someone to guide me through those unique challenges - no one to look up to or learn from. I just had to figure it out myself.

When I recently read ‘Good Power’ by Ginni Rometty, I felt a profound sense of recognition and validation, hearing so many similar stories as Ginni navigated her early life and grew her career.

Now, let’s be clear: my role is nowhere near Ginni’s, as past CEO of IBM; I mean, that’s a pretty high bar. But as I read through her challenges and journey, it felt like discovering a missing piece of my professional identity, experiences I would have minimised or questioned along the way.

I hadn’t heard of Ginni before this book. As my friends put it, I live under a rock at times. I’m glad I’ve read it, and I often wonder if I had read this earlier in my career, would it've made a difference? The answer is likely yes.

Here are a few of the things I related to while reading this book, particularly in the context of being a woman in a man's world, having been brought up with strong female influences.

Resilience

Resilience can be learned from tough beginnings, as well as from those around you. I feel it’s down to nurture, but nature also has a large factor in it as well.

Ginni came from a strong lineage of independent women who had a hard time throughout their lives. They demonstrated self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and independence by being forced into the role of breadwinners at a time when that was not the societal norm.

After their father left, Ginni and her siblings focused on not making waves for their mother; they concentrated on doing their homework and not making a fuss. Heads down, bum up. From their early experiences, all the kids turned out to achieve success in their careers, rising to significant leadership positions.

I come from a lineage of strong women. Pretty damn tough. And tough in a way that it's very challenging to be a teenager, while your mother is going through menopause. My mum was also someone who had kids, split from their father, and had to figure out how to make it work. She held different jobs and careers, always getting what was needed to survive.

We didn’t have a lot growing up. We would receive some cool stuff from Dad, like musical instruments, computers, clothes, and sometimes the toys we had begged for. We only saw him in the holidays, so in the day-to-day, it was a no-frills kind of life.

I always remember shopping day. Mum would walk in the door with the bags, and the sound of the door closing and the rustling of the plastic would stir my brother and me from our rooms. He would come from downstairs, and I from upstairs. We’d circle the kitchen, like a hawk circling their prey. Mum would say, “Only one a day, you two”. This was in relation to the only treat she got as part of the shop, a bag of small bite-sized muesli bars. They were the ones coated with yoghurt or chocolate, usually a lucky dip mix.

Do you think we did as Mum asked and only had one a day? Yeah, exactly. And how do you think a growing older brother would go with that type of restriction? He would sneakily start to devour most of them as quickly as possible, so I would need to do the same to at least get some of the prize. Which meant they didn’t last long. So, if I wanted a special something, something, I would have to get creative. Use the flour, sugar, eggs, and milk, and bake something from the Edmond Cookbook that every household owned.

Everything was like this. For special occasions needing a gift, I would handcraft it. Hand-made cards courtesy of the “Demelza K Green Company”. I also got a job at 10 years old, so I could start buying gifts as well, doing about three paper runs to earn some extra cash. There was no such thing as pocket money or getting money for chores from Mum, so I had to go out there and earn it myself.

The people and events of our youth influence how we work and lead.

Being the Black Sheep

We all stereotype everyone in some way, whether we want to admit it or not. Placing upon people our expectations of how they should act and what they should say. Society, genetics, gender, we all get cut with a different stereotype cloth. We don’t ask for it, we don’t want it, but the reality is it exists.

Stereotyping in the type of work suited for different people still exists. There has been significant progress towards representation in key groups, media, and similar areas. Much of this has stemmed from diversity targets and metrics, which I understand can help drive change. This, however, inadvertently creates a side effect: people questioning whether you’re just a diversity hire, rather than being the best person for the job.

I’ve heard that “joke” a few times in my career.

Young Ginni. Original source: https://ginnirometty.com/

Ginni started as an entry-level systems engineer at IBM in 1981 and, in 2012, became IBM's 9th CEO, the first woman in IBM's 100-year history.

Let’s pause here for a second.

Could you imagine being in a technical role that was usually filled by men in the 1980s? Ten years ago, I recall being the only woman in an IT office, which became a running joke, especially when it came to the toilet situation: 30 men, one cubicle. 1 woman, three cubicles. It got a special label of ‘Demelza’s Palace’ for a while, until the next woman joined IT.

But back in the 80s? Wowsers, that would have been different.

Ginni went through the same thought processes as I did. I never wanted to be promoted or acknowledged for the reason of gender; I wanted it to be because I was good at what I did, my skills, and not my genetic makeup.

Understanding Your Influence, Whether You Want it or Not

Later in Ginni’s career, after completing a talk on stage in Melbourne, a man came up to her and said, “I wish my daughter could have been here to hear you talk”. Ginni didn’t go through her days thinking she was a role model for women, because she had just wanted to be seen for her work, her capability, not her gender.

Whether she wanted it or not, she was a role model for other women. She was in service of other women who wanted to build their careers, especially in those fields that were dominated by men. It gave others the confidence to believe they could do it too, because someone else had done it. And you forget the influence this has on young people.

Listening to a podcast with Leigh Williams the other day, she shared her experience of showing her daughter around the office a few years back. Every leader was a man. And her daughter turned around and asked, “Can only men be leaders, Mum?”. It really puts it in perspective when you hear that from a child.

Reading this book made me think. Am I seen as a role model to others in my company? To others in the industry? Do I have a service to others that I am not recognising or living up to? Or is there enough of us now in the industry that this isn’t needed as much?

A Woman Meercat is a Double-Edged Sword

In Ginni’s experiences as CEO, she references that when the company was being perceived negatively in the media, it was she who was being called out for it. In contrast to a company led by a man, it would be the company itself that would be called out.

The flip side to this is that a woman is also amplified if the company does something good. This can also be negative, as people in the company may think you are taking credit for the work of others. It’s a double-edged sword, and neither overly ideal. I liken it to a meercat sticking its head out and becoming a clear target for attack.

I’ve experienced this firsthand throughout my leadership positions. It has to be the woman's fault; they're manipulating everyone. They're genetically disposed to doing it. People get hooked onto this notion, even though the changes that have happened around me are not due to my actions.

On the other hand, when the company is doing well, it must be because of Demelza! However, as I mentioned earlier, it's then questioned for being rewarded for others' work. The reality is that you can’t do anything alone in this world, and that's true for everyone. Doesn't mean you didn't have a large hand in it.

Wrap Up

I connected with Ginni through this book, from her work ethic to her life journey. It does feel like there aren’t enough role models out there, and not enough self-recognition of their power to help.

I’ve always felt it hard to step out of the herd. People come for you somehow. I’ve seen it so many times, and it's happened to me too. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

For women, it’s generally more challenging to talk confidently about yourself. Men can know 1/5 things on a job advert and think they are overqualified, and women can do 4/5 and think they aren’t enough to apply.

I know that for me, the confidence to step out and just be myself is one of the most challenging things I've faced, and it's a journey I'm currently on.

I would highly recommend reading Ginni's book, if I haven't made that point super clear in this article, especially for the women in tech out there.