#Weeknotes 162 (13 Mar) — International Women’s Day Panels and hopeful futures

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Work

This was an unusual week. I was a panellist twice this week for International Women’s Day. I was a speaker and panellist at Warwick University’s School of Engineering, and 1 of 6 panelists at Softwire on women in leadership.

I had doubts about the Warwick event. I’m not an engineer. Would I be dismissed? Would there be a place for me as a designer? But I believed the cohort could benefit from someone who’s worked alongside engineers in the digital space for over a decade.

I spoke about the gap between what technology can do and what it should do, and how user-centred design (UCD) fills that gap. As technology becomes more powerful and pervasive, the cost of getting the human layer wrong keeps rising. AI systems that perpetuate bias. Products that exclude the very users they claim to serve. Enterprise tools nobody uses because nobody thought to ask the people who’d have to use them. These aren’t engineering failures but failures of inquiry. UCD is the discipline of asking better questions.

Women are well-placed to lead this future. When we’ve had to work harder to be taken seriously, we learn to make our case more precisely. When our perspective is regularly underrepresented, we become sharper at noticing when a system isn’t built for someone like us. When we’ve had to advocate for ourselves in rooms that weren’t designed with us in mind, we develop instincts about exclusion and inclusion that many peers simply haven’t had to build. Those instincts are exactly what UCD demands, and what set great engineers apart.

The audience reaction was very positive. Students were engaged throughout, and several came up afterwards to thank me and ask thoughtful questions. Some were curious about my work as a designer, seeing similarities with their engineering approach, where design is also a crucial component. The talk landed because it was timely advice for those about to start their careers. They can be ahead of the curve by developing critical skills that will become increasingly valuable.

The Softwire panel was different yet similar in many ways. Five of us with very different paths to leadership: two tech principals, a delivery director, an operations manager, a client success director, and me.

What struck me most was the honesty that surfaced through sharing our bumpy journeys to leadership, despite many of us not knowing each other well. We each shared our initial hesitance and impostor syndrome, questioning our capability as leaders, whether we fit the traditional mould. How we all found our own ways to lead, whether by finding allies and support networks, or simply enacting self-kindness and collecting evidence along the way as reminders that we have lots to offer. Showing up in authentic ways that can inspire others to do the same.

An hour only scratched the surface. But there’s something about hearing colleagues you work with name the shared struggles that causes a shift. It’s harder to dismiss your own experience as an anomaly when you hear it reflected back so clearly.

Life

I had a great conversation with my friend’s 15-year-old daughter over the weekend. When AI came up, I asked about her thoughts on the technology and whether she uses it regularly.

She doesn’t use it often. She enjoys the perceived “slower” learning process and deepening her craft. She loves to draw and enjoys the physical manual creation process that allows wandering and focus. What intrigued me was her worry about AI, the biggest being that it’s taking away human connection. This deeply resonates with me. It’s something I fear as well.

We talked about AI’s impact and the dangers of shortcutting thinking by default. That by using AI, we’ll become more reliant on it and in turn, more helpless without it. Like many teens her age, she’s worried about how such technology will affect jobs. Very valid concerns.

As an introvert, she’s shy around strangers, but she told me she’s making an effort to talk more to people because she’s genuinely interested in them and wants to build human connections.

We talked for over an hour. I felt like I was speaking to a kindred spirit. At 15, I wasn’t thinking this deeply about the future or my relationship with technology. Chatting with her made me hopeful. That this generation sees what’s at stake. They’re choosing connection deliberately. I don’t have answers for her about jobs or the future, and I don’t know how to reassure her. But I do think if she remains reflective, thoughtful, and curious, she’ll be alright.

Things

I’m subscribed to Positive News because I refuse traditional news fueled by fear and anger. I need reminders that incredible things are happening, like this dual-purpose paint invented to also aid drought-hit regions.

Positive impact initiatives and inventions deserve more visibility than they get. The world will look very different in decades, and not for the better, given the ongoing strain on our ecosystem. We need more people who care, acting now.

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I also loved this local donut shop ad that I came across this week. It’s so shabbily made compared to the polished ads we’re bombarded with that it touched something in me. An average-looking couple talking about donuts in a funny, cringeworthy, cheesy way that feels so relatably human. It’s heartfelt and memorable. I wouldn’t mind more ads like this that feel real and bring a smile to my face.

Both of these, the positive news and the raw ad, cut through the noise differently. Authenticity over polish. Hope over fear. I want more of both.