IT Manager acts as role model for daughters and girls everywhere
“I wasn’t used to seeing women in traditionally male dominant manager roles until I started working at Northwestel. I realized it’s not a man’s world here and that women have opportunities to grow into management positions just as much as men do.”
When Tracy-Ann was encouraged by her female manager to apply for her current position in management, she was honest from day one about her family situation and the extra flexibility she might need from time to time.
“I mentioned it in the interview, and the support was there from the very beginning. Being divorced and having my three daughters with me most of the time, I knew I’d need support if I was going to balance home and work life.”
Balancing family and work isn’t the only unique issue many women face when it comes to building a career, there’s also the challenge of not having enough female role models to look up to, especially in industries like technology and telecommunications. But times are changing, Tracy-Ann claims.
“The business world is definitely different today. I wasn’t used to seeing women in traditionally male dominant manager roles until I started working at Northwestel. I realized it’s not a man’s world here and that women have opportunities to grow into management positions just as much as men do. Thanks to my manager at Northwestel, who is a strong female leader, I was encouraged to consider going for a management role. Seeing her in that role is why I’m here today.”
Holding a sign she made for a recent Customer Service Week video
thanking her frontline Business Customer Care team members.
Going into IT wasn’t Tracy-Ann’s original plan – being a lawyer was her father’s dream for her – but when in University she noticed the IT realm was taking off. “I knew technology was the future and I wanted to be on that train.”
From project management to research and database development, all of Tracy-Ann’s work experience has been in IT, but she’s happy where she’s landed today managing Northwestel’s Business Customer Care team. “I realized being in IT it’s often you and your laptop, and I was missing having daily interactions with a group of people. I love working in telecommunications because of the people, and because it’s always changing.”
Tracy-Ann and two of her daughters getting ready for a snowball fight in their backyard.
#ChoosetoChallenge this International Women’s Day
From celebrating northern women in telecommunications and technology to recognizing the achievements and contributions of our female identified employees, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a time for Northwestel to take a step back and say “Thank you”.
We encourage our northern communities and leaders to challenge inequality and confront bias. On March 8, and every other day of the year, we #choosetochallenge because from challenge comes change. Want to share your own IWD moment? Learn more about this year’s “choose to challenge” theme, then share a photo on social media using the hashtag #choosetochallenge.
Continue your IWD 2021 celebrations by reading our other employee highlight stories:
