{"id":1488,"date":"2026-03-12T15:50:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/?p=1488"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:50:40","slug":"learnings-from-the-itsmf-uk-women-in-itsm-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/2026\/03\/learnings-from-the-itsmf-uk-women-in-itsm-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Learnings from the\u00a0itSMF\u00a0UK Women in ITSM Event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week I attended the Women in ITSM event hosted by itSMF UK in Overton. It was a powerful reminder of how fortunate I am to work alongside so many talented and inspiring women\u2014both across our industry and within my own organisation. Throughout the day, I had the opportunity to hear a range of perspectives, as colleagues and peers shared both their successes and the challenges they have navigated in their careers. It was an insightful and energising experience, and these are some of the key reflections I took away from the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Lots of women have struggles that are invisible in the workplace and\u00a0it’s\u00a0on us to make things better for those coming up behind us.<\/strong>\u00a0Sarah Morgan of\u00a0Luceat\u00a0Coaching ran a session about neurodiversity in the workplace. She explained how neurodivergent girls and women often experience a significant gap between how they feel internally and how others perceive them. From\u00a0a young age, many receive far more negative feedback than their neurotypical\u00a0peers\u2014sometimes tens of thousands more by the age of\u00a012\u2014which can wire them to avoid criticism at all costs. This can lead to masking, people-pleasing, overworking, and perfectionism as coping mechanisms. The key is awareness: once we have the language to understand these experiences, we can use it to support the women coming up behind us and help create workplaces where they can thrive.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    1. Your personal brand is your professional\u00a0reputation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Sue Carey from My Brighter Life ran a session on personal branding. She spoke about how a clear and consistent reputation helps ensure your work,\u00a0expertise, and impact are\u00a0recognised. Creating a strong personal brand starts with defining your brand statement: \u201cI am known for\u2026 who helps\u2026 achieve\u2026\u201d.\u00a0This simple structure clarifies the value you bring and the impact you create for others. From there, take practical steps to reinforce that brand\u2014audit your current reputation, align your digital presence with how you want to be perceived, and narrate your impact by clearly communicating the outcomes of your work. Look for opportunities to increase your visibility, whether\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0volunteering for a high-profile initiative or speaking up before you feel completely ready.\u00a0Ultimately, everyinteraction reinforces or reshapes how you are known, so your brand is built consistently through the actions you take each day\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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      1. Women are still under-represented in tech roles<\/strong>. Chelcie West, of\u00a0Chelsea Football\u00a0Club spoke about how we can use our energy to inspire the next generation of women in her session. She spoke passionately about the research\u00a0highlighting a\u00a0persistent gap in the technology pipeline for women.\u00a0According to PwC, girls are less likely than boys to study STEM subjects at school and\u00a0university and\u00a0are also less likely to consider careers in technology.\u00a0Data from BCS shows that 94% of girls drop computing by the age of 14, with the lack of visible female role models cited as a major barrier. If current trends continue, BCS estimated in 2023 that it could take 283 years before women hold an equal share of roles in the IT workforce\u2014underscoring the importance of representation, encouragement, and support for the next generation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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        1. Different leadership styles can\u00a0complement\u00a0each other;\u00a0<\/strong>Amie Smith\u00a0of Formula\u00a01 talked about how finding strength in what we may once have seen as weaknesses is a powerful step in leadership.\u00a0Ultimately, youdon\u2019t\u00a0need to prove yourself to anyone\u00a0else\u2014the only person you need to prove yourself to is yourself. Along the way, support can often come from unexpected places; an ally stands beside you, while a champion actively\u00a0advocates\u00a0for\u00a0your progress. As leadership continues to evolve, there is growing recognition of different leadership styles: traditionally masculine-coded approaches often\u00a0emphasise\u00a0speed, control, and short-term results, while more female-coded leadership tends to\u00a0prioritise\u00a0trust, inclusion, collaboration, and long-term performance. By fostering women\u2019s networks, championing diversity in recruitment, and leading by example, we can help shape a more inclusive and balanced future for leadership.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          1. Change is inevitable.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0how we deal with it that counts.<\/strong>\u00a0Val Wilson from BT spoke about how to deal with the sense of pressure that change creates. She likened change to a storm and when storms feel insurmountable then anchors are essential. Three anchors can help keep us grounded during periods of transformation:\u00a0our values<\/strong>\u2014what we stand for;\u00a0our people<\/strong>\u2014those we stand with, from the people we care about most to our allies, champions, and new colleagues we work alongside; and\u00a0our purpose<\/strong>\u2014why we stand at all. Embracing change is often necessary for growth, both for\u00a0organisations\u00a0and for the opportunities they create. And while storms can feel overwhelming, they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0last forever; when the winds pick up and things feel uncertain,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0the moment to put your anchors down\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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            1. \u00a0Confidence does not mean having complete\u00a0certainty .<\/strong>The\u00a0final session was headed up by\u00a0Vicky\u00a0Hunter from\u00a0PeopleCert. Vicky talked about how confidence does not mean having complete certainty; it comes from understanding how you think and the principles that guide your decisions. The ITIL Guiding Principles offer a powerful lens for navigating complexity. When we focus on value, the pressure to impress fades and decisions\u00a0become\u00a0clearer. Starting where you are\u00a0reminds\u00a0us that progress\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0require perfection\u2014only the experience, judgement, and perspective we already bring. By progressing iteratively with feedback, we give ourselves permission to move forward, pause, reflect, and adjust. Collaborating and promoting visibility ensures the right voices and insights shape better outcomes, while thinking and working holistically helps us understand how decisions connect and ripple across systems. Keeping things simple and practical builds clarity and control, and finally,\u00a0optimising\u00a0and automating encourages us to direct our energy where it matters most. Together, these principles provide a steady foundation for confident decision-making, even when the path ahead is not entirely certain.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              So those were my learnings from the event.  What do you think? Please let me know in the comments, drop me an email at vawns.murphy@i3works.co.uk<\/a> , look me up on LinkedIn<\/a> or find me on X; I\u2019m @vawns.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Last week I attended the Women in ITSM event hosted by itSMF UK in Overton. It was a powerful reminder of how fortunate I am to work alongside so many talented and inspiring women\u2014both across our industry and within my own organisation. Throughout the day, I had the opportunity to hear a range of perspectives, as colleagues and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1490,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488\/revisions\/1490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}