Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Sally selected for national IT awards London final
Sally, Head of End User Services, Client Services, has been selected as a finalist in the Women in IT Awards 2018, organised by Information Age in partnership with Amazon Web Services in the category of Business Role Model of the Year.
Sally, whose responsibilities include the university’s IT Services Desk, Desktop Support and IT training, joined Leeds Beckett two years ago. She has worked in the IT sector since graduating from our university in 2006 with a degree in computing.
On her course, she said, only a dozen of the 200 students were female.
“It was challenging and there were times when I felt like a fish out of water,” explained Sally.
“It’s such a fantastic sector to work in and it’s a shame there aren’t more women choosing it. “People may think it’s just about IT, but it’s not – a lot of the role is about relationships and supporting and developing colleagues.”
Sally’s IT career has not followed a conventional route. At 17, she became pregnant and dropped out of school. She then had a succession of low-paid jobs, mainly in the retail sector.
“For me, going back to education was transformational,” she said. “I thought people like me don’t go to university.
“Now I look after more than 45 staff, I love my job and I love working in higher education because I have experienced myself how transformational education can be.”
Sally added: “Working in a university is great in terms of equality of pay and opportunities and I’m passionate about encouraging more women to consider a career in the IT sector.”
Sally is a member of the UCISA Executive Team (Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association), Chair of the UCISA Support Services Group and regularly delivers sessions at internal and external events on topics including service desk certification, customer experience and staff development.
Last March, Sally was presented with the Inspirational Leader of the Year award at the IT Service and Support Awards, organised by the SDI (Service Desk Institute).
The Women in IT Awards 2018 will be held in London’s Grosvenor Hotel on 31 January.