Laura Pugsley, from our Tech Delivery Team, has been selected to join a leading Women in Tech growth programme. Cajigo, the social enterprise that runs the programme, annually selects 100 women from a pool of applicants to receive mentorship. The goal is to facilitate the development of skills, build confidence, and achieve success in an industry that is traditionally dominated by a male majority.
“I’m really proud to have been selected for this year’s programme. Along with my fellow mentees, we’ve already had a fantastic session, and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.” said Laura.
Laura joined Planixs in December 2024 after spending over a decade working in the fashion and retail world.
“I felt like my time in merchandising was plateauing, and I was looking for a new challenge.” said Laura
“I didn’t know what the next move in my career would be. My day-to-day involved a lot of time in spreadsheets, addressing data and numbers – call it the back end of fashion. This made me curious about coding.”
With a love of logic and problem-solving, Laura joined a data engineering bootcamp that gave her a boost to progress her career change.
“I came across the role at Planixs very soon after the bootcamp.” Laura explained. “My acquired skills in cloud and AWS were really relevant, and the job was mine! Planixs is a great place to be in an innovative and forward-thinking industry. It’s been a big leap moving from a well-established career, but it’s exciting and worth the risk.”
The tech sector is notoriously male-dominated. In the UK women make up only 26% of people working in tech, according to Tech Nation. In Europe, only 8% of DevOps roles are held by women, according to McKinsey & Company.
“The imbalance of women in tech starts early on.” Laura said.
“It’s determined by the subjects girls choose to study and the narratives they’re fed. To make a change to this, we’ve got to be aware of the problem, take initiative and encourage women to have the confidence to break through and follow their goals.”
“I’ve really felt welcome and included from the get-go at Planixs. I’m supported in my continual development, and taking part in Cajigo’s programme is a bonus. What’s interesting is that the ‘female’ dominated industry I came from made much less effort to celebrate and encourage women in their careers than the world I’ve moved into.” said Laura.
Mentors in Cajigo’s programme come from senior and leading positions from a variety of technology companies. The programme lasts for 16 weeks and includes 1-1 session, Q&As and workshops. Programme members include those breaking into the sector and those progressing to the next steps in their careers.
