Leeds IT consultancy boss Cassy Calvert on finding fixes to get more women in tech jobs

"When I was about 13 my mum and dad bought me a ZX Spectrum home computer,” explains Cassy, who is now the Leeds hub director for Sogeti, the IT consultancy arm of Capgemini. “You had to put a cassette tape in and it would take about half an hour to load the game up. I was too impatient to wait for that so I got the manual out and started to play with how to code.”

Her early passion for computing led her to take an IT degree at the University of Hull but she didn’t complete the course.

“In an intake of over 100 students there was me and one other female. That was quite intimidating. Also, the course I was taking was super-focused on coding. Whilst I can do it, I found really quickly it wasn’t for me.”

Instead, Cassy realised her passion for was system testing – effectively the process of ensuring an IT system is working as efficiently as possible.

After leaving university, she initially got a job working as a clerk at a finance company.

"I got banned from using the PC and some of the terminals because I was trying to reach the limits of the computer programming because it was quite slow,” she recalls. “They were uncomfortable with me doing that.”

Calvert eventually got an official job as a system tester at Hull company Cattles Finance in 1999 and found it was a natural fit. "Systems testing is about quality and making sure the application under testing is fit for purpose and works in the way you need to it work,” she explains.

"If for example on Amazon you want to buy something and press it to put in your shopping basket, if that took 10 minutes then that would be no good.

"There’s quite a few reasons why you do testing but predominantly it is about making sure the software does what you want it to do.

"That was like home to me, it came really naturally. I could push all the buttons I wanted to push and nobody would criticise me for it. I found I was really good at it and that really did kickstart my career.”

She moved onto York-based Comreco Rail to deliver bespoke train planning systems both in the UK and abroad. That led onto a job at card protection company CPP Group, where she eventually progressed to managerial level.

In 2012, Cassy joined Leeds-based technology and engineering consultancy BJSS who are based in Leeds.

"Consultancy is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it,” she explains.

“It works really well for some people because you get the variety and the feeling of a new job with every project that you do but with the big fluffy blanket of your company and support system around you. For me, it worked really well.

“I worked with some clients that were really meaningful for me.

"I worked with the NHS on the Spine 2 project which connects GP systems with hospitals and other healthcare providers to share patient information.”

After moving into project delivery roles Calvert says she realised she missed testing.

When Sogeti approached her to oversee their new Northern operations, she said taking up the role they were offering was a “no brainer”.

The company officially opened an office in Leeds in September and intend to create 40 jobs in the region by the end of 2023.

Cassy says: “Sogeti as a brand is maybe not so well known past the M25. So the challenge of raising brand awareness and what we do and how we do it and why people should work with us has been part of the role.

"We are the test specialist. We have got lots of experiences in doing all sorts of engagements with clients from enterprise scale to a smaller scale.

"We can help clients with their digital transformation. A lot of companies can do that but what we bring is we have a few accelerators to add value along the way.”

She says the IT industry still has some way to go on gender imbalance. "It is quite often I will be the only female in the room. I really strongly believe we don’t tell people at an early enough age what the industry has to offer.”

Cassy, who has two daughters, believes current IT education in schools is overly-dominated by a focus on coding – meaning many young people are not aware of the opportunities available.

She has previously worked with the Ahead Partnership which runs #GirlTechLeeds to encourage girls to consider a career in IT.

Capgemini is also involved with the Enterprise Adviser scheme in schools which Cassy is applying to participate in. Cassy says while such schemes are important, a wider change of approach is needed to reach more young women. “It is a big challenge but it is not insurmountable.

"It is a big thing but the way to fix it isn’t. It is just knowledge sharing and giving people the opportunity to see what is going on.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​