Marilyn Scott
Senior Business Analyst, Expleo
Training and support within the workplace are crucial in helping women gain a career foothold in the STEM sector.
While STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) remains male-dominated, Senior Business Analyst Marilyn Scott believes there are increasing opportunities for women in the field. Moreover, having a mentor who can guide and “push you in the right direction” is paramount.
Career opportunities in STEM
A passionate advocate of women in STEM, Marilyn works for global engineering, technology and consulting service provider Expleo. She joined in 2021 after working at a contact centre and gaining an International Business degree from Leeds Beckett University as she sought to expand her career horizons.
Her journey also saw her live in Greece, study at the Open University with a focus on her love of Renaissance art and complete a Master’s at the University of Leeds in applied and professional ethics before extending her skills around technology, data migration and reporting with the consulting service provider.
Training and keeping up with current
technology are really important.
Creative mindset within STEM
Finding an organisation that offers relevant training and career development is also important, says Marilyn. “STEM and IT (information technology) are about having a creative and open mindset where you can develop solutions and make a change,” she explains. “But training and keeping up with current technology are really important.”
While guided by her own mentor at university, a pivotal part of her career development has been the training she received with Expleo via courses covering areas such as change management — particularly business agility — business analysis and project management. That also led to her completing the International Diploma of Business Analysis. “One of the appeals of joining the company was the opportunity to learn on the job, where I have had the opportunity to get multiple projects under my belt,” she adds.
Championing women in IT
She says Expleo “actively champions women in IT” with mentorship, education and promoting career opportunities, and women can aim for senior roles such as CIO (chief information officer), IT director or solutions architect.
“These roles are achievable and reachable, and we need to make these things possible,” she says, adding that the company is open to learning about women’s perspectives and challenges within the industry. “I feel there are opportunities for women in IT, particularly when you are willing to learn new subjects and be open-minded, adaptable and willing to seize the chances that come your way,” concludes Marilyn.
