An Interview with the host of She Does Tech: Inspiring women in the tech industry

The Boar had the pleasure of speaking to Megan Crawley, the host of the podcast She Does Tech, about her experience as a podcast host, the importance of the topics discussed, and what she has learnt from her guests. Crawley attended Northumbria University and studied business management, and after graduating she moved to Luxembourg for an internship with Amazon in Chain Management, before coming back to the UK to work for Amazon full-time in a “project manager marketing role.”

Podcasts are a really good way, especially in our digital age, to make discussions about tech innovation and AI accessible and engaging for more people

After making the move to RCK, a tax consultancy, where she is now the Senior Marketing Manager, the idea of the podcast began to develop as a way of not only bringing awareness to the journeys of inspiring women within the tech industry butalso serving as a method of drawing client focus to the tech sector for RCK. Podcasts are a really good way, especially in our digital age, to make discussions about tech innovation and AI accessible and engaging for more people.

When asked about why she started the podcast, Crawley said that “providing representation is the main goal”, additionallyexpressing how inspiring it can be for people who are either in or are considering starting a career in tech to hear from other women in the industry. She said, “it’s really important to have these conversations because you get people who say to me, oh, that was really interesting to hear how they got to where they are, or [that] it’s interesting that they’re having the same sorts of struggles and challenges as me and that they’ve got through them.” She Does Tech continues to feature an incredibly wide range of guests, not only in terms of their type of career, but also in their experience, with Crawley stating “you have some people who have long careers and some people who are just starting out”, which allows the podcast to communicate a truly interesting range of valuable knowledge to its listeners.

how inspiring it can be for people who are wither in or are considering starting a career in tech to hear from other women in the industry

When asked to expand on the importance of highlighting women in tech, Crawley said that “we think it is really important to highlight women within these sectors where they may be slightly underrepresented.” Gender diversity across the tech industry as a whole remains poor, with women holding only 21% of roles in the field. Additionally, 20% of men in the industry believe that women are not suited to working in tech. It is for this reason that podcasts like She Does Tech are so important, with this style of media working to inspire and encourage women to consider a career in tech. Due to the range of experience of the guests who speak on the podcast, She Does Tech has valuable knowledge for any age group, whether they are in or are looking to get in to this industry.

A podcast is the ideal medium for these kinds of conversations as they are incredibly accessible

The Boar asked Crawley what, in her opinion, was the most valuable advice given to her and the listeners by her podcast guests. She spoke about how several guests had highlighted the importance of mentorship – “having mentors across your career to help you get to the next level and to deal with challenges and hurdles.” Crawley expanded on this, relaying the wisdom of one of her guests who had stated how getting involved with different societies or groups across your city allows you to meet new people in the industry, specifically those who are outside of your direct working environment.

A podcast is the ideal medium for these kinds of conversations as they are incredibly accessible, with listeners being able to tune in from anywhere, while they are doing anything. We then asked Crawley for her best advice on starting up a podcast, as this form of media is becoming more and more important, and we wanted to relay her tips to any readers looking to begin their own venture into podcasting. “Treat [your interview] like a conversation” said Crawley, as this is vital to “getting to know the guests really well”. Expanding on this, she also highlighted the importance of allowing your guests to have a certain amount of autonomy over their episode during post-production.

While Crawley uses a podcasting studio in Shoreditch to aid with the production of She Does Tech, she also stressed that hosting a podcast is a lot more affordable than people might think, highlighting that episodes can still be “super professional” even with a stricter budget. However, she does note that the editing process can be time consuming, especially if you are doing it alone.

It’s a great way to meet interesting people and build your own network

“I would say to anybody who wants to host, get started. It’s a great way to meet interesting people and build your own network” stated Crawley. She also stressed the importance of the experience for her own personal development and learning, with the interviewees offering knowledge on many topics, from leadership lessons to learning how to balance work and parenthood.