Women in Tech: Ikiokaye Idowu discusses her transition from banking to technology

Being a part of the tech industry has provided many women with successful and rewarding careers. This is the story of Ikiokaye Idowu, a Lagos State University Biochemistry graduate who began her career in banking but is now an Operations Manager with Tek Experts, a company that provides deep technical support and professional services to blue-chip technology companies.

There is a false sense of stability and security that comes with working in the banking industry. At least, that’s what Idowu might have thought. She described her job as a Customer Service Agent in the banking industry as monotonous and unchallenging.

“The operations were dull and not challenging so I needed something else to challenge me. I wanted to focus on building my career, the banking sector wasn’t it and I wasn’t comfortable in that space”, she said.

The journey into technology

Her desire for something more challenging and advancement in her career led her to look for opportunities in various companies. Her career path was altered when she joined Tek Experts.

Idowu applied for a position as a Support Engineer at Tek Experts and resigned from the bank to start her new job. This occurred in 2018. As a Support Engineer, she handled the billing needs of Microsoft customers.

When Idowu talked about her experiences in the tech industry, there was a clear sense of accomplishment in her voice. After 8 years of uninteresting work, she has finally arrived at a fulfilling destination. “It’s both awesome and difficult.” It’s never a stable environment; there’s always something new to test your intellect and focus on. “It’s been fascinating,” she says.

She has quickly risen through the ranks in the tech industry, from Support Engineer to Operations Manager in three years. She held the positions of Team Manager and Section Manager on her way to becoming Operations Manager.

She no longer fears monotonous work because she is always learning something new in order to properly manage operations. This has also aided her personal development.

There’s always something different added to the operations. When you think you got your hands on everything you need to know, something new comes up that you need to learn. It helps to develop yourself.

Adapting to the technological industry

As much as she enjoys the variety of challenges that come with being an Operations Manager, keeping up with the pace is difficult. She is, however, excited to face those challenges. According to her, the difficulties are to her advantage because they force her to learn new things in order to keep up.

“Keeping up with the pace is difficult, but you get to learn new things.” “You have to give it your all to keep up,” she observed.

Idowu attributes her success in Tek Experts to her belief in herself and some excellent mentoring. She describes herself as not being comfortable back-benching, so she contributes her own quota.

Her company’s training and career development opportunities have also been beneficial to her development. Supportive coworkers also provide constant encouragement and motivation to do better and do more.

What I have not been able to achieve in 8 years in the banking sector, I have done tremendously well just within 3 years in Tek experts.

When it comes to work values, Idowu says she has learned a lot. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are two things that stand out. People guarded their knowledge in the banking sector where she previously worked because they were afraid that their own understanding would cost them their jobs.

Working together, knowledge matters, and the customer comes first are Tek Experts’ core values. These values have also aided her in advancing her career.

Ladies must push themselves to take on specific roles

Increasing gender diversity in the technology sector, as well as working toward an inclusive culture in firms, is a continuous process in the technology sector. Though efforts are being made to increase representation, Ikiokaye Idowu acknowledges that progress is slow.

According to Idowu, many women are hesitant to take on certain roles because they believe they will be dominated by men.

“There are still many ladies out there who are not challenging themselves to take on certain roles because they believe it is a male-dominated role,” she said.

She claims that Tek Experts is heavily dominated by men, with 74% male and 26% female.

This is not due to a lack of an open door policy at the company. It recognizes that much work remains to be done, so it has partnered with Microsoft to drive female-specific programs that upskill women without IT backgrounds across various Microsoft technologies.

This collaboration began in 2019, and since then, Tek Experts has completed two cohorts and hired approximately 40 women. “That’s still a drop in the bucket, but we’re working hard to drive programs that will ensure more women enter the space.”

Women do not need a background in technology to succeed in the industry

You don’t necessarily have to have technical knowledge or have computer based certification. There are avenues to train you at your own pace.

Clearly, the industry has a long way to go before it can be considered to provide equal opportunities for women. Right now, however, women must combat the stereotype that they are not tech-savvy or knowledgeable enough.