IWD 2025: Defining the Next Chapter of Women in Technology
Despite the rapid expansion of the data centre industry, women remain severely underrepresented.
A 2023 Uptime Institute study revealed that, on average, only 8% of data centre teams are made up of women - a figure that has scarcely changed over the past five years. This is alongside concerns that the industry is confronted with a major talent shortage with its aging workforce nearing retirement, in addition to continued demand for AI, cloud and cybersecurity expertise.
This International Women’s Day, there is an urgent need for inclusive and diverse representation across the data centre industry. Having a broader range of voices and perspectives has been proven to amplify the potential of what the wider technology sector can achieve worldwide - and women remain critical to delivering that.
With this in mind, we hear exclusively with four leading female executives at MWC Barcelona 2025 about the significance of International Women’s Day.
They shared what their companies are doing to champion women and what steps they are taking to support the next generation of girls in STEM.
Coming soon: Top 100 Women in Data Centres 2025
Amy Salcido, President US, Kyndryl
“I feel a very personal responsibility given the role that I have as the president of a large IT services company, over how we get more girls wanting to engage with technology. Because that's really what it is - it’s about finding girls at a young age and letting them see this career as a possibility.
“That's been eye-opening for me because I think I had a personal assumption that, because they all walk around with a phone in their hands, that they would feel so comfortable with it that they could see themselves in careers that were related to technology. The reality is that is not true - and so there's a lot that we can do to get them interested at a younger age.
“At Kyndryl, we partner with organisations like Girl Security in the US which targets girls between 13 and 17 years old, getting them interested in technology and security as a technology solution to help them see what that looks like. I'll be candid, I've spent time with them and it is both invigorating and very sobering in the sense that they don't necessarily think that there are people in the industry who look like them or that they can see themselves in.
“Most importantly, it really is about how to get them to see it's possible. It's probable. There are people they can look to that do it and I really do believe that that means getting to them at these younger ages.
“In New York, we also have a relationship with the public school system where we bring students in for mentoring and conversations about what a career in technology or in it could look like. We are the inaugural sponsor of a programme called the Social Mobility Lab, which is about helping people who maybe didn't see technology as a path for them or really business in general as a path for them.
“We let them see the art of the possible by bringing them into our offices, letting them talk to our executives. Just having that interaction and having really open candid conversations with them does wonders - because it makes it seem attainable, which I think is how we create a future for girls to become women in tech.”
Katherine Ainley, CEO, Ericsson UK&I
“International Women's Day is always a moment of reflection and coinciding with MWC this year has been super interesting. You walk around - it's getting better I think - but there was a time where you walked around MWC and it would be really quite male. It is getting better, it feels like progress is slow, but things are getting more diverse.
“The way I look at this is I think all forms of diversity are super helpful for all companies because actually that gives you the diversity of thought of experience. Ultimately, that reflects your customers and their customers, so it’s really important and integral to our values as a customer.
“There's a number of different aspects - I can talk about this for hours, but it's about making sure we've got the right role models and that we're inspiring the next generation right from the beginning.
“In the UK, we at Ericsson do quite a lot of work with schools with girls in particular from quite a young age to talk about STEM. From there, we look at how we can nurture and develop everybody in their career and adapt the way that we do that so that it works for a diverse group of people, not just certain groups.”
Kerry Small, COO Business, BT
At BT, Kerry continues to be an advocate for women in technology, using her voice to lead large-scale development programmes. Here, she inspires teams to collaborate across cultures, whilst also harnessing her passion for using technology for good and closing the digital divide.
“BT is super supportive of women in technology. I'm a great example - I have a privilege that I get to play a role in one of our forward-looking organisations in the UK,” she shares.
“I've sat in the COO role, which is a technology-focused role in terms of the products and solutions that BT brings to the market. For me, I've got a responsibility now to make sure we bring other women through the organisation.
“So I'm super proud of the role I get to play and I'm really proud of the role that BT plays in supporting women in technology.”
Sarit Assaf, General Manager, Amdocs Technology
Sarit has been continually dedicated to narrowing the gender gap, having led several women’s forums focused on accelerating professional development and engaging in initiatives that are designed to empower the next generation of female leaders.
She says: “A few years back, I initiated a campaign at Amdocs and am personally sponsoring it with the goal of trying to shift the mindset of strong leaders - that women can be superstars in technology.
“If I relate it to Gen AI and new technologies, they are going to transform everything we do. And yet, you can see early adoption from females compared to male is inferior. That has raised the question of why. The main challenge for Amdocs is now to try and understand this, which is what we have given ourselves as a strategy this year.
“But talking about the industry more broadly, I'm proud to say that Amdocs is a unique vendor - our female leaders are not just in marketing or finance, but they are the people engaging with our technologies every single day. I am super proud of this achievement and how much progress has been made since I started in the industry 30 years ago.
“On the positive side, Amdocs was always a company where I didn’t feel like I needed to justify myself or where I felt inferior as a woman. I am a General Manager of more than 1,000 employers.
“At the end of the day, we are the evidence that it can be done. The industry should copy.”
Our sister publication Mobile Magazine has been on the ground at MWC Barcelona 2025. For more exclusive videos and interviews, please check out our website, or our other sister publications - Technology Magazine and AI Magazine.
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