Today, Emilie Kvist Bjergvang works as a Senior Consultant at Delegate, where she has worked for almost five years. She started as a student, became a permanent employee when her studies were over, had a detour to England for two years, and now she's back at Delegate again. But Emilie's path into IT wasn't obvious when she was younger. Quite the opposite:
“I had never worked with computer technology in any sense, but in the first year of the math engineering program, we had an introduction to programming, and I thought that was really cool! The math started to become more and more theoretical, whereas software was much more practical, and I really liked that,” says Emilie Kvist Bjergvang.
And even though it was mathematics that interested Emilie, she could just as easily have chosen to go the language route instead. She loves learning new languages and sees a clear connection between that and programming:
“Programming is a bit like learning a new language. There are also grammatical rules and syntax. And just like a new language where you have to learn how to communicate with people, with programming, you have to learn how to communicate with a computer to make it do what you want, and I find that fascinating.”
Young girls need more exposure to IT
Emilie Kvist Bjergvang's interest in IT and programming came late in life, but she is confident that she would have been clearer about her choice of studies from the start if she had been introduced to the subject earlier. She also believes that even more girls will hopefully choose to study IT if they learn about it in primary school:
“By being exposed to IT and programming at an early age, it won't seem as daunting as if you're only confronted with it after high school, when many may have chosen a language or social science major over a science major.”
Emilie Kvist Bjergvang has been involved in spreading the story of women in the IT industry as co-organizer of the event “IT Camp for Girls” at DTU, where high school girls have the opportunity to try their hand at programming during the autumn holidays:
“It takes place over three days, and you get the opportunity to learn how to program in Python, hear lectures from teachers, and meet women who work with IT daily. There's also plenty of time to have fun and socialize, and I'm sure that events like this can help make IT 'less dangerous' for many girls,” says Emilie Kvist Bjergvang.
For Emilie Kvist Bjergvang, being a woman in the IT industry is not something she thinks about on a daily basis. She feels the biggest difference is that many of her male colleagues have been interested in IT for many years, whereas for her, it is an interest that has come later in life. However, the fact that she is a woman is not a factor in her daily life.
“At Delegate, people don't care about your gender. If you're good, you're good. You have to prove yourself, but it's not about doing more just because you're a woman. You just have to do your best.”
It’s not about being a woman; it’s about being good
“Just go for it. Even if it seems a bit scary and you think, “What is this?” and everyone else seems like they know a lot. Anyone can learn to program - you just have to get started,” says Emilie Kvist Bjergvang.
What would you say to a woman considering a career in IT?
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