Celebrating the International Women’s Day 2024, we portray four women from NTT DATA Business Solutions Nordics – from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. We asked them to share their experience of being women in the IT world, about what motivates them and what challenges them. And what led them to where they are now.
In this portrait, we meet Emmi Schrey, consultant in Human Experience Management in NTT DATA Business Solutions in Finland.
..is all about your own managing your own time and managing your calendar. It is very important to find your own way of working. And if there is a change, then you need to adapt. You need to be aware of everything that is happening around you, because timelines can change. This is also what makes the work exciting. No working day is ever the same. You get to challenge yourself every day with different tasks. You never get bored and you meet lots of different people from all around the world.
..to learn that your table is never empty. I wanted to prove that I’m very capable of this work and learning new skills. At first it was very hard to let go and say: I’m going to continue this for the next day, because the pile of tasks is never empty. There’s always some tasks that will be left for the next day. I feel like that was a challenge to learn the balance.
..It’s a great occasion to get away from your desk. To close the computer. You need to focus every second for every specific exercise. And focus on your breathing. You don’t have any time to think about work. It’s a time to relax and clear your mind at the same time. Because the work can be stressful. And I’m good at stressing. So Pilates is very crucial for me.
…which is quite rare. We are working with HR, which is very women dominated – at least in Finland there are more women in the HR industry.
..I have them all around me and I am thrilled to have multiple mentors to learn from. I think we have a very warm atmosphere in our team and in the whole Nordics. It has been amazing that you can always ask, if you need any help. I have always felt very safe and able to ask different questions.
I think you generally have a lot more to prove. I’m all about challenges. It can be regarding technical issues, where people think you are not as smart. And I have experienced a lot of misbeliefs earlier. I have constantly needed to prove myself and that I’m capable. But I have confidence and I can put on a shell on a professional level, and I am able to not take a situation personal. It has been a long learning path, but I feel like I’m getting somewhere. In Finland and in Northern countries we in a quite good situation comparing to many other countries outside Europe or in Europe, so we need to be happy where we are, but of course it’s not perfect.
..not to be too scared to try something new and something out of your comfort zone. You can never grow if you are always playing safe, always doing something that you are very familiar with. And I would also advise to not being scared to give up on something that does not work out. Sometimes you just needs to accept that it wasn’t my thing. And then most likely you will be achieving something even better. If something is not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. And especially as a young female, I feel like there is a huge pressure to fit into a certain mode. So, I believe in that it’s more than okay to break these stereotypes as a young woman.
.. I have had an amazing opportunity to try something that I never thought I was going to like. And then you do. And even better being in a situation where whole IT industry has carried me away. I have a bunch of super inspirational people around me. They push me to success every day and always have my back in case it’s needed. I am very lucky to have a bunch of colleagues who constantly challenge me, but also listen and support me when I´m in doubt.
.. and within the work. We have a lot of projects in different countries. I don’t have a Finnish project right now, but in Norway. And its definitely a plus because I like to travel. And I think it’s amazing when you, for example, have a workshop in a country, there is always some colleague or friend there, that you can meet up with and they can show you around in the city and you can share your experience together.
