Allyship in Action ft. Natalia Moscrop
As part of our ‘Allyship In Action’ series, we caught up with Natalia Moscrop, Software Engineering Manager at Moonpig.
The purpose of our 'MotherBoard’ content series is to highlight incredible working mums within tech & data, as well as individuals and businesses that are supportive and progressive within their approach to creating more inclusive tech & data teams for women.
Amber: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your current role?
Natalia: I am the Software Engineering Manager for the Attach team at Moonpig.
I got into technology through learning and enjoying ICT at school, I pursued Computer Science at university and after graduating joined the BBC as a graduate software engineer where I rotated between 4 engineering teams over 4 years. After being promoted up to Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer then on to Engineering Team Lead at the BBC, I joined Moonpig as a Software Engineering Manager.
The attach team owns the part of the platform which recommends gifts that suit the card or gift that the customer has selected. We are based on a data science platform that builds algorithms to predict gifts that would be a good match to a selected card. As an engineering manager, I manage the engineers in the team, supporting them with delivery of the ongoing work as well as their personal development. I also work closely with the team’s product manager and designer and plan the roadmap for the team and the vision for attach at Moonpig.
Amber: What does being an ally for mums in tech mean to you?
Natalia: An ally to me means someone who gives a voice to mums in tech. Someone who empowers those mums and supports them in their careers through tech. Someone who tries to make changes to support mums who want to both get into tech and also succeed.
Amber: What are the most important traits it takes to be a good ally?
Natalia:
Empathy: Being empathetic to the situation that the individual is in. This supports better communication between the both of you. Don’t make assumptions based on your experiences, be willing to listen and learn.
Willing to be flexible: Understanding that sometimes not everything can be done exactly how it was planned, being flexible when extra time is needed or an adjustment to ways of working is needed.
“The most important traits for a good ally are empathy and being willing to be be flexible”
Amber: Why do you think it’s important to make the tech industry more inclusive of mothers and working parents?
Natalia:
Different voices. If we only have an industry full of the same type of people, then we have a lack of diversity of thought. We need the voices of people from different walks of life and situations to support development and better decision-making.
Supporting the next generation to also think about technology: If we have more role models in the industry we are more likely to encourage the younger generation to look upon technology as a career choice.
Amber: What do you think is the main hurdle stopping employers from being more inclusive?
Natalia: Lack of representation in leadership roles. Unfortunately across the tech industry we have so few women and working mums in top leadership roles. We need to see more representation of other women and working mums to know that it is possible to reach that level!
“If we only have an industry full of the same type of people, then we have a lack of diversity of thought. We need the voices of people from different walks of life and situations to support development and better decision-making.”
Amber: What do you think the priority should be for creating tangible change for working mums in tech?
Natalia: Evaluating flexible working policies. There are still many companies that do not offer a flexible working policy (even after covid). Unfortunately, a lot of parents cannot commit to 9-5 and being in the office due to childcare and all things associated with this. We need companies to really evaluate what they offer. Think about more flexible hours, more part-time roles etc.
Amber: Who do you think is responsible for making the change?
Natalia: Business leaders & hiring managers. Business leaders and hiring managers need to really think about roles that they offer and evaluate the core requirements. There is most likely a possibility that a lot of roles can be made more flexible and offer different arrangements. They should also be advertised!
Amber: Any final words of advice for other people looking to better support mothers in the Tech Industry?
Natalia: See what tangible change you can make within your area of the industry. Evaluate whether where you work really is somewhere that is appealing and has the fundamental support structure in place to support mums in tech.
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