International Women in Engineering Day: Gemma’s Journey (So Far)
In December of 2023, Gemma Watters became QA Lead at Idox, overseeing the many branches of Quality Assurance across the Group – however, this is only one step in an already accomplished career in software engineering. On this International Women in Engineering Day, we’re shining a spotlight on Gemma’s journey so far and hearing her thoughts on the wider software engineering sector.
The world of software almost missed out on Gemma’s drive and talents, were it not for a change of heart in the second year of her degree in law & criminology. Upon deciding the barrister’s life probably wasn’t for her, Gemma reflected on what she wanted to do before coming across a software tester’s academy. Local government had teamed up with companies and colleges across Belfast to offer several weeks of software classes along with a company placement, and this seemed like just the opportunity to suit where Gemma was at.
This is where Gemma’s passion for development began. As you’d expect, the classes went well. She enjoyed her placement, but when she heard Tascomi (now part of Idox Group) was looking for people, she decided to go along for an interview. They took Gemma on early in her career and provided a space for her to flourish, alongside other women who came through the very same testing academy (one of whom is currently on the Idox Cloud team at the time of writing). It was a stroke of good fortune for Gemma that she landed with us: she’s very professionally ambitious – as you’re about to see!
Gemma Watters
QA Lead at Idox
Why on earth, asks Gemma, can’t a man be the best nurse in the world? Why can’t a woman be the best programmer ever?
Tascomi was acquired by Idox in 2019, just as Gemma was expecting her second child. In fact, the day after the papers were signed, Gemma left for maternity leave! And when she returned a year later, Idox acknowledged her achievements so far by promoting her to a senior position.
In Gemma’s own words, Idox took her out of a small business ‘safety net’ and into a wider world of ‘big software’. In 2023, QA Leads across the Group were brought together to see how we could improve quality assurance. Gemma shared her ideas and recommendations, which proved to be a watershed moment in her career.
Working in a larger Group infrastructure meant that Idox acted as a kind of sandbox for her to flex, learn, share her knowledge, all to ultimately change the very structure of software development processes and pipelines in a large company environment. Gemma then progressed into the Group QA Lead role she currently holds with us.
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By Gemma’s own admission, she has been lucky with the companies she’s worked at. Idox actively invests in women: its QA teams have always benefitted from female members throughout Gemma’s tenure – but the unfortunate reality is that so much of the world still sees “women as nurses, men as programmers.” Why on earth, asks Gemma, can’t a man be the best nurse in the world? Why can’t a woman be the best programmer ever? She highlights the universal need to educate children, so the next generation grows up to know that girls and women can do whatever it is they’ve set their mind to. Gemma has a girl and a boy herself and she tells them both exactly that – so long as you’re good to people and you’re not hurting anyone, you can pursue any life path you desire.
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QA, says Gemma, must always be considered a major part of the development process. She’s adamant that QA should never be conceived of as something that comes in ‘at the end’: QA teams like hers are specialists with information that can keep product creation moving smoothly and efficiently, ensuring expert knowledge feeding into the development process at all times. It’s her aim to grow the team to become an ever-greater part of the software generation process from start to finish, so the company’s products can keep on improving.
We know the best thing we can do is not get in the way of exceptional people with talent, drive, and ambition who wish to make an impact at our organisation. We’re proud to have many such people here at Idox.