Maria Wheatley, Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at 8x8, is a finalist of this year’s Women in Tech Excellence Awards. She’s had a storied career, joining tech later than many others in the sector. In this interview, we hear her story and celebrate her achievement as a finalist.

8x8: What brought you into a role/career in tech?

Maria Wheatley (MW): Both of my parents were programmers, so we always had computers around our home. I was fascinated with how you could create shapes and movement on a screen with simple programming commands. I learned many of my skills from them, but when I joined tech later in life, I found myself in an awkward position. I was told I was “too knowledgeable” for first line tech support, and not knowledgeable enough for second line support. I persevered and got my break at Hertfordshire County Council. Before becoming a quality assurance engineer, most of my roles were customer facing.

8x8: What's it like working at 8x8?

MW: I’ve been here seven years. Telecoms was new to me, so that was my initial challenge. But because I had a wealth of experience dealing with customers, I was quickly given the responsibility of stabilizing our biggest clients. It was crisis management, almost. When I left that role to move to quality assurance, I had to guarantee customers that I would train my replacements because they liked me so much. Training is one of my natural skills too; I like problem solving, and teaching others is one type of problem solving.

8x8: Do you have the career you envisioned for yourself?

MW: Now I do, but I didn’t before. I’ve had many different jobs, working as a driving instructor, a social worker, and more. They didn’t match my lifelong fascination and interest in tech, so I’m glad to be where I am. Although, when I was trying to enter tech, every interview would be with a male dominated team. There were certainly biases there.

8x8: What's been the biggest surprise for you in the last 12 months?

MW: I helped lay the foundations for one of our internal projects called “training club.” I volunteered because of my training ability, and I ended up setting the precedence, creating the templates, and creating the first course. My course was so well received that I got a personal commendation from 8x8 CPO Hunter Middleton, thanking me for my effort and praising the course.

8x8: What have you achieved in the last 12 months that you are most proud of?

MW: The breadth and depth of the information I put into my training course. I learned so much about PCI PAL—the secure contact center payment system—that our legal team has even used it to further their understanding of certain areas. That was the first course in my head, and I’ll certainly be doing more.

8x8: Are there barriers for women wanting to work in tech/SaaS?

Maria: There isn’t enough education or encouragement for women in tech. When I was younger, aside from my parents, I was encouraged to do anything but tech. That meant I had to find my own path, which required me to learn outside of the normal parameters such as school. I had an interest, and if we could foster and encourage similar interests in women, then that would make a difference. But the fact that we don’t see an equal distribution of men and women means there’s a long way to go.

“Once women are in tech, the biggest barrier is outdated cultures and ways of thinking.”

8x8: What more could/should men be doing to ensure it's a level workplace?

MW: Men, or anyone hiring, should do more to ensure they’re seeing more women’s CVs. But just as important is removing the cultural problems, because I’ve seen women just say, “If you’re going to treat me like this, I’m leaving.” And that’s how we lose the women who we are working hard to bring into the sector. I think, unfortunately, cultural issues take generations to get rid of.

8x8: In terms of equality, have things progressed in the last 12 months, gone backwards, or mostly stayed the same?

MW: Things are improving slowly. I’ve had first-hand experience with four women joining the tech side of the company in the last 12 months, which is a lot more than would have been the case ten years ago. When you look at the sector at large, we’re still not at a 50-50 split.

8x8: The four pillars of the Women in Tech Festival are diversity, innovation, community, and empowerment. In your experience, which has resonated with you the most during your career?

MW: I would say empowerment because I’ve needed to be empowered to fight against the stereotypes and get to where I am now. I’m in a diverse environment—an innovative environment. And I’m in the community that I feel like I always wanted to be a part of. Getting here meant I couldn’t give up, no matter how many times I heard the same excuses from hiring teams. Everything pushed me towards supposed “women-oriented” roles, such as social care, where I knew only two men. I needed to be empowered to push against that for a long time.

8x8: If you could click your fingers and tomorrow and it’d be different, what one thing would you change in the tech sector?

MW: If I could change one thing, I’d get rid of the discouragement of girls’ and women’s interests in tech, because that’s where it all starts. If girls were free to simply enjoy tech, without being pushed away, they could get the education, get the training, and we’d see far more women applying for tech jobs.

8x8: How do you feel about being a finalist in the Women in Tech Excellence awards for 2023?

MW: I was completely shocked that I was nominated, let alone making it to the finalist stage. I’m humble because it’s not something I expected, and I’ve had to reconcile how I see myself and how other women may see me as a potential role model. It’s a strange feeling to see yourself in a new light, but I’m completely honored that somebody has recognized my work and achievements over the last 12 months.

8x8: Your nomination is very prestigious. What advice would you give to women starting their careers who wanted to make a similar impact?

MW: I’d say focus on perseverance, flexibility, and thinking outside the box. The world and industry are always changing, so you need to always be learning. You can’t sit back on your laurels because your skills and knowledge will become redundant. And if you have a different viewpoint make sure you make that a strength.

Read more in 8x8’s Women in Tech series