Lucy Grimwade (she/her) completed a Computing BSc and then followed a somewhat linear path in ITSM/as an IT professional.In 2018, after going through personal and professional challenges, she embarked on a journey to become a qualified professional coach. Lucy has completed more than 200 hours of coaching, has a coaching diploma with the internationally recognised ICF, and holds additional qualifications in NLP and CBT.Lucy classes herself as a modern-day feminist. She is passionate about empowering and doing the right thing by and for women. Lucy also hosted a podcast called “Talk Female Friday” to share stories and advice from real women in real situations.She is a huge advocate for allyship. She is focused on making sure that all people, especially women and people of colour, are not only invited to the table but also have a seat, a voice and a contribution. David Barrow (he/him) has more than 30 years’ experience working in IT ‘service’ roles. He has made a career out of IT, starting out in small businesses and gradually becoming a trusted consultant to a number of large global organisations.David acts as a mentor to people at various levels both in partnership with Reed within the ‘Women in Technology’ initiative and as a committee member for ITSM and ITAM for the British Computer Society. He is also part of a committee for the British Standards Institute looking at education in service management.David is passionate about acting as an ally, having benefitted from some great allies – but he’s also seen how people can be let down based on their gender, religion or life choices, and he’d like to help level this field

• IntroductionChapter 1: The central charactersChapter 2: The start of ITChapter 3: The first job  Chapter 4: The job descriptionChapter 5: The interviewsChapter 6: The other side of the tableChapter 7: The bird in ITChapter 8: The job offer/rejectionChapter 9: The first dayChapter 10: In da clubChapter 11: Horrible bossesChapter 12: Tales of real-world allyshipChapter 13: Why so biased?Chapter 14: Horrible bosses 2  Chapter 15: Feeling stuckChapter 16: Handling ‘IT’Chapter 17: B*tchChapter 18: Are men saying the wrong things?  Chapter 19: Are we still experiencing this?Chapter 20: The offsite meetingChapter 21: StalkerChapter 22: The Christmas partyChapter 23: Imposter syndromeChapter 24: Cultural differencesChapter 25: She helps himChapter 26: I want to quitChapter 27: Always on; always anxiousChapter 28: Can anyone help?  Chapter 29: Enough is enough  Chapter 30: The introductionChapter 31: Self-employed and self-sufficient  Chapter 32: Did you go shopping?Chapter 33: Thank you, nextChapter 34: FriendshipsChapter 35: 2024 and beyond  Chapter 36: The power skills  Chapter 37: Let’s write a book  Chapter 38: New beginnings   Chapter 39: Allyship Actually  Appendix: Through their voices   About the authors – Who we really are  Resources  Further reading

Lucy Grimwade (she/her) completed a Computing BSc and then followed a somewhat linear path in ITSM/as an IT professional.In 2018, after going through personal and professional challenges, she embarked on a journey to become a qualified professional coach. Lucy has completed more than 200 hours of coaching, has a coaching diploma with the internationally recognised ICF, and holds additional qualifications in NLP and CBT.Lucy classes herself as a modern-day feminist. She is passionate about empowering and doing the right thing by and for women. Lucy also hosted a podcast called “Talk Female Friday” to share stories and advice from real women in real situations.She is a huge advocate for allyship. She is focused on making sure that all people, especially women and people of colour, are not only invited to the table but also have a seat, a voice and a contribution. David Barrow (he/him) has more than 30 years’ experience working in IT ‘service’ roles. He has made a career out of IT, starting out in small businesses and gradually becoming a trusted consultant to a number of large global organisations.David acts as a mentor to people at various levels both in partnership with Reed within the ‘Women in Technology’ initiative and as a committee member for ITSM and ITAM for the British Computer Society. He is also part of a committee for the British Standards Institute looking at education in service management.David is passionate about acting as an ally, having benefitted from some great allies – but he’s also seen how people can be let down based on their gender, religion or life choices, and he’d like to help level this field

• IntroductionChapter 1: The central charactersChapter 2: The start of ITChapter 3: The first job  Chapter 4: The job descriptionChapter 5: The interviewsChapter 6: The other side of the tableChapter 7: The bird in ITChapter 8: The job offer/rejectionChapter 9: The first dayChapter 10: In da clubChapter 11: Horrible bossesChapter 12: Tales of real-world allyshipChapter 13: Why so biased?Chapter 14: Horrible bosses 2  Chapter 15: Feeling stuckChapter 16: Handling ‘IT’Chapter 17: B*tchChapter 18: Are men saying the wrong things?  Chapter 19: Are we still experiencing this?Chapter 20: The offsite meetingChapter 21: StalkerChapter 22: The Christmas partyChapter 23: Imposter syndromeChapter 24: Cultural differencesChapter 25: She helps himChapter 26: I want to quitChapter 27: Always on; always anxiousChapter 28: Can anyone help?  Chapter 29: Enough is enough  Chapter 30: The introductionChapter 31: Self-employed and self-sufficient  Chapter 32: Did you go shopping?Chapter 33: Thank you, nextChapter 34: FriendshipsChapter 35: 2024 and beyond  Chapter 36: The power skills  Chapter 37: Let’s write a book  Chapter 38: New beginnings   Chapter 39: Allyship Actually  Appendix: Through their voices   About the authors – Who we really are  Resources  Further reading

Lucy Grimwade (she/her) completed a Computing BSc and then followed a somewhat linear path in ITSM/as an IT professional.In 2018, after going through personal and professional challenges, she embarked on a journey to become a qualified professional coach. Lucy has completed more than 200 hours of coaching, has a coaching diploma with the internationally recognised ICF, and holds additional qualifications in NLP and CBT.Lucy classes herself as a modern-day feminist. She is passionate about empowering and doing the right thing by and for women. Lucy also hosted a podcast called “Talk Female Friday” to share stories and advice from real women in real situations.She is a huge advocate for allyship. She is focused on making sure that all people, especially women and people of colour, are not only invited to the table but also have a seat, a voice and a contribution. David Barrow (he/him) has more than 30 years’ experience working in IT ‘service’ roles. He has made a career out of IT, starting out in small businesses and gradually becoming a trusted consultant to a number of large global organisations.David acts as a mentor to people at various levels both in partnership with Reed within the ‘Women in Technology’ initiative and as a committee member for ITSM and ITAM for the British Computer Society. He is also part of a committee for the British Standards Institute looking at education in service management.David is passionate about acting as an ally, having benefitted from some great allies – but he’s also seen how people can be let down based on their gender, religion or life choices, and he’d like to help level this field

• IntroductionChapter 1: The central charactersChapter 2: The start of ITChapter 3: The first job  Chapter 4: The job descriptionChapter 5: The interviewsChapter 6: The other side of the tableChapter 7: The bird in ITChapter 8: The job offer/rejectionChapter 9: The first dayChapter 10: In da clubChapter 11: Horrible bossesChapter 12: Tales of real-world allyshipChapter 13: Why so biased?Chapter 14: Horrible bosses 2  Chapter 15: Feeling stuckChapter 16: Handling ‘IT’Chapter 17: B*tchChapter 18: Are men saying the wrong things?  Chapter 19: Are we still experiencing this?Chapter 20: The offsite meetingChapter 21: StalkerChapter 22: The Christmas partyChapter 23: Imposter syndromeChapter 24: Cultural differencesChapter 25: She helps himChapter 26: I want to quitChapter 27: Always on; always anxiousChapter 28: Can anyone help?  Chapter 29: Enough is enough  Chapter 30: The introductionChapter 31: Self-employed and self-sufficient  Chapter 32: Did you go shopping?Chapter 33: Thank you, nextChapter 34: FriendshipsChapter 35: 2024 and beyond  Chapter 36: The power skills  Chapter 37: Let’s write a book  Chapter 38: New beginnings   Chapter 39: Allyship Actually  Appendix: Through their voices   About the authors – Who we really are  Resources  Further reading