Ladies of Tech: Stories of Women Thriving in Tech (Modernization perspective)
This time, we have reached out to 3 amazing ladies in tech who are working with different parts of the modernization journey in DNB where the aim is to move from old mainframe systems towards a more cloud-based IT portfolio. They are all working with critical systems that can be described as the “brain of the bank” – yes, very important indeed!
- Kristin Marie Hamborg Rørnes, Marina Santos Haugen
Mona Fossum, Anniken Kristiansen Holst and Kripeshwari Sridharan. All photos:
Fredrik Ingerø Christensen
Ladies of Tech #4: Sprinting Through the Tech World with Anniken – The Running Solution Architect
She can talk for hours about running and has around 20-30 pairs of running shoes. Meet Anniken, the Solution Architect who is sprinting her way through the tech corridors at the Core Modernization Incubator team. After wrapping up a three-year marathon, also known as the Greenhouse graduate program at DNB, she emerged as a full-fledged IT architect, all set to drive the change in modernizing DNB's mainframe systems for corporate lending.
Tell us about a technical achievement that you are proud of?
– When I first started in DNB as a developer, I was used to solving well-defined tasks, but suddenly I got the responsibility of finding a solution for uploading receipts and attaching them to transactions in the Mobile Bank. I learned a lot about having to divide a big problem into smaller ones and using the teammates around me to find a solution. I had to talk to experienced developers, testers, and the product owner to really understand how we could solve this. This experience was so interesting and fun, and it made me want to continue working with solution architecture.
What do you think is challenging by being a woman in tech?
– Honestly, I don’t really think a lot about my gender at work – but I think women might experience Imposter syndrome more often. Especially at the beginning of my career I often faced the feelings of Imposter syndrome, and I didn’t want to waste people's time by asking a lot of questions. I wish more people would talk about how normal it is to feel this way, but one thing I have found to be helpful is to think “It’s my job to understand, so I need to ask these questions”.
What is your tip to other women in tech?
– It’s easier said than done, but I would say “Be yourself”. I was once told by a friend that she didn’t want to wear dresses to work, because she wouldn’t want to stand out in a room full of men – but true diversity happens when everyone can be themselves. I still have to remind myself about this, and I’m still challenging myself to speak up in meetings and be myself.
Where do you find inspiration?
– I just joined the ODA-mentor program as a mentor, and I’m excited to discuss different perspectives on challenges people meet in the work life. There are a lot of inspiring women working with IT in the program both as mentors and mentees.
– I’m also inspired by many of my colleagues in DNB. Most my team member have chosen to continue building their careers within their field instead of choosing the leadership path, which I think is very inspirational and something I likely want to do myself. New people in the team inspire me as it is interesting to see how they approach learning and understanding the field. Last but not least I like learning from the women who have been working with DNBs core systems for many – many years, like Mona.
Anniken Kristiansen Holst
Ladies of Tech #5: Tech's Beloved Encyclopedia: Mona - The Heartbeat of DNB's Core Systems
Dive into the world of Mona, the vibrant cornerstone of DNB's tech sphere for a staggering 34 years and counting! Fresh from Gjøvik Ingeniørhøgskole, Mona embarked on a thrilling journey at the data center IDA, becoming inseparable from the system, 023. She was part of its “birth” in 1983 in IDA and is still working with it now that it is a 40-year-old system, in DNB. It is the “core” of DNB’s core systems, and without it, the bank would not be able to run. She knows all the ins and outs of 023, making her a walking encyclopedia. If you have questions about this system and its integrations, everyone always says “Mona will know”.
She passionately says, “I couldn’t have managed without my job”. She thinks her work has been so interesting that she has not been able to stay away – not even while raising 4 children. Now, with her nest empty, she enjoys the company of her two cats. She says with friendly laughter, “Two is enough, any more would venture into "crazy cat lady" territory!”.
Tell us about a technical achievement that you are proud of?
– I’m proud of having been part of building this system at the start of my career in IDA. Even though it’s 40 years old it is still alive and well. It is robust and built in a way that would make it somewhat easy to build or replace. I was new to programming, so I just had to keep up with the process and learn along the way. I helped with developing, testing, creating documentation, and understanding the business side. It has always been important to have close collaboration between IT and business. We need to listen and collaborate with each other to create the best solutions.
What do you think is challenging by being a woman in tech?
– Honestly, I don’t think anything has been challenging due to being a woman. When I started in ‘82 there were as many girls as guys in training and at work. It is more recent years that the distribution of boys and girls has shifted. I have always said what I mean and raised my voice. You can´t expect to sit still and hope that you’re asked for your opinion, you have to speak up! I find that the path to success is defined by being good at what you do, not your gender.
– It’s easy to think you must sit in your room coding all day to be good at your job. I have never written a single line of code as a hobby, but I’m still good at my job. It’s healthy to have other interests in life. And especially after working for 40 years!
What is your tip to other women in tech?
– Keep going and know that you are good enough! Don’t get run over by the guys who think they know everything. Be skeptical and lean on the facts. Stand up for what you know to be true.
– We just hired new people on our team, and we chose a range of different experiences and ages. Unfortunately, it was hard to find women who want to work with mainframe systems – but we would really like more young women to work with us in Bergen.
Where do you find inspiration?
– Currently, I’m not programming, but I have loved to program my whole career. It is so much fun! I have met and collaborated with so many kinds of people. It would have been boring to only work with people who are like yourself. And I especially love the connection between IT and business, figuring out requirements and how to create reusable solutions.
Mona Fossum
Ladies of Tech #6: The Multilingual Maven, Kripeshwari, who is steering DNB towards real-time data updates
Kripeshwari started her journey in DNB in 2019 after finishing her informatics master's. She has worked in various teams across the bank as part of the graduate program Greenhouse, and after 3 years she decided on a permanent position working as a DevOps Engineer with the modernization of the customer data solution.
She is currently working in the team who have integrated with the Norwegian Population Register (Folkeregisteret). This new integration will provide real-time data updates from Folkeregisteret, which means that DNB will have updated customer information. One of the benefits of this is to stop sending letters to outdated mailing addresses. Continuing the modernization journey, they want to integrate into the Swedish Population Registry as well and move from mainframe systems to cloud-based solutions.
Outside of work she is a mother to a 1-year-old, loves music, and likes to learn new languages. As of now, she speaks 6 languages and 4 of them are Indian languages. That is in addition to all the programming languages she has encountered throughout her career.
Tell us about a technical achievement that you are proud of?
– I was very excited to join the team working with Core Modernization in DNB in 2021. They were just starting to modernize DNB's core customer systems, and it took weeks of onboarding to understand the complex IT portfolio. It was so interesting to learn about all the core systems we have and what they are being used for. This was a space no one had explored, and we collaborated with stakeholders around the bank to get a Proof of Concept up and running. There is still a long way to go on this modernization journey, but we learn as we go and adjust along the way.
What do you think is challenging by being a woman in tech?
– I think the most challenging is the underrepresentation of women in tech, and it can sometimes feel lonely. Most of the teams I have been part of, I have been the only woman in a technical role. It is great to be part of a technically competent team, and everyone is very nice to work with, but it would be good to have a balance of genders. Everyone should feel welcome to be part of the tech community.
What is your tip to other women in tech?
– I think continuous learning is part of the tech world. It’s okay to not have all the answers, but important to stay curious. Women need to see the positive impact we are making in the tech world.
Where do you find inspiration?
– It’s inspiring to have colleagues who share their knowledge and are eager to collaborate. I have also had mentors in DNB and family members who have challenged me to do my best along the way. As a new mother, I'm inspired by other women who wear different hats and are still successful at work and home.
Kripeshwari Sridharan