I never imagined I’d end up working in Tech. But now here I am sitting here writing an article on being a Woman in Tech. It makes me smile as I reminisce on how I ended up exactly where I am today.

I started out in marketing a very long time ago. My first marketing role was working for confectionary giants Ferrero working out the P&L’s for Christmas Selection Packs, deciding how many bars we could include and still hit our required margin, whilst making the packaging fantastic and child friendly.

Ferrero was the first job of dreams for a marketer like me; a fairytale of imagination and hard work. I soon moved up the ranks to choosing the toys in Kinder Surprise, developing Easter eggs and gifting packs, and making adverts for Kinder Bueno and Ferrero Rocher.

Digital at this time was only just really working its way into the mechanics of marketing. Yes we had websites and what we considered “digital marketing activities”, which largely consisted of banner ads and a newsletter. The majority of marketing money was spent in a traditionally analogue way and we were a world away from the digitalisation of marketing and branding that we are witnessing today.

When I think back to this era, circa 2006 it feels like a lifetime ago. The world has shifted as has the world of marketing, and digital technology, the launch of the iphone and increased access to wifi has largely been the catalyst for this change.

Technology has without a doubt been the biggest driver of change in how we live our lives. From how we communicate to our friends and family, to how we heat our homes and cook our food. How we work, drive, learn and connect, essentially how we live has been enhanced by the transformations we have witnessed in technology and the “digital age.”

To me, being a woman in today’s society largely mirrors the changes we’ve witnessed in technology.

There’s an electric current of feminist change right now following the path of technology and a surge in the recognition of the natural power of women and the case for gender equality. It’s an exciting time to be a woman.

In the era of #metoo and #thisgirlcan women’s strength and innate ability to nurture and lead is finally being recognised. Women’s voices are finally being heard. There is an undeniable awakening of both women and men to the realities of the discrimination and biases women experience daily simply by the fact that they were born women.

The words of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “We should all be feminists” is a statement that has never rang more true.

So today, when I write about being a Woman in Tech; yes I am a Woman, and yes I work for a Tech company; but to me it’s all a case of perspective.

As I see it, we are all Women in Tech. It is the nature of the time we are living in.

So, as a Woman working in Tech, let me offer you some advice. I encourage you to step forward and embrace this era of change. Go with the flow of innovation, technology and how the universe is progressing. Be open to the future as it happens and unfolds. Investigate and explore how new Tech can add to your life, create more time, make things easier, quicker, more accessible. Be part of it. Don’t be afraid of the unknown.

Don’t step back, step forward and be part of the changing role that women have in this world.

Our future and the future developments of Tech mean that our life as we know it is on a rapid path of transition, and we don’t know what is ahead.

As I see it, we have two options. Either to embrace it with excitement or to fear it and question our ability to keep up.

It’s an exciting time to be a Woman. It’s an even more exciting time to be a Woman in Tech; and I know which one I’m going to be doing.

By Lesley Bambridge, CMO Forward Fooding.

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform for FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate Startup Collaboration.

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This article has been written by Lesley Stonier