On Gender equality "It’s important for men to step up, but I also think that businesses as a whole need to reform" - Interview to Gavin Williams
About you
I’m a software engineer, born and bred, I’ve been running an event tech company for over 10 years providing a variety of digital solutions for experiential events that deal with engagement, capture, and analysis. Over the years the company has changed course over time and I've had the pleasure of working on a number of different projects for numerous brands from client side - Google, YouTube, Sky, NFL, NBA, Apple, Mars, Microsoft, Renault, BMW, Martini, Nespresso, Samsung, HP to helping a variety of different advertising agencies - Wasserman, VCCP, Wonder London, Dare, TBWA, Iris Worldwide, Cheil, AMVBBDO, Jack Morton. My superpower has always been finding solutions to problems, this includes creating bespoke software solutions from scratch for our clients. We helped brands including Google & Sky to deliver best in class and cost-effective end to end connected digital experiences. Currently we are focusing on fan engagement and analytics, anything from Sky Studios at The O2 to activations at Super Bowl.
What inspired you to come up with the idea of a platform for analysts and fan engagement in the events industry?
The idea came about from a nature solution to a problem that one of our clients was experiencing. Our client Sky asked us to create a video experience back in 2011 where the customer would get a fully rendered, branded news reading within 2 minutes. This was unheard of at the time so we rose to the challenge and built it. We like to make things extensible, so made sure that the branding could be changed in a cost effective way and the platform could be re-used and thus Quander was born. We quickly realised that people didn’t want to pay tens of thousands for a photo booth, so we built a platform to support that and our customers. The metrics are important but we were struggling to get agencies to learn how to monetise it, so we’re using the data to help our partners learn from their experiences instead. The analytics show what did and didn’t work for the activation so that you can improve your events experience for the next time. We don’t believe you have to spent £250K on a VR experience, we want to ensure our clients really get value for money for their projects and the things they are trying to achieve in an events environment. From our vast experience in the industry we are pushing further in 2020 to continue delivering best in class, affordable digital solutions that have meaning an impact. We want every project we work on to have the same level of passion regardless of the budget that is available.
What are some of the lessons you’ve learnt in the business?
The good people stick around until the end and when you have a good feeling about something... you’re usually right, that also works in the inverse.
A work life balance is essential. You need to find time for friends and family. One day you might find that you’re alone which isn’t nice.
What does the term feminist mean to you?
My mum came to the UK back in the 1980's. She had no money, two kids and had left an abusive relationship in St Vincent where she had everything, a house, cars, house maid a good school for my brother and sister, the dream some might say.
She had to provide for her family but the only way she could do it was to have a positive outlook on her future and work her way to get there in steps. She went from being a nurse to working at BT on the switchboard, some of you probably won’t know, but back in the day, if you wanted to make a call, you’d pick up the phone, dial a number and someone at BT would physically plug you in to connect your call.
She was promoted pretty quickly and eventually worked for Fujitsu Siemens. There she met other women who were in a better position than her who pulled her up. They gave her opportunities and opened doors for her. They wanted more women in higher positions in a male dominated industry.
My mum told me a story about how my dad felt that he wasn’t getting promoted in BT because he was black, I don’t think that was the issue. I think that at the time, in a highly competitive male dominated industry she found other women who didn’t feed into that competitiveness and had the compassion to bring other women up to their level regardless of their race or circumstances.
You’ve been working in tech since the age of 12, what do you have to say about the representation of women in STEM industries? Do you think it’s changing in today’s time?
I think the industry is changing and access to knowledge is significantly more open than it was when I was 12. Good knowledge wasn’t really on the internet back then, and I used to carry these massive red wrox books in my string bag and learn to code by reading on the way to and from school. When we got the internet, I would print articles on MySQL from Ask Jeeves and read them on the way to and from seeing my girlfriend in Limehouse on the DLR when I finished work at Dixons. It really wasn’t accessible and if you wanted something you really had to go for it and prove yourself before getting a job.
Now, everyone has access to a wealth of information. If you want to learn machine learning, you jump on Udemy and YouTube or do a General Assembly course. I’m seeing more girls who will grow into the STEM industry than I did 20 years ago. I remember doing a tour for the Specialist Schools Trust awards 15 years ago and walking into a primary school where they had computers setup in a shed. The kids were learning to code and animate in Flash. I took one look at that school and realised that everyone of those kids are going to grow up with the opportunity to mould this awesome industry. That is a far cry from where we were 20 years ago. The opportunity is there now, and it’s not hard to move horizontally in your career, there’s also a massive skills gap in STEM and we need to keep driving innovation. Now is the perfect opportunity for everyone, especially women to reshape humanity.
What are your top tips for networking?
I’m terrible at networking, I’m a massive introvert. These are the things I do badly if it helps.
● Don’t talk to the same person for 5 hours
● Don’t talk to the same person for 30 seconds and then wonder off and leave them on their own
● Be the centre of the room
● Be humble, don’t brag
● Keep networking, you’ll have stories for other people at other events about your networking conquests
How important do you think is mentorship for anyone stepping into a workplace? Do you see yourself becoming a mentor in the future?
Very, I’ve felt quite lost in myself for the last few years without my dad around who was my absolute rock. You need to find someone who’s the right fit and seeing things from all perspectives and has experience.
Yeah, one day I’d love to be a mentor. I don’t think I have enough experience to impart my wisdom on other people just yet.
There has been a lot of talk about gender pay gap reporting in the UK. There seems to be quite a gap in the tech and law sectors, what are your thoughts on that?
What's important to me is that all staff are paid equally and for those who need support we invest heavily in training and mentoring to ensure that they achieve their true potential. I believe in ensuring pay is based on experience, skill and contribution to the business and not on gender.
The way we work is going to change significantly over the coming years, with more remote working and flexible hours that will increase productivity. It's important for all genders to leverage these opportunities to negotiate better pay and a better work life balance. The roles we have today aren't the roles we'll have tomorrow, it's important to evolve and adapt
What are your expectations from the “Engaging Men with Feminism” event? how important do you think it is for men to step up and be a part of the conversation?
I’m honoured to be part of this event, it’s an important topic to focus on, all of the time, not just when it fits the agenda. I think it’s important for men to step up, but I also think that businesses as a whole need to reform.
It’s not OK for advertising agencies to court clients in strip clubs. It’s not OK for recruitment agencies to cart out their female recruiters when male clients come round to win business and it’s not OK for event organisers to put women on a pedestal to fit the agenda and win brownie points it’s also not OK for brand ambassador agencies to hire just “hot women” for promo work.
Our mentality needs to change as a society, the workforce in the next 5, 10 and 20 years is going to completely change. Lots of people will be out of jobs through innovation in automation so we better fix shit while we still have time.
Meet Gavin at our next event “Engaging Men with Feminism” on Wednesday 20 November 2019.