After our recent panel discussion on women in data centres, Lizzie Quacquarelli, Surveyor – Data Centres, Knight Frank, follows up with some captivating insights and highlights her experience in what she calls an ‘exciting’ industry. She discusses challenging the status quo to break down gender barriers and appeal to a wider audience and offers her advice to women about leaning on those around them for support.
Tell us about your journey into the data centre space – how did you start out in this industry and, more importantly, are you glad you did?
Absolutely. I didn’t plan to be a part of the data centre sector, it just happened. I joined the Knight Frank graduate scheme back in 2021 which offered the opportunity to try out various teams within real estate and after six months I was introduced to the data centre team.
In all honesty, I hardly knew what a data centre was before I started at Knight Frank, but after doing some research and meeting the team I thought it was a really exciting sector; one that’s changing at pace and with real opportunity.
It was also a fairly new team so there was scope for a lot of responsibility from the get-go which made it even more exciting. I joined for what was meant to be one rotation but never left and have been enjoying the sector ever since.
In your view, how can women become more integrated in the data centre space and how can we work collaboratively to encourage and uplift?
There are several ways because the data centre sector is vast and there are many different jobs within it – you can be on the technical engineering side and on the sales side, or the real estate side like myself.
Educating people about data centres needs to begin at school. It’s going to be such an important part of everyone’s life, it already is, and people need to be more aware of the infrastructure that enables our day-to-day activities from a young age. We must continue to promote more women in STEM at school and ensure that knowledge of the sector and the vast job opportunities within it are taught at universities.
I come from a real estate background, so that’s where I can cast most judgement in terms of my own experience and what needs to change. The real estate sector is already on a journey of trying to bring more women into the sector and trying to level the playing field.
There are lots of men in senior roles and more women in junior roles. Real estate firms are introducing initiatives to balance that out, such as more balanced parental leave, but we need to be more proactive in making sure women are at the table. Women think differently and offer a difference in opinion so it’s making sure from the get-go that the door is left open for women, but also making it clear that their voice will be heard. There’s an element to which we need to challenge the status quo.
As a young woman in a male-dominated field, have you encountered many challenges and if so, how have you tackled these?
Being in a client-facing role, I encounter people from many different countries, different backgrounds, and you’re confronted with certain levels of unconscious bias or sexism. When I first started the job, I wasn’t necessarily equipped to deal with that and how best to navigate difficult circumstances.
In those situations, it’s important to lean on the people you trust, who are in positions of power, who can make a statement and who can stand up for you. It’s important you stand up for yourself as well, of course.
It’s also important to be confident enough to flag when someone has an element of unconscious bias so that they can learn from it. There are enough people in the industry who are ready to actively promote and get behind women because they see the value in it – so lean on them. We all need to work together to close off those who haven’t yet caught up with how the world should and will function going forward.
Can you tell us about some of the conversations you’ve had with other women in this field – what do you think is the overarching recipe for success?
I don’t think there’s one specific route to success, everyone’s experience is different. I’ve had lots of conversations with women during my time in this field and some of them have been with people in incredibly high positions of power.
For me, it involved a lot of asking questions around how they got to where they are, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. A large proportion of the advice I’m given is from men, so it’s important to go searching for these conversations with women to cross-reference and understand both journeys.
I’ve had many instances where I’ve been the only woman in the room and I have to rely on the advice from other women – to be confident in my abilities. Everyone – man or woman – will experience imposter syndrome at some point in their career so trusting when you have the experience or expertise is key. And if you are confronted with challenges, lean on those around you.
What would you like to communicate with young women who might be considering taking up a career in this field?
My advice is for anyone considering a career in this field – it’s epic, it’s exciting. The more you realise how fundamental data centres are to everything we do – Zoom meetings, communicating with friends and family, streaming the EUROs final – the more you understand how amazing it is to be a part of the journey.
Of course, there are challenges and there are times when there aren’t many women in the room, but there are enough great people in this sector who are encouraging and promoting women and that in itself helps to level the playing field.
My overarching message is that there’s a really exciting opportunity here – why not give it a go?
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