To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re shining a light on talented women in the retail industry who are thriving in categories and roles that are typically male-dominated. From a forklift driver to a data scientist and software engineer, here are the inspiring stories and insights they shared with Inside Retail.Jane Leong, VP of data & growth, Love, Bonito What inspired you to enter a career in data science, despite being one of the few women in it? I never intentionally prepared for a career in data science. In fact, when I was younger, I did not even know such a career existed. I started my career in investment banking and later became a venture capitalist before diving into data and analytics.My career journey taught me a few things. First, you can always change your career. It is never too late to discover a new passion and explore a different path.Second, there’s a lack of early education around what data science is and what a career in data and analytics can look like. This is especially true for women. However, I believe that even though there are fewer women in data leadership roles today, it does not mean that this needs to be the status quo. This serves as a motivating factor for me to carve out my own path and hopefully inspire the next generation of women in the industry.What have been some of the challenges or opportunities that you’ve experienced in your career due to the fact that you’re a woman? From investment banking, venture capital and now data science, I have always worked in male-dominated fields. Throughout my career, I’ve been very lucky to have received support from great colleagues and mentors and worked in organisations that appreciate diversity.However, like many other women, I was given advice early on in my career to make myself more “visible”, speak up in meetings and use more “assertive” language. This is something I’ve always struggled with not only because I’m a woman in a male-dominated industry, but also because I’m a natural introvert.Unfortunately, we sometimes confuse those dominating the conversation as being more intelligent, confident and more deserving of recognition and achievement. It is important that we recognise this bias and focus our attention on the quality of the work and the results, instead of penalising women (and men) for being more conscientious and listening, rather than giving a response for the sake of sounding smart. Why do you think there aren’t many women working in your sector and what kind of support do you think could and should be given? It is important to first recognise that there is a gender gap to close. Women make up less than 30 per cent of the roles in data science, and the representation becomes even lower when you look at senior and leadership roles. Recognising the problem is key to resolving it.One of the reasons for the gender gap is the lack of female leadership representation, which limits women’s perspectives of the opportunities and possibilities available in the industry, and makes it difficult for those already in the sector to visualise what success could look like. To counter that, we need to have diversity in the workplace so women feel represented – it is so inspiring to see someone similar to you successful in the field. I’m proud to share that 70 per cent of STEM roles at Love, Bonito are filled by women.Part of the problem also starts at an early age. Data science roles are heavily reliant on expertise gained through STEM studies including mathematics and computer science. Yet, gender stereotypes still exist where STEM subjects are often viewed as more masculine, and young women sometimes feel discouraged from studying STEM subjects due to social norms and lack of support. There needs to be more early education, exposure and access to STEM studies and careers. Recognising this gap, we at Love, Bonito have partnered with educational institutions and organisations to enhance awareness of the importance and excitement of STEM education and careers, and we are constantly looking out for more opportunities to inspire the women of tomorrow. Gail Lines, forklift driver, AmazonCan you tell us about your previous work experience and how you began working at Amazon?Before taking up my role at Amazon, I had been operating machinery at various companies for over 30 years. I’ve been in this line of work for a while, so it’s been great to watch it change and evolve with the times. I’ve been with the team at the Amazon Melbourne fulfilment centre since it opened. I decided to move to Amazon because of the great things I’d heard about the culture, both at the management level and on the floor, in addition to the great opportunities available for employees to upskill in.What have been some of the interesting insights you’ve observed from working in a male-dominated sector?I think companies have become more open and willing to hire women into stereotypically male roles. Us women are great at running heavy machinery! In my opinion, we tend to have high attention to detail which is important in this line of work.What I’ve found is that the more diverse the team, the better. In my years of experience, I’ve seen a real shift towards making sure our teams have a great mix of people. Previously, I’ve worked in roles where men have held the leadership roles in management, whilst females have run the floor. However, it’s important to have different skills and experiences on the team – it makes for an interesting and inclusive culture and encourages the success of women to build their future careers. I feel this is really put into action at Amazon and there is visibility of all genders amongst leadership roles on the team, as well as in more traditionally male-dominated roles.What have been some of the ways that Amazon has encouraged and supported women in the fulfilment centre?Amazon has a great system of upskilling new and incoming employees, like offering training to achieve a forklift licence. Having that resource and opportunity really helps women to feel empowered to get involved. Since being with Amazon, I’ve seen several women approached to be trained in operating heavy machinery. It’s incredibly exciting to see these biases being broken and that the encouragement of women into these roles is now just commonplace at Amazon.We also have a community board inside the fulfilment centre where anyone can contribute their ideas and suggestions on how we could do things better or differently at work. Whether it be team bonding ideas, or operational stuff, anything goes! We all get involved in this because our suggestions are truly listened to, with our managers taking each note into consideration. This is great for those people who prefer to speak their mind in their own time.At Amazon, the difference lies within the people. The diverse range of women working here, goes beyond gender, and includes people of all different religions, ages, and cultures. It really is a place for everyone. We’re all different but we work as a big team to get the job done. Ultimately we’re all here to put smiles on the faces of Aussie customers as they receive their Amazon packages. I think Amazon has done a great job of making women feel supported by showing that they encourage and value all women – no matter where you’ve come from. As well as creating a culture of diversity and inclusivity for women, working with a diverse group of people allows for broader and different perspectives to feed into an approach, to make holistic decisions.Srilakshmi Sanikommu, senior director devops (software engineering), P&G Asia Pacific, Middle East & AfricaWhat have been some of the challenges or opportunities that you’ve experienced in your career due to the fact that you’re a woman? We have made good progress in driving equality and inclusion and closing the gender gap. However, there are still challenges that exist in the industry, particularly with bias and outdated stereotypes.Common biases exist because there is often a very narrow view of how a “leader” should behave and act. I’ve seen this in situations where our actions as female leaders are directly compared to male leaders, and are therefore seen as “lacking” simply because they are different. We need to embrace a broader set of leadership styles and create a space for all individuals to demonstrate their own authentic leadership. When we broaden the definition of leadership. it allows more men and women to break free of the traditional stereotypes and lead more authentically.I believe now is a great time for women leaders to embrace the opportunities that exist in STEM roles. Technology is and will continue to play a major role in our lives. A majority of jobs now and in the foreseeable future will require STEM skills. Women have an active role to play in shaping this future which is good for them and the world. Learning in today’s world is much more accessible and convenient with numerous platforms available, which makes it easier than ever to seek out and learn the latest technologies to upskill and shape the future.Why do you think there aren’t so many women working in your sector and what kind of support do you think could/should be given?In my opinion, there are two main barriers preventing more women in STEM management positions.The first is that there is a gap in the number of female STEM graduates entering the workforce. For example, in India, 43 per cent of graduates from STEM backgrounds are female. However, only 14 per cent of STEM researchers in the country are women. Such disparities have also been seen in other Asia Pacific, Middle East, and African markets. There is a need to shift mindsets and improve awareness of jobs for the future even from a young age, focusing on the confidence and skills needed to pursue careers in STEM.The second reason is that among those who do enter the workforce, fewer grow into senior management positions. Representation of women in STEM fields drops by a third when making the jump from entry level positions to middle management. At that stage of life, there is an increase in family and professional responsibilities and as a result, there are competing priorities. In addition to this, the need for continuous upskilling makes it even more challenging from a time commitment standpoint. We are fortunate that P&G helps to overcome these barriers through the right policies and organisation culture, helping to ensure a level playing field for all managers, with the right support to succeed.Has your sector evolved over time to include more women and what has that journey been like? I joined P&G back in 2006, when I was stationed at the company’s then-largest manufacturing plant in India that produced our fabric care products – Tide and Ariel. My very first role required me to lead the information systems department at the plant.At that time, I was one of only five female employees among the 400 technicians and managers at the plant. It was initially quite daunting, but thankfully because of the strong equality culture at P&G, the gender lens soon faded. Over time, working alongside the technicians at the plant, I was able to implement solutions that improved overall plant productivity.Today we are fortunate that there are many more women working in STEM roles thanks to deliberate mentoring, support, and policies in place to enable a level playing field. As more women take on senior leadership positions within STEM roles, I believe it will also help to inspire and encourage the next generation of leaders. Remya Ramesh, head of digital experience, Coles Group What inspired you to enter your industry despite being one of the few women in it?I grew up in India, and in India everyone does tech. When I moved to Australia, I realised I was one of very few women in my technology class. I studied cyber security, so as you can imagine that’s an extremely niche field in tech. At the time. I was one of maybe two or three women in a 60-student cohort. That gender imbalance pushed me to go further into the tech industry because I really wanted to create a space where women can thrive. In helping to do so, I created Girl Geek Coffee Club. This is a university level initiative aimed to support, connect, and promote a diverse group of women in tech disciplines through regular forms of discussions, faculty advice, and industry insights. It’s an accidental passion for me. I accidentally fell into tech, and when I came to Australia, I became more passionate about creating a thriving place for women.Has your sector evolved over time to include more women and what has that journey been like? The technology scene 10 years ago was significantly different to how it is now. In my personal experience, the past decade has been fundamental in evolving the sector. An example of this is, ten years ago, we started a group called Ladies that UX, a small collective of female designers in tech coming together to support each other. It started as a team of three and by the time I finished up, we were a team of 2500 women across Melbourne. That really does highlight to me the fact that more women want to enter the design and technology industry and proof it has evolved.Coles has developed many effective measures and programs to help evolve the technology sector. The Coles Relauncher program aims to help people that have taken periods of absence from work, due to reasons such as parental leave, care giving, or taking on further study, return to the workforce in the technology sector. Additionally, Coles offering a graduate program is hugely effective in evolving the sector. This allows new talent to develop skills in tech and form a career in this industry. The more people we encourage to enter tech, the more it will evolve.Riikka Dunn, central fulfilment unit manager, IKEA AustraliaHow has your sector evolved over time to include more women and what has that journey been like?There have been huge changes in the logistics and warehousing industry over the years and it’s been an amazing journey to be onAt Ikea, we’ve had a real focus on ensuring women feel welcome in our workplace. For us, this means a clean, light, and safe warehouse; great canteen; clean and tidy change rooms and amazing co-worker areas.Also, the work done in the warehouse has changed. We have several different types of roles from picking and packing, driving a forklift, working with the warehouse management system, inventory and systems specialist roles. The work is not about brute force or the traditional idea of truck drivers and huge machinery.Shedding gender stereotypes and challenging bias takes time, and we still have a big task ahead of us. There needs to be a societal shift, where young girls can see supply chain, warehousing and fulfilment as a career path. I want my daughter to grow up knowing this industry is one of the options for her and she doesn’t need to stick to traditional gender stereotyped careers. We’re leading the way as we get more women in fulfilment at Ikea. But it’s going to take more than one company.What have been some of the challenges or opportunities that you’ve experienced in your career due to the fact that you’re a woman?When I first stepped in front of several hundred co-workers to introduce myself as a leader, I’m sure there were some eye rolls and questions. At that stage, the unit was still mostly made up of men and all previous unit managers had been male. As a female leader of a male-dominated unit, I did feel I had to prove myself. I had to show that I was capable of learning quickly, taking decisions, listening to co-workers and wanting to make our workplace great. I’m a ‘roll up your sleeves and muck in’ type, which I’m sure won some people over.