Foreword

I wrote this book in November 2023, out of the NaNoWriMo challenge, where you have to write 50.000 words in a month, or 1.600 words every day for the whole November. I have always wanted to share my work experience within the technology realm, mostly due to being a white fly and never really fitting the stereotype of computer geek, but also because I have genuinely loved all my jobs, the experiences I have made and the people I met. I was lucky, I know, but also maybe smart enough to run from difficult moments and humble enough to always ask for help and find people (mostly men) willing to help me navigate this tough world.

Because of my technology obsession, I wanted to use ChatGPT, to increase speed and improve my English (being non native it’s not always easy to find the right words), and in the end I decided to also include the prompts (for those who are not familiar with AI, prompts are the questions posed to it, in order to shape the response in the way you want it) to make this experiment a shared one. I have reviewed both, the prompts and the responses, to match my train of thought and make it more readable, but in any case, you already know you wouldn’t get the same answers twice. 😊

Also, I have changed some of the character names to respect a bit of privacy but most of the facts are true and maybe sometimes just embellished to make them funnier to read.

Enjoy the ride, and the tech thrill of yet another technology breakthrough!

Write with a sarcastic, friendly, witty and feminist tone, no dialogues, an intro to this book. It’s about the experience of a technical female professional spanning the 90 and 2000s and up to this day, and it’s filled with anecdotes and funny situations but also a spark scoring of the D&I experience through the lens of today’s standards.

Introduction

Welcome, dear reader, to a journey through the annals of technology, where bits and bytes intertwine with the sassy keystrokes of a young woman navigating the digital wilderness. In this compendium of wit, sarcasm, and unapologetic feminism, we embark on an odyssey spanning the ’90s, the tumultuous 2000s, and up to the present day. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride filled with anecdotes, technical escapades, and a no-holds-barred exploration of diversity and inclusion through the acerbic lens of today’s standards.

Our journey kicks off in the ’90s, an era when the internet was a nascent realm, and women in tech were as rare as a glitch-free operating system. Our intrepid heroine, armed with a 1200-baud modem and a penchant for defying stereotypes, dives headfirst into the world of bulletin board systems (BBS). Picture a tech-savvy sorceress, weaving connections with fellow wizards in a niche realm where code was the language of friendship.

Fast forward to the late ’90s, an epoch where the telecommunications dance floor beckoned. Our protagonist, now a 21-year-old gal with good computer skills, pirouettes through a sea of bewildered onlookers who can rarely fathom a woman leading the IT conversation. Oh, the symphony of sarcastic remarks and raised eyebrows, as our leading lady dismantles PBXs adjuncts with wit and satisfaction.

As the new millennium dawns, our fearless tech maven transitions to a role in customer support for a telco company. The yawns and gasps from skilled and unskilled users become a comedic backdrop to her days, with IVR systems playing the supporting role. A cacophony of problems and patches and the occasional user-from-hell provide the punchlines in this uproarious comedy of errors.

Our tale then shifts to a new frontier in telecommunications – the Centers of Excellence (CoE) for Tier III engineers. Our protagonist ascends to the upper echelons of tech stardom, flying business class, reveling in 5-star hotels, and facing the dichotomy of boredom and burnout. The glory days of solving mission-critical issues by the lake or swapping tapes in a vault become the anecdotes that pepper this chapter.

A tempting offer from a rival company lures our protagonist away from Nortel Networks. A product manager’s role beckons, promising no nightly duty calls and a hefty paycheck. The transition is seamless, and the initial months are a whirlwind of navigating a larger subsidiary. The narrative pivots to a new role in 2001, as our tech virtuoso enters the realm of Nortel Networks and the complexities of its switch. Analog and digital telephony make space for VoIP to take center stage, with our heroine decoding the intricacies of serial or IP connections to specialized adjuncts. The tech landscape evolves, and so does our leading lady’s prowess. However, the abrupt turn of events post-9/11 throws our heroine into a whirlpool of rumors, layoffs, and a sudden end to the newfound role.

A Cisco partner (and its technology), Dimension Data, becomes the next chapter in our protagonist’s journey, a realm of IP telephony breakthroughs and the birth of the Cisco IPCC. The early 2000s usher in a new era of technology, and our leading lady is at the forefront, navigating the complexities with humor and a flair for the dramatic. The narrative unfolds as a startup venture, complete with acquisitions, travels, and the exhilaration of managing a team. The camaraderie with old pals from the BBS days adds a touch of nostalgia to this chapter.

As the recession of 2008 hits, our protagonist has already entered the world of Aspect, an American giant in the contact center business, but unknown,and a startup in the southern European market. The initial years are a whirlwind of learning, travel, and collaboration, only to face the harsh realities of downsizing an already small startup. The sudden departure of a mentor leaves a void, and the struggle to find meaning in corporate decisions becomes a prevalent theme.

The final act of the 2010s unfolds, with our heroine juggling the demands of a burgeoning family and a demanding job. The unexpected loss of a parent adds a somber note, and the protagonist finds solace in work as a distraction from personal grief.

A reflection on the Discrimination and Inclusion (D&I) score becomes the prelude to the MaaS (Mother as a Service) manifesto. All jobs are dissected with a feminist lens, sparking a call to rewrite societal narratives and usher in an era of equality. As you flip through the pages of this tech-driven epic, prepare to be regaled with tales of coding escapades, telecommunication triumphs, and the tumultuous journey of a woman thriving in a male-dominated landscape. Join our protagonist as she navigates the digital realm with a blend of humor, sarcasm, and unyielding feminism, leaving an indelible mark on the binary tapestry of the tech wonderland.

To be continued…