The 2021 Women Leaders in Technology: Margaret Wagner

Her achievements did not come without difficulty. "Being the only woman in a room can be pretty intimidating – but I tried not to focus on that aspect. Knowing who your peer set is creates the space for you to walk into that room. True, the field has not been as inclusive as it could be, which is always a challenge. Different women handle it in different ways – in the past, I let being a woman give me limitations on my voice at times (if I said something wrong, was I the woman that didn't really understand the question?), but then I had a mental shift and understood that the right to be in the room is not about gender, it's all about your peer set – that broke down all the barriers for me."

Wagner goes on to say, "Merkle is leading the way in diversity, equity and inclusion, and it's why I am so happy to work here. We have a very purposeful DEI programme globally that really started with looking at our diversity around gender five years ago. Working for a company that has continued to diversify and commit to the broader DEI agenda is a big part of what makes me so proud of Merkle."

As for impactful advice, that came from her father. "My father, the night before I went to university, said to me: 'you've got four years to study whatever you want – don't blow it.' About a year later I came home and told him I wanted to transfer universities to switch to Mediaeval History. He said to me 'You can do or be anything that you're passionate about with a good learning foundation behind you.' With that foundation, you can basically do anything – follow your passion, learn what you need to learn, and you can follow your heart and be smart and thoughtful. Don't go places that you're not going to find pleasurable for you because life is way too short for that."

"My success at Merkle is all about passion. Our culture, our growth and our continued leadership in CXM. This sector continues to grow, evolve and pivot, so I'm always learning, which makes this job new every day.  When I joined Merkle I didn't know a lot about tech, but I understood this was the new era of growth across technology and marketing so I got really passionate about it and did everything I could to learn about it. Industries create language to keep people out and to create value around what they do but don't let yourself be intimidated by that aspect – go and find out, learn about it and then decide if you have the capability to do it and want to pursue it. Don't cross yourself off the tech jobs list because you're a Mediaeval History major."

Q&A: What does winning a Women Leaders in Technology award mean to you?

"It's about creating a very clear pathway to get women into the IT management and consulting category, which has been predominantly a male-dominated area of work. We are now seeing changes not just around women in management but through education, in what women and young girls are choosing to study. I always say, 'make sure when you get somewhere that you're pulling other women behind you' – for me, that's important: to allow people to see others that look like them at the top of their field. This award represents a great opportunity for that to happen."