Tafana

Tell us about your journey into tech?
I started my career is a Corporate Tax Specialist i.e. a non-techie. Through a succession of roles, I have transitioned to a mainly Tech role. However, my journey continues as further broaden my experience within Data Science (specialising in Machine Learning )

How do you feel you have made a difference in what you do?
I believe I have a fresh approach to solving problems. I am particularly adept at finding pain points within and coming up with ways to automate or make these more efficient. This means I make impactful contributions to users’ job satisfaction as I help them to free up time to concentrate on the more interesting and value-added parts of their role.

What would you say is your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievement to date has been learning to code. It really is like learning a new language; with the accompanying frustrations and self-doubt which crop up at times. However, I am very proud of myself in remaining consistent and dedicating 2 hours a day to putting what I’ve learnt into practice.

How do you think people can go about making a difference, in regards to spreading awareness of Black Women in tech?
I think we can all get better at publicly thanking or celebrating the accomplishments of black women. Many of us are good at celebrating our own accomplishments via social media or privately thanking black women.
There needs to be a shift to publicly thanking black colleagues if they have made significant contributions to projects, your career etc.