April 29, 2020
Passionate, hardworking, and determined to equal the playing field for women in tech, Eilidh Lindsay-Sinclair plays a fundamental role in elevating inclusion in Nova Scotia’s tech sector.
Eilidh won Digital Nova Scotia’s Power It Up: Next Generation Leadership award at last year’s Digital Diversity Awards, celebrating the efforts and growth of an emerging female leader in the process of advancing her business or career. Her provincial win earned her a nomination to the national Annual Awards Gala hosted by Women in Communications and Technology where she won the 2020 Rising Star award, recognizing someone who is influencing and creating a new direction in the tech and communications industry – and that’s exactly what Eilidh has done!
A Woman Growing Her Career in the Tech Sector
Eilidh was CloudKettle’s first employee when she started her job there as Marketing Coordinator prior to graduating from Mount Saint Vincent University. CloudKettle specializes in helping organizations use Salesforce and the Google Marketing Platform to drive revenue growth. Currently, the Director of Marketing, Eilidh has not only helped expand the team to 21 full-time employees, but she has also supported the company’s efforts in joining the 1% Pledge; that means they commit resources, including employee time, to integrating philanthropy into their business from an early stage.
Eilidh says she’s lucky to work for a company that encourages her in developing programs that support others, even when doing work that might challenge the status quo. She’s also thankful to work with incredibly smart and passionate team members who she learns from on a daily basis.
“I feel fortunate that I work for an organization whose values align with my own,” says Eilidh. “Transparency, inclusion and giving back are three of the cornerstones of CloudKettle’s culture.”
A Diversity Champion
Eilidh has made significant contributions to diversity in Nova Scotia’s tech sector. She built the recruitment process at CloudKettle, which includes a blind screening process for candidates; and she founded Digital Skills for Women, a learning cohort aimed at increasing digital literacy, which she now co-chairs.
Digital Skills for Women helps participants jump start their careers in tech by building their confidence and helping them learn industry language, which in turn, helps advance diversity in the tech sector. Eilidh says that when she first launched the program she was afraid of failure, but she pushed herself forward by remembering that giving herself space to try new things has always been vital to her growth and ability to create an impact. She also relied on one of CloudKettle’s mottos: “punch above your weight.”
“Throughout my life, I’ve benefited greatly from people encouraging me to punch above my weight,” Eilidh says. “When you finish reading this blog post, I hope you think about ways that you can punch above your weight in your own life. “
Eilidh is also a Techsploration volunteer mentor and spends much of her free time connecting with women interested in entering the ICT sector. As a team role model, Eilidh hosts six junior high school girls from a rural First Nations school at CloudKettle, helping to expose them to various types of roles within the tech sector.
“It can be hard to envision yourself in a community if you don’t see examples of people you can relate to being successful,” Eilidh explains. “We have seen research that shows that women and members of other marginalized groups are less likely to engage in self-promotion than their peers, or when they do, it is not always received positively,” she continues. Eilidh recommends that anyone interested in learning more about this issue should visit #IamRemarkable.
“Awards like this are raising the profile of those who are under-represented in the technology industry which brings awareness to the important work that they are doing and serves as an inspiration and a point of encouragement for others,” says Eilidh.
Eilidh’s Advice For Aspiring Leaders and Diversity Champions
Eilidh has been overwhelmed by that generosity of the tech community in Nova Scotia and how it’s embraced her over the last five years. “I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career to date,” she says. “CloudKettle, my mentors, the volunteers and participants of Digital Skills for Women, and my team are just the tip of the iceberg.”
She has some great advice for anyone interested in a career in our province’s tech industry. “Look for those who have what you want and ask how they’re achieving it,” Eilidh says. “Especially in a community as tight knit as Nova Scotia, if you see someone being successful in the industry, I want to challenge you to reach out to them. Ask them for their advice or even to go for a coffee. I think you will be surprised by how many people are willing to make the time for you.”
2020 Digital Diversity Awards
Our 5th annual Digital Diversity Awards (DDA) are now open for nominations, if you know a diversity champion in Nova Scotia’s tech sector please nominate them for our 2020 DDAs today. Learn more about our awards and the criteria for nominees.
Digital Diversity Awards