Stephanie Westbrook

I attribute my success to having tough skin and learning everything while paying close attention. Being in IT as a woman is very, very difficult, and when you're an African-American woman working with all Caucasian males or even African American males in general, they are very critical of women in IT. You have to work 3 times as hard, maybe 15 times as hard sometimes. So you have to have very tough skin to be able to overcome. At Milliken, I had a team of 8 people, and 7 of them had 30 years plus when I walked in the door. They didn't have as much education as I did, but they had been with the company for over 30 years. Here I am, the new kid on the block - a woman, African American, and my boss was also a woman. It was really, really hard, and you have to be very knowledgeable of what you're doing because you can't fake it till you make it in this industry. You have to know what you're doing.

The best career advice I've ever received is to pay attention and learn everything. You don't always have to talk, just learn. This is especially important because in this industry, women are taken for granted. I've had to develop very tough skin because being in IT as an African-American woman means working with environments where you're constantly being tested and criticized. The advice to stay quiet, observe, and absorb everything has been crucial to my success in navigating these challenging dynamics.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to branch out and don't stay in the same discipline. If you're doing networking, learn cybersecurity. If you know cybersecurity, don't just learn networking - you want to learn Microsoft, you want to learn Cisco. Be a jack of all trades and be a master of a couple. Never stop learning and developing diverse skills across different disciplines. This versatility is crucial for success, especially as a woman in IT where you have to work much harder to prove yourself.

One of the biggest challenges in my field is working within a male-dominated IT industry, where barriers such as limited representation, unconscious bias, and unequal access to leadership opportunities can still exist. I address these challenges by focusing on continuous skill development, building strong professional relationships, and demonstrating consistent performance. At the same time, I see this as an opportunity to help drive greater inclusion and support the advancement of women in technology.

The values most important to me in both my work and personal life include a strong commitment to education and financial literacy, as I believe knowledge is essential for empowerment and informed decision-making. I also prioritize community service and environmental stewardship, as I value contributing positively to society and protecting long-term sustainability. In addition, resilience guides how I approach challenges, while meticulous attention to detail ensures that I maintain high standards in everything I do.