IWD Profiles: Allison Harrison

9 March 2021

For International Woman's Day we are spending a week celebrating some of the amazing women who make our community so great! We will be uploading profiles daily where they have shared their experiences as women in their fields of work and more. Colony Manager Becca caught up with Allison Harrison for our next profile.

International Women’s Day – Allison Harrison

Tech and Politics are two areas that we have noticed the absence of women the most over the years. Thankfully there has been a shift in the right direction in both areas. The recent election of Kamala Harris to the position of Vice President of the United States of America was a landmark moment for women and women of colour in politics. Progress like this inspires whole generations of young women globally to set their ambitions high and shoot for the stars.

Our latest profile is a woman, who knows all about both tech and politics, and has had huge success in both whilst also raising a family. Could she be superwoman?

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A bit about Allison

Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Former Mayor, Councillor and Council Leader - these are just some of the many hats I have worn over the last few years….

In my work life currently, I am a Delivery Lead for DDC-AS. I manage the delivery of data and software projects to the client. I often say that I am bilingual as I can talk techie talk as well as “normal “speak. I bridge the gap between the genius that is a developer and us humble humans.

I have taken a break from a successful political career to concentrate on my day job.

What does it meant to be a woman in your field?

To be a female in IT is still not the “norm” more so a female over the age 40…. But I think in all aspects of business and life women often bring a different perspective and valuable experience to discussions and decision making.

I do like to challenge people’s perspective and stereotypical thinking - especially as Mayor, residents were surprised that I was female and under 60, as the role is still perceived as an older male role.

As the majority of home and family commitments still fall on to women, many women I have met will often put their own needs and desires on hold until the time is “right”. However, we can have our cake and eat it! (maybe I have eaten a bit too much !!)

If you had the knowledge you have now, what would you say to your younger self?

Be present- live for now, not the past or the future.

Just do it!! My biggest regret was taking 20 years to enter politics as I didn’t believe in myself. When I did take the plunge I found it was something that I enjoyed and was quite good at.

Failure is as valuable an experience as success.

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We will be publishing more profiles everyday this week to celebrate IWD and our amazing female members. Make sure you check out our website and social media each day to read their incredible stories!