You're a girl? And you work in technology? Beth's answers

Continuing the Shiny delving into the world of women in the technology industry, we've got answers to our burning questions from Beth Marcus, who is the CEO Of Zeemote. The Zeemote is an awesome little device we saw at Mobile World Congress, which acts as a physical joystick for your mobile phone.

The aim of this series of interviews is to give an insight into the careers and minds of women at the forefront of the technology world, in the hope that any of you lot wondering how to break into the industry will find information and inspiration. If you've got a burning question of your own that you need help with, email me here and I'll see if I can find someone to help. I'll be like your career advisor, but less qualified.

1.Could you explain your role at Zeemote, as well as the structure of the team you work with?

I'm the CEO and original founder of Zeemote. The original founding team included myself, two other women and one man. So we (women) numbered 3 to 1. Beyond the founding team we took on a part-time CFO who was a man and a female operations person.

2. Did you find it difficult to break into what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry?

It is still a male dominated industry, but I think that women are making important contributions. Given the inroads we've made overall into science technology and business it's surprising how few women are on top in the mobile industry given the fact this is a huge industry and women control a significant portion of the spending that drives the market.

3.Do you find it difficult to balance work life with family life? Has technology helped at all?

Well, as a single mum with a 4 year old daughter getting the work/ life balance right is always a challenge. While technology has definitely helped, it also hurts.
At 8pm, after my daughter has gone to bed I get back on my Blackberry or computer and check my emails until my eyes hurt. When I want to shut my eyes I listen to books on tape on my iPhone to help me put the day behind me and fall asleep. In the morning when she's sat watching the cartoons, again I'm on my Blackberry or iPhone, multi-tasking while getting breakfast ready.

There's no such thing as a day off... even if I say I'm actually taking a day off it really means that between 6am-7am, before she gets up I'm on email and after she goes to bed I'm on it again.

4. Have you always had an interest in gadgets? Where do you think it stemmed from?

I did a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, with a speciality in biomechanics. I have an interest in designing and developing items and devices that people can hold in their hands. Devices that have a purpose, gadgets that accomplish something, that ultimately make peoples lives easy or more fun are the things that interest me.

This stems from my interest in maths, science and sports - I was an athlete and I got involved in biomechanics. My interest in sports moved onto an interest in runners and their issues and injuries etc, which in turn moved to the upper extremities and orthopaedics which I eventually taught at a medical school after I got my doctorate. Then I got involved in controlling robot hands and working on projects controlling robots in space. Ultimately that led to the force feedback joystick for games and then the Zeemote.

5. Is there a crisis in the industry, with less women entering it? Why do you think that is? What can be done to fix it?

I've only been in the mobile industry for 3 years, therefore I don't have a good perspective on whether it's different now than it was say ten years ago. What I do know is that there are more women in the engineering schools than there were years ago. When I went to MIT there were seven guys for every woman. Now it's 50/50 at MIT and other schools. In that sense we will be better off, when we feel the impact of the engineers train now moving into senior roles in technology companies in general.
The mobile industry is still very male dominated, the big organisations, where the money comes from are often lead by men. Women need to demonstrate that they can take major roles within these organisations just as well as men.

Women are often better with people than men, so if I have a choice of an equally skilled man and women and it's about a creating a team that can gel, then I'll pick the woman, as she is more likely to take the time to make it work. But that is my bias and of coarse there are exceptions for individuals. Women need to demonstrate their abilities, so that the next time a man and a woman with the same skills sit in front of a potential employer for any major role, they won't pick the man automatically because that is what they are familiar with and comfortable with.

Successful women need to demonstrate their successes and help the women that are coming through to reach their full potential.

6. What's your advice for someone at school considering entering the tech world?

The future of technology is in the hands of today's youth and my key piece of advice is to get a good grounding in science and technology and a good understanding of solving problems and working with others, then find your passion and be confident in following it because your basic skills will take you wherever you want to go. .

7. What gadgets can't you live without? Why?

My daily devices are my Blackberry and the iPhone, at the moment I'd have to say that the Blackberry is most valuable for email.

I think is someone crossed a PDA phone, like a Blackberry and the iPhone, I wouldn't be able to live without it. I guess the one for me hasn't been invented yet! Of course, it would have to come with a JS1 controller.