Paving the Way: Inspiring Women in Payments

In this edition of our podcast, the PCI Security Standards Council is pleased to host a panel discussion featuring four women from Coalfire, a leading provider of IT advisory services for security in a variety of industries, including payments.

As a female entrepreneur, Adelia Castelino credits much of her early success to the role models who inspired and supported her vision to create a small start-up business, which has since flourished into a successful global company. In this edition of our podcast, Adelia explains that to sustain more women in the dynamic world of payments, mentorships are an increasingly important way that women can nurture their talents while supporting other women in their industry.

Sometimes, being a woman brings in a more human touch when navigating through challenging security issues. This sensitivity to customer concerns is exactly what has helped Agnes Ng achieve success as a female entrepreneur in the Singapore payment industry. In this edition of our podcast, Agnes explains that despite a lack of women taking technology courses as part of their education in Singapore, she believes that more doors will be opened to women in technology as part of the government’s initiative to stay ahead as a global city.

As the first girl in her family who was encouraged to go to university, Candice Pressinger is inspired by how far the world has come in terms of education, female role models, and new societal norms. These advancements are now reflected in her own daughter who is exposed to technology at a young age through STEM programs in school. In this edition of our podcast, Candice reflects on her career journey through a changing tech world but acknowledges that there is still a long way to go to achieve a workforce representative of equal opportunity and diversity in all its forms.

There was once a time when Marie Babineau felt she had to pretend to be one of the boys in order to be taken seriously. Determined to prove herself to her male colleagues, Marie learned how to crimp an RG-45 wire, program a router in command line, and become a fierce Unix system admin, among many other highly technical skills. The more she learned, the more confidence she gained. In this edition of our podcast, Marie explores the theme of building confidence and how we can start at an early age by not perpetuating a frequently held stereotype: that girls are not good at math.

Carey Ferro credits much of her success to having a healthy sense of curiosity. Asking questions and understanding how things work at an early age can help one shape and grow technology as a lifelong passion. But even more important, Carey says learning to practice reflection is an essential part of continued personal growth and finding balance in one’s life. In this edition of our podcast, Carey discusses the importance of curiosity, courage, and being inspired by the Japanese concept of Ikigai.

She started out pursuing a career in Human Resources, but soon learned it wasn’t the right fit. While pursuing her MBA, Anna-Magdalena Kohl took a chance on a work-study position at an IT security company, even though she had no formal technical training. It was a move that would define her career path. The company, in turn, took a chance on her, investing in her technical education. In this edition of our podcast, Anna-Magdalena explains that even without a technical background, many companies are very supportive and willing to provide on-the-job training opportunities – which can make all the difference in retaining women in the industry.

With a background in Russian language and literature, Noel Haskins-Hafer might have seemed like an unlikely candidate for a career in technology. But through her love for learning, she started out by reading IBM manuals and assembler programming books, often while sitting in a canoe on vacation. Over time, she explored and eliminated roles that she hated until she discovered where she fit, and what she loved, in the realm of audit and compliance. In this edition of our podcast, Noel explains why lifelong learning – and learning broadly – can be the key to a successful career.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the PCI Security Standards Council is pleased to bring you a special edition of our podcast. In this panel discussion, we examine what it means to be female in the tech world with three women from Global Payments, a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions.

With more than 20 years in the technology industry, Natasja Bolton’s experience has largely been a positive one where she has felt supported by her male peers, teachers, and managers along the way. But where the technology world does itself a disservice to women, she says, is by not advertising the scale of the industry and the variety of jobs that are out there. In this edition of our podcast, Natasja explains why the perception of the industry might be one of the barriers for women.

When she’s not perfecting her lock-picking skills, Angel Grant is busy building a diverse team who have the right attributes for the dynamic world of technology. In this edition of our podcast series, Angel explains that since your future job probably doesn’t exist yet, the keys to success are your transferable skills.

At times, Nicole Braun was the only female Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) in the entire country of New Zealand. In our 2021 podcast series debut, Nicole explains how she found success in the payments industry, against all odds, and why she thinks there are encouraging signs that a gender shift is coming. 

Brought to you by the PCI Security Standards Council