Celebrating International Women's Day: An Interview with Lauren

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the achievements of women and a call to action for advancing gender equality. 2025’s campaign theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the barriers that women face in personal and professional spheres.

In honour of IWD, we spoke to Lauren Taylor, Lead Developer at FixMyCar, to discuss her career in tech and the advice she’d give to other women hoping to make it in this traditionally male-dominated industry.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your journey into software development and what led you to become Lead Developer at FixMyCar?

A. My journey started in my early years, growing up with two older brothers, who were both heavy gamers and tech whizzes. Naturally, their wisdom rubbed off on me. I eventually found my own creative outlets that formed foundational technical skills - such as building mini-games in Little Big Planet on the PlayStation and learning media tools to create viral memes in online communities. When I realised I couldn’t make a career out of creating memes, I focused on coding and becoming a valuable developer.

I’ve always had a strong interest in personal development, and I approach every year with the intention to grow and learn. I discovered the value in volunteering to help serve my local tech community, which improves my knowledge, awareness and experience beyond my day job. My involvement naturally grew, starting in my university Computing Society, founding a Women in Tech student community, and then leading the marketing team for a local tech conference with over 700 attendees. 

My current focus is to become a valuable Lead Developer and line manager for other devs at FixMyCar by learning how to support their personal development and improve processes for the wider engineering team. I also have plans to continue bringing value to the UK tech community in more impactful ways.

Q. You were recently selected from thousands of applicants to attend AWS Re:Invent 2024 in Las Vegas, which is a huge achievement. What was that experience like, and what key takeaways did you bring back to FixMyCar?

AWS Re:Invent was a surreal experience. I had the privilege of joining 60,000 attendees across five days to soak up knowledge from insightful sessions on Cloud, AI and DevOps, plus immersing myself in Women in Tech panels and fascinating Keynotes.

I was among the lucky 400 engineers selected from thousands of applicants for the AWS All Builders Welcome Grant. This was an all-expenses-paid opportunity for underrepresented techies to experience the conference. It was incredible!

Key takeaways to bring back to FixMyCar include meeting some incredibly established developers at Women in Tech networking events and listening to their inspiring stories on panels and fireside chats. This directly impacted my development, as I believe you have to surround yourself with people who have taken the steps you aspire to follow.

Another takeaway was hearing about the technical advancements offered by AWS, such as how the system architecture was built for Zoox's AI autonomous driving vehicles. 

I felt super grateful to have experienced such a prestigious event alongside a group of bright, growth-minded grantees and to grow my technical knowledge in such a positive environment. It's 100% a bucket list event for any developer.

Q. What are the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Funnily enough, I can’t say my biggest challenge has ever been technical, as I’ve always been surrounded by talented developers and problem solvers. One of my biggest challenges is finding role models I can relate to. 

As a young woman starting a tech career fresh out of uni, your pool of friends and role models is relatively small. Then, as you develop your career and move into roles with more responsibility, your pool becomes smaller and smaller as people's priorities shift. My biggest challenge has been finding people with similar ambitions, challenges, leisure interests and priorities. 

Fortunately, I’ve connected with like-minded individuals at events like AWS Re:Invent and online tech communities. I also draw inspiration from successful women and entrepreneurs online, creating content in other fields such as real estate, e-commerce, etc.

Q. The tech industry is still male-dominated. What changes would you like to see to make it more inclusive for women?

I’d like to see more entry-level opportunities for those with transferable professional skills seeking a career pivot. I’m often approached by folks who’ve built an established career in a different sector, asking how to get into tech. However, these opportunities to pivot are rare and competitive. 

A person with an existing career in another industry will often outperform someone fresh out of university, yet there are more opportunities for the latter. I hope to see more chances for women to pivot into software and take advantage of flexible working in highly skilled roles. Businesses will benefit significantly from this via increased diversity of thought.

Q. What advice would you give to young women who are considering a career in software development?

I’d advise young women to leap at every opportunity they’re offered. Once the wheels start turning, you’ll soon expand your network and technical skills and see your confidence grow over time. Everyone in software development goes through the same learning curve, which can feel daunting at first but extremely rewarding and often a fun and supportive experience. You get a real sense of comradery in software development teams due to their problem-solving nature. 

Be open to learning, adopt a growth mindset and take advantage of any opportunities that come your way!

Click here to find out more about International Women's Day or read last year's interview with Mima Rybanska.