Elisa della Faille: “There are so many opportunities in IT”

How following a coding course in Brussels changed her career

On a total of 214.000 Belgian citizens working in IT, only 39.000 of them are women*. One of them is Elisa Della Faille. Though having a degree in Political Science, she made the switch to coding in 2018 and in that same year joined Isabel Group to work on the innovative KUBE solution, a platform for banks to simplify the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. In addition to being passionate about code, she is also an active advocate for women in IT.

Hi Elisa, could you tell us how you ended up in IT? 

“I have been working in IT for almost two years now, since august 2018. However, I actually have a master’s degree in Political Science. After finishing my studies, my future was unclear and I was struggling to find a suitable job.

Eventually I ended up subscribing for a training of 7 months to learn how to code at BeCode in Brussels and it changed my life. I have always been the girl that was more into computers and tech stuff and I thought, why not? I was triggered and slowly but surely became quite good at it. I looked forward to putting everything I learned into practice and helping organizations to grow and develop.

After my coding course I was specifically looking for companies that were working with blockchain. The project Isabel Group was and is still working on today, called KUBE, grabbed my attention. They were looking for a product owner and before I knew it, I was talking to the recruiters. I was really excited and looked forward to being part of this big blockchain project with the four biggest banks of Belgium.”

What are you passionate about in your work? 

“Understanding people’s needs. As a product owner, it is my job to figure out the demands and wished of the people I work with. Trying to fathom the real meaning and motivation of people, fascinates me. Once I feel I truly understand the goals and reasoning, my job is to organize everything in a clear and structured way for the team, so all noses point into the same direction.”

What do you see as your strength as a woman in IT? 

“I believe the strength lies in the diversity we bring. Because of our experiences we bring a different point of view to the table which is key in making products or even doing business in general.”

What advice would you give to women wo want to start a career in IT? 

“If you want to have an impact on the world, IT is a great way of achieving that. It defines so many things in our daily life and definitely adds value to a career, in my opinion.
In order to feel supported, join networking organizations (e.g. Women in Tech) and look for other women in this sector to discuss and share experiences with. Because like it or not, IT is still a men’s world. By the way, you do not have to have a degree in IT, there are plenty of opportunities in this sector. It’s really worth some research and more importantly: trying it.”

Could you tell us a bit more about Women at Isabel Group? 

“There are many women working at Isabel Group, but we are all in different teams. I wanted to get to know the other women better. The idea is to create a cross-departmental network to connect with each other and exchange experiences, ideas, possible challenges we are facing etc.

Sometimes we go out for lunch together, have Fika or just virtually hang out. It’s just a great experience!”

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Isabel Group is committed to creating a diverse environment and is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability or age.

*: source https://statbel.fgov.be/nl/nieuws/cijfers-beeld-ict-specialisten-op-de-belgische-arbeidsmarkt

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Isabel Group is committed to creating a diverse environment and is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability or age.