Helping women thrive in technology is personal for Lulu Isdory, who grew up in a low-income household in Tanzania. “Working in this area wasn’t something I even could have dreamed about before getting a scholarship to study in the UK,” says Isdory, who joined EY as a technology consultant last year.
Now Isdory, who specialises in projects that use SAP software to manage business operations and customer relations, wants others to benefit from her experience. She is on the committee for the EY Women in Technology network, an inclusive initiative that supports girls and women to excel at EY. Belonging to the network brings access to resources, training courses and people.
“We connect women across different service lines, such as audit, tax, consulting or support and operations, and across different levels of the business. The idea is they can mentor each other or build strong relationships that will help them to connect, upskill and learn from each other,” Isdory says. “Our main aim is to ensure we have more women in this space because as of now there aren’t that many in the sector and there are even fewer black women with the same background as me. It’s about fostering greater levels of diversity across the industry,” she adds.
Caroline Morton, senior manager and chair of the Women in Technology network, says the group is “a space to explore and grow yourself with a network of like-minded people”. Despite the name, anyone can join. “We educate and incubate, and we innovate and advocate,” she adds.
“Being in tech can sometimes be lonely. People often feel everyone else is the expert and that they can’t become the expert themselves. But our network provides the space [for that to happen],” says Morton.
The “multi-service line” approach makes the EY Women in Technology network an ideal space for people – and future recruits – to prosper, she adds. “You can move across service lines and get a different perspective on something. If a tax transformation project required an IT element or a tech solution, we would have the expertise in the subject matter in terms of the tax area as well as in the consulting and transformation space.”
The network also has a big focus on learning and development. In 2024, about 1,300 members took part in an initiative to gain a qualification, “an EY badge” in AI, accredited by Hult International Business School. “If you wanted to follow up and do a tech MBA, you could,” adds Morton, who says half of all participants gained an AI badge.
In keeping with the ethos of development, Morton herself won bronze in the EY Global Women in Technology Community Leader of the Year Awards this June.
The network provides a good place for new recruits to connect or expand their business relationships. Activities range from speaker talks to informal chats over coffee and vary from in-person events to virtual ones. “A speaker might share her journey to inspire other women, while also talking about any challenges she faced and things that worked for her which might help others,” says Isdory.
Belonging to the group can open doors to new opportunities. “If you’re part of the network, you’re able to quickly access advice, experience and insights from other members who span the whole business. There is a multiplier effect from what everyone of us knows,” says Morton.
As well as being a place to discuss challenges, the group is also somewhere to celebrate – and create – victories. “I was recently nominated for an external award because of the work I’ve been doing for the Women in Tech network,” says Isdory, who has won a number or prestigious awards, including most recently a WeAreTheCity Rising Star 2025 Award.
Above all, Morton wants her members to be more confident. “Sometimes you have to remind people that you’re just as good as the person standing next to you and that you will bring diversity of thought as well as outcomes to their project.” She recently followed her own advice ahead of taking on a new brief. “I put myself in a vulnerable position and said: ‘Why can’t I be the programme director when you look at all the skills I’d bring?’” And guess what? She was.
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