Summary of "Reconversion réussie dans la Tech : comment elle ouvre la voie aux femmes"

Overview

Interview with Léa (developer based in Lyon) about her career reconversion into tech, her technical choices, public speaking, community work, and recommendations to companies and career-changers to improve diversity and inclusion.

Key background and technical details

Education and early career
- Scientific background with engineering studies.
- Worked as a teacher before retraining into development.
Retraining route
- Completed PoEI (employment-funded retraining program) during the COVID period.
- First roles were in Java.
Current work and stack
- Backend: Kotlin / Java.
- Frontend: some Angular.
- Data team work: web service integration, cloud, Terraform.
- Small serverless Lambdas in Python and TypeScript; scripting.
- Currently on assignment at a scaleup in the energy sector; frequently works at client sites.

Public speaking, mentoring and community involvement

Public speaking
- Started via Mixit / CraftRecord springboard.
- Topics presented include: the value of career changers, cognitive load in development, legacy code, and the idea that “people don’t know what they’re doing most of the time.”
Coaching and mentoring
- Coaches for the springboard program and helps others submit CFPs.
- Mentors for Social Builder and other programs.
Communities and associations
- Co-founded / active in Sority (women-in-tech Lyon community).
- Participates in Compositech and ISO-related inclusion efforts.
Employer support
- Employer (Chaud de Lyon) allocates paid time for conference writing and internal practice sessions (“5 days/year”) to support public speaking and community work.

Practical advice and actionable tips

For companies seeking more women and atypical profiles

Be intentional: set concrete objectives (for example, increase percentage of women year-over-year) rather than vague commitments.
Accept affirmative measures: consider recruiting qualified women even when comparing candidates with differing experience levels; targets or positive discrimination at company level can be pragmatic.
Change hiring evaluation: assess candidates against the role and its requirements instead of strictly ranking candidates relative to each other (which favors privileged histories).
Provide onboarding, visibility and progression opportunities during the first 1–2 years so retrained people aren’t sidelined.
Allocate time and support for public speaking, mentoring and community engagement to raise visibility and improve retention.

For career-changers entering tech

“Prepare for the fight”: expect intense training, heavy workload and competition; persistence is required.
Build networks and sponsors early — paper qualifications alone aren’t enough.
Be intentional about career progression for the first two years: seek tasks that broaden skills and make you more competitive.
Don’t accept being boxed by assumptions — actively seek recognition and opportunities.

“Prepare for the fight.”

For teams and workplace culture

Foster real teamwork and psychological safety: encourage asking questions, admitting mistakes and learning together.
Avoid siloed “left to your own devices” environments; prefer interconnected feature teams that own the full scope (back/front/database) or provide cross-functional infra/devops support where appropriate.

On imposter syndrome

Léa argues that imposter syndrome is largely a product of systemic bias and external feedback; it’s often a reflection of how others perceive and signal competence rather than a purely internal failing.
Practical approach:
- Sort feedback: decide what’s constructive and what’s biased.
- Focus energy on what matters.
- Address external behaviors (interruptions, biased reactions) as organizational issues to be fixed.

Lifestyle notes

Léa previously did odd jobs, loved hiking, and enjoyed teaching/mentoring — these experiences inform her mentoring and public speaking engagement.

Notable locations, organizations, tools and people mentioned

Locations / companies
- Lyon; Chaud de Lyon (Chudo); client scaleup in the energy sector; earlier job at Hippo.
Programs / associations / events
- PoEI / Pôle Emploi (France Travail), Mixit / CraftRecord springboard, Social Builder, Sority (Lyon women-in-tech), Compositech, IT Woman Talk, Agilour, Run the Tech.
Technologies and tools
- Java, Kotlin, Angular, cloud, Terraform, AWS Lambdas, Python, TypeScript.
People mentioned
- Léa (interviewee), hosts (Suro and Network), Julien Tops (CraftRecord), Yann and Ludo (founders at Chaud de Lyon), Jérémie, Mathieu, Angélique, Magalie.