When leadership makes room: Building tech cultures where women can thrive

Interview with Fiona Dawson, Director at Mayden, written by Louisa Clark

When conversations turn to women in tech, the focus often lands on representation: how do we attract more women into the sector? But retention and progression matter just as much.

For Fiona Dawson, Director at health tech company Mayden, the answer doesn’t lie in loud leadership or individual heroics, but in creating environments where people can genuinely grow.

Fi’s role spans product and technical strategy, feature innovation and partnerships, but her leadership approach deliberately challenges the traditional tech playbook. Her priority is creating the conditions for Mayden’s self-managing, agile tech teams to thrive.

“In such an environment, a ‘celebrity leader’ is not as successful,” Fi explains. “Instead, ‘quiet leadership’ is what’s needed. Our way of working fosters empowerment, creativity and collaboration. This fundamentally changes how leadership shows up.”

Creating the conditions for women to stay and grow

“Quiet leadership requires identifying ways forward, providing ideas, focus and support for what needs to be achieved”, Fi outlines, “and when faced with the unexpected, calmly forges the way”.

This approach matters in an industry where women are still underrepresented. By focusing on clarity, trust and shared purpose, Fi has helped build a culture where people are supported to grow without having to fight to be heard.

With more than 57 people in the product team, 40% of whom are women, this focus on alignment has enabled teams to deliver meaningful impact. Features built under this model have collectively saved Mayden customers millions of clinical and administrative hours, demonstrating what’s possible when people are trusted to do great work.

This isn’t just technical success. It’s evidence of how removing bias and nurturing equality leads to better outcomes: for teams, customers and the services they support.

Growth without compromising values

Under Fi and the executive team's leadership, Mayden has expanded into new areas of health and care, from neurodiversity to healthy lifestyles and addictions, plus the acquisition of new products and technologies.

For Fi, business growth and culture are inseparable.

“It’s a testament to our people, our customers, and our partners,” she says. “This belief is what underpins retention at Mayden and enables women to step into leadership roles, without compromising their values”.

Visibility, mentorship and making progress

Despite working in a tech organisation where more than half of staff are women, Fi is clear the wider industry still has work to do.

“I can still find myself as the only woman at a conference,” she reflects. “And it’s certainly not because there’s a lack of talented women with important contributions to make.” “Mentorship has been pivotal in my own journey”, Fi goes on. “Seeing women in senior roles made it easier to imagine myself there, and to step forward when opportunities arose”.

Her advice to women starting out in tech is rooted in that experience. “All progress we make is built on the progress made by others” Fi says. “Seek out people who inspire you, be curious, and never forget: your impact in the tech industry matters, and probably sooner than you think.”

Making change visible, not just possible

For Fi, meaningful change comes from showing up consistently and visibly, and recognising the responsibility that leadership brings.

“The inspiration I found in the incredible women and allies that I have encountered throughout my career makes it all the more my responsibility to make myself seen and heard for those that might be looking”, Fi says. “Someone else might see what’s possible and be the one to make the difference. Progress with inclusion doesn’t come from a single initiative. It comes from cultures that make space for women not just to enter tech — but to lead it.”

About the campaign

techUK’s March TechTogether campaign continues with a focus on ‘empowering women in tech from classroom to c-suite'. Following International Women's Day our insights this week focus on female retention and growth in tech workplaces, spotlighting successful female tech leaders, gender pay disparities in the tech world, and addressing workplace biases and strengthening DEI initiatives.