Sara Hellon

Vice president of global sales operations and channel programmes at Mitel

Career history: Director of channel marketing at Mitel; Head of channel marketing at Mitel.

Measure of influence: Oversees 7,000 partners.

How should the IT channel encourage more girls and women to work in it?

I believe it needs to begin at academic level. Schools should encourage more girls to get interested in computer sciences and related fields.

In business, companies need to look at recruitment processes and ensure efforts are being made to promote gender diversity. Mentoring can help foster growth and progression so that there are more opportunities for women in higher level positions.