In early 2013, Althea had a choice to make. Having worked as an independent consultant in London for a year since arriving from Australia, she’d been offered a job in technology consulting by two different Big Four firms. One was PwC. And as the two interview processes played out in parallel, she soon knew which of the offers she should accept.
The clincher? Cultural fit. Althea recalls attending a PwC assessment day where the candidates debated a range of issues and presented a case study. It was an enjoyable session – and during it she formed several close friendships that she still has today. Then, during the second interview, PwC asked her about her own past experiences and choices in ways that showed how empowered she would be if she joined. All of this made choosing the job at PwC UK pretty straightforward.
Having joined PwC, Althea found that the cultural expectations she’d built up during the interview process were spot-on. In her first year, she received great support from a career coach who checked in regularly to find out how she was settling in – and who, as she puts it, “genuinely cared”. That level of support was something she hadn’t experienced before. And in the years since then, she feels she’s developed far more rapidly than she ever did in her pre-PwC career – not just in terms of technical skills, but also personal growth and development, and career opportunities.
Althea was born in Mumbai, India, and fondly recalls growing up. She has no doubt that the influences of the strong, working women that she grew up around had a profound effect on the path her career has taken. Althea speaks passionately of her grandmother, a entrepreneurial woman in 1950s Mumbai who built and grew her family business, a feat that was challenging at the time.
And just ten years later, in 2023, she made Partner, the first ethnic minority woman partner in the HR technology consulting practice at PwC UK. A milestone moment for Althea and many others.
“When I first became a PwC partner, I was surprised by the number of young women colleagues – including many whom I’d never spoken to – who sent a message or came up to congratulate me. They were really happy to see someone they perceived as being like them make partner. Up to then, I really hadn't appreciated the reach or influence I had just through my own experiences. It’s a revelation that’s really had an impact on me.”
Althea’s fascination with technology has also evolved. She’s still enthralled by the way the usage of applications is effectively unlimited and changes every day, making it vital for her to keep ahead of the curve to help clients in different scenarios. But over the years she’s also become increasingly interested in the tech sector itself – and more specifically in how tech companies operate, think, and develop and retain talent, including the way technology and traditionally technical skills are now merging with soft skills to create valuable new skillsets.
“In the tech sector, we're constantly seeing the creation of new skillsets, new operating models, new organisations. And there are more visible female role models now too, as the mix of people on teams evolves. I remember leading a technical integration workstream when I was 24 – and my implementation team handling the technical build was pretty much all experienced men. Today, the gender mix on teams is far more diverse.”
This trend links to another of Althea’s deeply-held goals: continuing to attract more women and girls into tech roles. As she sees it, we’re all heading into a tech-enabled future, so nobody should be shying away from understanding technology and thinking about how to use it to change the world. And while there's a tendency to think that working in technology requires very technical skills, the reality is that there are many different roles in tech that demand skills that are more analytical and organisational – combined with the vital ability to communicate clearly.
These are areas where a lot of women are highly capable – a fact that’s reflected in the improving gender balance of tech teams in PwC and beyond. And in Althea’s view, while diversity is important, inclusion is more so. When she’s thinking about who to allocate to a particular role, she makes a point of considering both the diversity of the team as a whole and also the developmental needs of the individual candidates. Which means asking: who has the greatest potential to grow in this particular role – and thereby grow the role itself?
Away from work, Althea spends a lot of quality family time with her five-and-a-half year old son doing things he likes to do. One of his main hobbies is Lego – a passion that recently led Althea to spend four nights at Legoland in Dubai.
For herself, an aspirational hobby for the future is to get involved in amateur dramatics. To date, she’s been a frustrated thespian watching from the stalls – but when she has the time, she’s looking forward to being up there treading the boards. Given her position as a role model for women in tech, Althea looks to be a natural choice for strong female leads!
Lightning round: quick questions and quick answers
From your experience, how do you sum up Inclusion & Diversity at PwC?
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is truly embedded – and the commitment behind it is rock-solid.
What should others know about PwC’s commitment to Inclusion & Diversity?
A DEI lens is applied across all promotion cycles and all Partners at PwC UK have DEI objectives. That's a big statement of intent from a firm like ours.
We are for all
Our focus on inclusion unlocks the power and potential of a diverse community of solvers
Fostering a space where LGBT+ solvers can shine
Our LGBT+ Inclusion driver for change
