Inspired and Energised… by Women in Tech
Women hold only 11% of executive positions at Silicon Valley companies and 25% of computing jobs.
Knowing this, it was inspiring to attend the Women of Silicon Roundabout conference last week in London, which was set up to inspire, celebrate and connect women working in technology. It enables people and organisations to learn and take action on gender diversity and inclusion.
Through inspirational keynotes, panel discussions and career development workshops, industry pioneers shared their experiences of championing women, the importance of female role models and gave us ideas on how to accelerate our own carers.
From listening to the many speakers, here are some of the great tips & reminders I picked up:
- Learn from your mistakes – ‘It’s better to try and fail than never to try at all’.
- I knew I could do it, so I did!
- Be brave; put yourself forward
- Have a willingness to be unpopular – we can’t always be nice and be liked
- Know what you want – be conscious of your choices
- Think about what’s said about you when you are not in the room
- Visibility is key
- Draw up a list of role models
Finally, it was interesting to hear about different initiatives for example ‘The Tech She Can’ charter – a commitment by organisations to work together to increase the number of women working in technology roles in the UK. It aims to tackle the root cause of the problem at societal level by inspiring and educating girls and women to get into teach careers and sharing best practice across the organisations involved.
I will definitely be going again next year, for more information:
https://www.women-in-technology.com/