Following on from our recent blog on the problem of a lack of Girls in IT, we have now firmed up on our free breakfast event to be held here at Signal House on Wednesday 2nd October, as part of our #FirstThing series.
This is not a business networking event as such and there is no hard sell; the aim is to facilitate an environment where we can all learn from each other and share our knowledge and experiences. And there will be the usual warming pots of coffee, freshly baked Danish pastries, fruit and yoghurts and, of course, the chance to network –
We anticipate a good turnout of local and regular visitors, and in addition we will be welcoming some new faces too. In the interests of giving a voice to the people affected by, and with the influence to affect the outcome of the debate about Girls in IT, we are delighted to bring together a very special guest list. They are all stakeholders of one sort or another and include educationalists from primary, secondary, further and higher sectors, representatives of the National Careers Service, tech recruitment company Mortimer Spinks, campaigning organisations such as Lady Geek and GeekGurlDiaries, CASInclude, students, women (and men) currently working in the industry and local employers IBM and Intel.
To ring the changes, we will be presenting this event as an open debate, or forum. There will be no formal presentation, but there will be questions for our guests, the answers to which we anticipate will form the basis of a realistic, feasible action plan.
What we seek to understand is:
What is the current status? Just how gloomy are the statistics? Why is there such a huge gender imbalance? What can be done to redress it, and is it even necessary to do so? If the answer is “yes” how do we go about it, or are we too small a voice to make a difference?
If this event sounds of interest to you, you will be most welcome to attend. Spaces are limited, so please sign up as soon as you can to secure your place.
