Championing diversity in technology
Space & Time are extremely proud to announce that Solutions Analyst Claire Feeney has been selected as Manchester’s first and only Women Techmaker Ambassador for Google.
Women Techmakers is a growing global community of 81,000+ members that provides resources, support and events to empower women and minorities in their technology careers. Ambassadors have a role in delivering talks, creating content and mentoring others to help encourage diversity in an industry where these groups are traditionally underrepresented.
The Manchester Digital Skills Audit for 2022 reported that only 24% of technical roles in the North were held by women, while 79% of respondents identified ethnicity as ‘White British’. The technology industry is flourishing, particularly in the UK where the tech ecosystem alone hit a £1tn valuation following huge growth in the last two years. With rapid job creation and a vast array of skills required, from back-end database to front-end UX, a diverse workforce is crucial to maximise our collective potential.
Not only does diversity increase feelings of acceptance and security within the workforce, but it also boosts our creativity as an industry by getting more minds with unique ideas to contribute.
Claire has high hopes for the positive impact the WTM programme can achieve and her role in supporting its delivery:
As a Women Techmaker Ambassador, I want to work with our local community to inspire women to put their STEM hat on and get involved. I will be running Google’s #IamRemarkable training for all our employees which aims at empowering women and underrepresented groups to improve self-promotion skills, help reduce imposter syndrome, and partner with local tech communities to celebrate and promote diversity within tech.
Empowering individuals to believe in themselves not only improves morale but also improves the quality of our work, someone who feels happy they are doing a good job is more likely to keep trying when they hit a roadblock. I’m excited for what this year will bring and can’t wait to connect with more women in technology to learn from and inspire each other.
Although women and LGBTQ+ people are under-represented within the tech sector, the contribution they have made over the years is significant and substantial: some of the greatest advances in technology were developed by women or LGBTQ+ individuals; people working to push the sector forward whilst inspiring others to step forward and get involved. We’ve included links below to some articles on innovators to marvel at and be inspired by.
Gendering decryption – decrypting gender.
10 LGBTQ+ Individuals That Revolutionized Tech.
Overlooked No More: Karen Sparck Jones, Who Established the Basis for Search Engines.
