GMCA Digital
Digital Her - inspiring young women into tech and digital
By Emma Grant, Talent & Skills Manager, Manchester Digital
12th October 2021
In celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, Manchester Digital’s Digital Her programme is holding a virtual event for colleges today across Greater Manchester to inspire even more young women into careers in digital and technology.
More than 50 young women have signed up to hear from inspiring women in a wide range of tech and digital roles. This event, sponsored by BAE Applied Intelligence and Auto Trader, is just one of many online and in-person events or initiatives that Digital Her has run since it was set up four years ago.
Katie Gallagher, Managing Director, Manchester Digital, said: “Our research shows that not enough young women are being exposed to the possibilities of a digital or tech career during their education. Further down the line, this is having a huge impact on the diversity of tech teams and the wider talent pipeline.
“It is a proven fact that diverse teams produce the best quality work, products and services. Research has shown that firms with a female founder and a female executive hire six times more women in their workforce.
We are completely focused on encouraging more and more young women into the industry, knowing that they themselves will go onto inspire future generations of women. Visibility matters so by bringing mentors and female tech leaders to events, we can demonstrate that a tech career is a valid option.”
What is Digital Her?
The Digital Her programme was created to encourage both educators and businesses to do more to promote STEM subjects as well as tech and digital careers to young women in school. To date we have worked with 198 schools and colleges and engaged with more than 2,100 girls (from our 2020 Impact Report).
Our mission is to inspire and empower girls to engage with STEM-related subjects for GCSEs and A-Levels, and have the confidence and desire to explore the incredible careers available in digital and technology.
Throughout 2020, we had to switch to online events and programmes only due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and now run a combination of in-person and virtual events and initiatives.
Why is it such an important initiative?
Women make up less than a quarter of the workforce within the STEM sector so our scheme aims to help young women consider the industry while they are still in education, giving them the opportunity for multiple career pathways.
While businesses are desperately trying to tackle the huge gap in diversity in their workforce and boardrooms, there is very little they can do at the senior recruitment level if the female candidates are simply not there.
By getting businesses and mentors directly involved with schools and colleges, Digital Her ensures that more and more women are encouraged into technology and digital industry.
Get involved
We have had a brilliant response from businesses and colleges right across Greater Manchester in helping us with sponsorship, mentoring sessions and much more. However, we’re always looking to get more tech and digital businesses involved, so you can email me at emma@manchesterdigital.com for more information.
Become a mentor
We’re always looking for women in tech and digital roles to become mentors to the next generation. Having role models from all types of digital and tech roles is vital to encourage women with a range of skills.
Just fill out this form if you are interested in becoming a mentor or find out more about Digital Her.
Contact Us
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