BusinessCloud will be publishing its inaugural ‘100 Women Role Models of Tech’ list in the next edition of the magazine – and it can’t come a day too soon.
The facts are pretty depressing. According to Deloitte Global, by the end of 2016 fewer than 25 per cent of IT jobs in developed countries will be held by women.
However, according to a 2014 study among UK firms, half of all companies hiring IT workers said that only one in 20 job applicants were women.
The potential benefits of attracting women to the tech and digital sectors are widespread. For example, a report by CREST concluded that it could improve the overall effectiveness of cyber security.
There’s a long-standing problem and the media is both part of the problem and part of the solution.
With this in mind BusinessCloud resolved to shine a light on 100 women who are role models in the world of tech.
Reporter Katherine Lofthouse sifted through literally hundreds of names before settling on the final 100.
“The key criteria was women who hold roles in technology and have been actively in getting other women into tech,” she explains.
There are high-profile characters such as vlogger Zoella, BCSWomen and #techmums founder Sue Black OBE, Decoded co-founder Kathryn Parsons and the ‘Queen of British VCs’ Eileen Burbidge MBE.
But then there are unsung heroes such as Emily Brooke, who came through Alice Bentinck’s Entrepreneur First course to found cycling tech and design start-up Blaze; Emily Forbes, whose video collaboration company SeenIt turns mobile phone users into film crews for brands; and Anne-Marie Imafidon, who was the eldest child in ‘Britain’s Brainiest family’ and is now inspiring the next generation through Stemettes.
There are also exclusive interviews with philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley, who changed her name to Steve to be accepted into the male-dominated business world, and Hassle.com co-founder Alex Depledge, who has been awarded an MBE for services to the sharing economy.