The Tech Talent Charter’s first ever creative campaign aims to spotlight the women who’ve moved past the nigglingly persistent idea that tech ‘isn’t for them’. The non-profit has collaborated with cross-industry hotshots – PwC, HP, the Institute for Coding and Rankin – to encourage women to consider the career in tech they might have written off previously.
The bold and bright ‘Doing it Anyway’ message will span outdoor, social and digital, featuring striking images and stories from UK women, united under the banner ‘The tech industry needs women like us’.
Clare Streets, who retrained at a software development bootcamp following a lengthy maternity break is now Associate Director of B13 Technology, says “I found an awesome and progressive career path, and still get to be the mum I want to be”.
Patience Ndlovu, who worked for 10 years in the Royal Navy and now writes automation scripts for Sky, adds “Not everyone needs a Computer Science degree… all you need is to be passionate about technology, willing to learn and not afraid to take a risk.”
These, and many more anecdotes, are available to view on the campaign website – and provide a welcome diversion from constantly disappointing stats about women in tech. At the moment, 32% of the 45% of women interested in retraining into a tech role do not believe they have the right qualifications.
COVID presents a prime opportunity for self-development and career reevaluation – and this campaign lets women know that that’s ok, and that unconventional paths to tech are as valid as the traditional routes so often taken by men.
“Women’s careers have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus outbreak”, elaborates Tech Talent Charter cofounder Sinead Bunting.
“Despite this, we know that many companies are actively recruiting women and people from minority backgrounds into tech roles within their organisations.”
“The message of this campaign is women already have the everyday skills that lend themselves to a successful career in tech and that we NEED women of all kinds to bring their skills to the UK tech sector in order for it to thrive. We hope by seeing the campaign, it will inspire women to have the confidence to take the next step and explore how they can get started with a career in tech.”
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