Monday 8th March 2021 marks International Women’s Day, a day celebrating the “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.” I couldn’t let the day pass without some acknowledgement.
The theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge and encourages us to challenge gender bias and inequality when we see it.
This is the promise that resonated the most for me, when thinking about what the DevelopHer awards are all about.
I attended the awards for the first time in 2018, and I felt so inspired by the whole process and in awe of the talent on show. The DevelopHer Awards do exactly what this promise says – they forge positive visibility of women in an industry where traditionally women are under-represented.
By showcasing the amazing talents of local female developers, digital marketers, designers and innovators we are able to encourage more girls and young women to study STEM subjects and seek out careers in technology. Over a quarter of female students in this study confirmed they were put off a career in technology because it was too male-dominated, the DevelopHer awards are just one opportunity to redress that balance.
So, a call to arms then! Let’s shout about how amazing the tech industry is, and share our success stories – not just today, but every day. Let’s seek out opportunities to build up our female colleagues, nominate them for awards and generally make a point of doing our best to forge positive visibility of women wherever we can!
Happy International Women’s Day!
