As part of FDM Group’s ongoing women in IT campaign, the international IT services provider held another successful “Women in IT Advantage Session” in their flagship London office.
FDM’s Chief Operating Officer, Sheila Flavell, led the event, which offers an opportunity for women who are interested in pursuing a career in IT to network with industry professionals to gain insight into what their professional future might have in store.
Flavell opened the session by speaking of the diverse range of roles available within one of the world’s fastest growing industries. She spoke of the shocking research recently revealed by TotalJobs.com that there is currently an average of 15 applications per one job in the United Kingdom.
Currently women make up a mere 18{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} of the IT and Telecoms industries and although companies are now starting to recognise that gender balance in the work force is a valuable corporate resource there is still a perception that IT is predominantly a male career path.
The session included presentations delivered by Gillian Arnold, Founder of Tectre and Inspiration of the Year at this year’s everywoman in Technology Awards, Olga Chaidou, a current FDM Consultant and Maria Ingold, CTO and Head of Technology at FilmFlex Movies. The speakers covered topics such as the importance of networking, confidence and determination to the 40 attendees including a wide range of students, graduates and professionals looking to change their career.
Undergraduate Ani Gasparyan said of the event, “I was inspired by the event. There is still some hope for the ladies in IT!”
A Q&A session then created a platform for attendees to ask direct questions and gather advice relevant to their own personal situations.
The event closed with an enjoyable round of networking, which gave guests the opportunity to forge relationships with other like-minded women that could support them throughout their careers. On the success of the event, Flavell commented, “I am delighted that these events can inspire women and offer a platform for women passionate about IT and business to discuss industry topics. I would like to thank Gillian, Olga and Maria on behalf of all of FDM for their motivating presentations; they are all a real inspiration.”
FDM is continuing to hold these Advantage Sessions as part of its ongoing “Women in IT” campaign, which aims to contribute to a change in current industry figures.
This comes at a time when research by Harvey Nash PLC has revealed that seven out of ten technology leaders believe they are missing vital skills as a result of low representation of women in their teams.
Credit: onrec.com
