W-Tech: More Than Just Jobs
by Elizabeth Harrin (London)
More than 700 women gathered at W-Tech in London, UK, on June 24th to take part in the one day recruitment, career development and networking event for women interested in working (and staying) in IT.
“It was a really buzzy atmosphere,” said Maggie Berry, director of womenintechnology.co.uk. She admits to being “frazzled” at the end of the event, and it’s hardly surprising given the amount of energy and effort poured into the planning. This is the second time Berry has planned for W-Tech – although only the first time the event has taken place. W-Tech was originally scheduled for February this year but it coincided with the heaviest snow fall London had seen for decades and unfortunately the event had to be cancelled as the capital shuddered to a freezing halt.
W-Tech aimed to connect the most well-known technology employers with women working in, or who are interested in working in, the IT profession. It was billed as “the networking event of 2009 for everyone wanting to learn out more about women working in, achieving in and staying in the IT workforce.” Many major recruiters were in attendance including Microsoft, Bloomberg, the British Library, the BBC, HP, Sky and GCHQ.
Berry had a chance to speak to most of the exhibitors and sponsors and said that many of them reported having “good conversations with interesting and intelligent women,” which she sees as testament to the high calibre of women who attended.
The event was about more than just job hunting though. There were plenty of seminars throughout the day covering a myriad of topics from managing your online profile to how to behave in an all-male team. Other sessions include negotiating, career management, political savvy and emotional intelligence: all hot topics for women wanting to get on. W-Tech was organised as a joint venture between womenintechnology.co.uk and the British Computer Society, and BCS author Karen Lawrence Öqvist spoke about keeping your personal data private when so much is done online.
There was also a packed out evening session sponsored by Google, with more people arriving for wine and canapés on the balcony at the beautiful Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) building overlooking the Thames.
The main draw of the evening – apart from being able to enjoy the weather – was the chance to listen to senior women discussing what it means to achieve as a woman. The panel included Jo Alma, Managing Director – Head of IMD Technology for Europe & Asia at Goldman Sachs and Lis Astall, MD Public Service in Europe, Africa & Latin America at Accenture. The panel discussion was facilitated by Rebecca George OBE, who is a Partner in Deloitte Corporate Finance and responsible for relationship management and business development in the public sector arena.
Several of the women on the panel admitted that at some point in their careers they had nearly lost their jobs because of things that had gone wrong. While no one in the audience would have wished for that, it is comforting to know that even the most successful women have moments where their career trajectories don’t look too stellar. It was a moment where people listening realised that many senior people face failure during their careers. Even if it looks as if your mentor or role model has breezed through their working life it is more likely that they have suffered setbacks themselves.
Punita Gajree, head of Stakeholder Relations at the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, said that if you are asking yourself if you should make that jump, then the answer is ‘yes’. There is value in taking calculated risks, and you rarely lose anything by trying, so say ‘yes’ and give it a go.
When I asked Berry if she would be planning W-Tech 2010 she hesitated. “It’s been tough putting it together in the midst of a recession,” she said. “But I like to think so.” Still, planning for last week’s event started in the summer of 2007 when conversations with the BCS began. W-Tech 2009 has been a long time coming and it probably isn’t the kind of thing London needs every year. In another 18 months the economy will be in a different place and the needs of the women attending – if W-Tech runs again, and I’m sure that’s a given with Berry and the BCS behind it – will also be different.
During the day the feedback from participants, sponsors and exhibitors was overwhelmingly positive. Berry is the kind of woman who always wants to do things better and she told me about her plans for an online feedback survey to make sure that if the event does run again it is even more successful.
In all honesty, it won’t matter if it’s a long time before W-Tech comes to London again. If the participants paid attention to the speakers and seminars they will have learned something valuable about networking and will be keeping in touch with the other women they met at the IET. “The networking element of the day was as important as the recruitment and career planning focus,” Berry explained, “even if you plan to stay in your current organisation it pays to keep in touch.”