Clodagh McCabe
Integration Lead, CWiT
Amanda Jolliffe
Communications Lead, CWiT
An action-driven organisation comprised of 20+ tech companies have come together with a clear mission of attracting, retaining and promoting women in technology and business.
The saying that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” echoes true for Connecting Women in Tech (CWiT) and its members. Although all its member companies have strong diversity and inclusion strategies in place (which is a membership requirement), there is huge value in the collective power to empower women. In fact, one of our strengths in being a driver of gender diversity is that we naturally have many diverse perspectives due to the variety of companies, workplaces, roles and career paths present in the network.
Encouraging more participation
Unfortunately, for many young women or women returning to work, choosing a career in technology is very often the road not taken. Our network has strategically broken into collaborative committees to explore pathways for encouraging and inspiring women so they can see that there is a place at the table for them and — more importantly — that they are needed.
Together with our members and partners, we offer several targeted programmes to raise the profile of women in the technology sector. We also contribute to programmes focused on inspiring the next generation of women to come.
Actions to cause reactions
Our Early Careers committee runs a multitude of events and programmes which provide visibility of the role that women already play in our sector — with programmes such as Tech Starter being an inspiration for many participants, showing them that they belong in the technology industry. Meanwhile, our education committee is actively involved in numerous programmes to support the education sector.
Some of these are student-focused, such as Teen Turn, which supports young girls with STEM work placements and activities. Some are teacher-focused, such as the STEM Teacher Internship Programme which CWiT has been a strategic partner of since 2017.
Plenty done and more to do
Regardless of industry, the reality is that the more work we do to empower and inspire women in technology and business, the more work we realise is required. We remain committed to our mission and take solace in our collective power to empower.
Learn more about CWiT at cwit.ie
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