Let’s face it, 2020 has seen the world turned on its head. At ANS, we’ve seen our fair share of innovation and digital transformation in the last 3 months alone. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the number of women working in the tech industry, where women still make up less than 20% of the workforce. And did you know that women software engineer hires have only increased 2% over the last 20 years?

That’s why we’re still driving our Women in Tech campaign to educate and inspire more women about the exciting career opportunities in the tech industry. Read on to find out what we’ve been up to the last 6 months and what’s still to come in 2020.

 

International Women’s Day celebrations

8th March was International Women’s Day, so earlier that week, we celebrated with our partners, customers and colleagues.

Joined by the likes of Microsoft, Tesco, City of York Council, South Staffordshire Water Plc, Ordnance Survey and more, we headed to London to celebrate the amazing things women are achieving in our industry right now.

 

Connecting women in tech throughout lockdown

Covid-19 won’t stop us from connecting women in tech across the UK. We were joined by the fabulous and inspiring Caroline Whyatt, Head of Digital Innovation and Experimentation. She was kind enough to share the story of her journey into tech and top career advice with our women in tech community.

We talked about levelling the playing field, female role models, confidence, the impact of Covid-19 on the tech industry, why we should always be learning and how we can inspire more women to join the world of tech. Missed the event? Watch this video to see what else we talked about.

 

Building a strong female community at ANS

Ok this isn’t exactly a new one for us, but we want every woman to know that they have a voice at ANS. We believe that if we want to make a difference in the tech industry then the best place to start is within ANS.

Since we launched the campaign in January 2019, we’ve found that female solidarity is key if we want to move forward. Whether it’s Yammer groups, skills sharing sessions or CSR initiatives, we want the ladies of ANS to feel supported and connected.

 

Working with Microsoft to recruit more women into tech

In 2019, Microsoft announced they would be offering a number of free to attend bootcamps around the UK, designed to make careers in data science accessible for women who have taken a career break or looking at moving into a new role. We jumped at the chance to get involved and this year we did exactly the same.

The Microsoft Professional Programme in Data Science will teaches the basics of the subject, which particularly suffers with a gender imbalance, before participants continue their studies at home via the internet. Those who complete the other nine courses, which must be paid for, can apply for certificates that can be used to further their career.

As hosts of the Manchester-based bootcamp for the second year running, we’re really excited to help Microsoft inspire more women to join the tech industry later this year.

2020 has been another great year for our Women in Tech campaign but it’s not over yet. One of the best parts of the campaign is getting to meet and inspire more women to join our community, and we’re excited to welcome some more!

Head to our YouTube channel to learn what else we do educate young women on the opportunities in the tech industry. And while you’re there, why not like subscribe to our page so you’ll never miss an update.