The inaugural #digitalwomen Tea Camp

On Tuesday it’s the first #digitalwomen Tea Camp with @thewomensroom. Harry and I will be attending, and we’ll also both be talking briefly on our own experiences surrounding the gender divide in digital. The focus of this event is not just on highlighting areas where there are still inequalities, but on what we can do to rebalance them regardless of our gender.

I was involved with a precursor discussion to the #digitalwomen event at Govcamp 13 (#ukgc13). It was packed full of technical, creative and otherwise knowledgeable women (and men!) with some powerful ideas on how to make the digital world more female-friendly. It was both inspiring and motivating, and I’m hoping that we’ll be able to move some of ideas forward at the coming event.

As a female web developer, it is easy to feel like a somewhat rare breed. I am lucky to have heaps of positive male friends and colleagues, as well as a growing group of #digitalwomen around me. There is still a gender gap in technology, however, and it’s important that we keep progress moving; I’m excited to be contributing to that on Thursday.

Visibility of our skilled and technical female colleagues is also really important to inspire the younger generation, and The Women’s Room is a great solution to that. The Women’s Room provides the media with a resource of female experts who can speak on the radio, TV and at events and helps us to be visible. I’ve added my details to the list, and I’m encouraging my female friends to do the same.