Women in digital tech: closing the gender gap
The figures speak for themselves
It’s good news for the digital sector, both in the UK and Leeds. Growing faster than any other economy in the UK — 2.6 times faster to be precise — it is an economy, we at Calls9 are proud to contribute to. Closer to home, we’re one of over 8,000 digital tech companies in Leeds — a region where digital jobs are expected to grow 10 times the rate of non-digital.
But, we’re not finished with the facts just yet. According to The Northern Tech 100 league table, which ranks the top 100 fastest-growing tech companies in the North, almost 30 of the start-ups and scale-ups listed are located in Yorkshire and Humberside, with nearly half based in Leeds.
However, there is one problem…
Inspirational female leaders
It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in the tech industry — in fact, they are outnumbered 4:1. As highlighted by Paula Dillon, the President of Leeds Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, there needs to be more female role models in the technology profession to ‘encourage more women into the sector and inspire youngsters to take up the opportunities presented by a growing economy’.
Here at Calls9, we’re fortunate enough to work in collaboration with some very talented women — all making waves in the digital tech industry and all hailing from Yorkshire.
Robyn Vinter, Founder of The Overtake
The Overtake is an independent online news outlet, which publishes exciting journalism — the opposite of The Daily Mail (their words, not ours!). A former Journalist, Robyn is also co-founder of the Words by Women Awards, recognising women doing brilliant journalism, and The Second Source — a group of women journalists working to end sexual harassment in the media.
Anna Sutton, Founder of The Data Shed
The Data Shed’s mission is to demystify the world of data and ‘level the playing field, so everyone can play’. Creating simple, innovative tools to solve the data problems of businesses all around the world, The Data Shed use a combination of tried-and-tested tools, mixed with cutting-edge thinking and technology to deliver simple and effective solutions.
Bec Evans, Co-Founder Prolifiko
Featured in The Guardian and The Times, Prolifiko is the world’s first digital coach for writers. An intelligent, coaching system, it is designed to help writers stay motivated and hit their deadlines. Working across desktop and mobile, Prolifiko makes writers more productive, keeps them writing and helps finish what they started.
If you’re a woman working in the Yorkshire digital tech sector, we’d love to hear from you! We regularly host our very own Calls9 start-up bootcamps with a panel of speakers, as well as other events to support start-ups and established enterprises with their digital journey.
About Calls9
Calls9 helps businesses launch websites, apps, intranets and digital experiences in record time. By combining our platform with our in-house design and development capability we can deliver digital projects quicker than a traditional agency or software house. And because we built the platform we can provide industry-leading customer support as standard.
