The UK awareness-raising workshop organised on November 4th by CodeYourFuture gathered more than 40 participants! This was the opportunity to discuss on the future of work and employability in the UK tech sector. Thank you to everyone who joined!
AGENDA
Keynote – Annette Joseph (founder of Diverse & Equal)
We heard from Annette Joseph about her personal experience as the child of a Windrush family and the importance culture and identity took in her upbringing. In her work life, Annette has been challenging the ‘meritocracy myth’ and advocating for an approach to diversity and inclusion that embraces the significant benefits that companies enjoy when they engage in effective D&I practices.
Annette emphasised the importance for companies to cast their nets “far and wide” when looking for new talent. In the search for greater inclusivity we need to take extraordinary measures to ensure that a diverse range of people can access the funnel and that bias is removed from the hiring process.
For students and aspiring developers Annette shared some key points of advice:
- Aim for authenticity not perfection – bring your whole self to work and speak out
- Seek out your allies – Networking is essential, start building yours now
- Trust your gut – If you are in an organisation and something doesn’t feel right even after you’ve worked to fix it then it’s time to look elsewhere.
Case Study – CodeYourFuture Grads
We then heard from Madiha and Joan, two CodeYourFuture graduates who are now working as software developers at Capgemini. They shared with us the struggles they faced accessing the tech world and how, through the CodeYourFuture course they developed the technical and soft skills that make them successful developers today. We then heard how Capgemini has supported them through their partnership with CodeYourFuture and the guidance and opportunities they’ve had access to since starting at Capgemini.
Panel – Annie, Richard, Chinonso, Amy
During our panel discussion we discussed the current state of diversity and employment in the North West tech scene, outlined some visions for what could be achieved and shared some real steps that can be taken to help achieve this.
Annie Mbako highlighted the importance of retention, an area which is largely overlooked. Companies need to look at retention and recognise that D&I practice must be felt throughout an organisation. There are a lot of small things that can be down within a company which help a company by promoting its reputation making diverse and inclusive hiring easier.
As companies have started to realise the benefits of diverse and inclusive hiring Chinonso echoed Annie in emphasising that these practices must be felt across an organisation and that many still face barriers when it comes to promotions. Knowing your worth as an employee is important in these situations and Chinonso’s advice for those who are not getting the recognition they deserve despite their best effort is to move on to new opportunities.
We then heard from Richard as he discussed the digital divide and proposed a digital bridge which can bring people together and create opportunities for individuals. By providing these bridges and proactively reaching out to people to make sure we can include people we can ensure that companies get access to great talent and more innovation as well as bridging the digital divide. This can be achieved as long as companies set themselves tangible & measurable targets and hold themselves accountable.
Amy reinforced this message of accountability by highlighting the importance of securing the support of key C-suite figures in order to really make an impact. Whilst there is significant pressure on larger companies to enact D&I policies there is still a lack of take up amongst smaller companies with the exception of when leadership realises this as an important and meaningful goal within the organisation.
Hearing from all these speakers outlined a clear vision for a future where diversity is embraced and cherished and the paths we can take to get there. Whilst there are significant challenges along the path there are real, impactful steps that individuals and organisations can take today.
