Female tech role-models set to inspire 1,000 young women

WOW Talks, the social impact organisation that delivers engaging live events and digital content to inspire people to discover and pursue career paths in areas they are passionate about, is launching its first flagship event to inspire girls about the world of technology, with the support of Accentureand in partnership with Next Tech Girls.

WOW Talks // Women in Tech will take place on the 20th September at the Royal Geographical Society, bringing together some of the most inspiring female tech entrepreneurs and trailblazers to share their very personal stories of what inspired them to do what they do, how they got to where they are, the challenges they faced on the way and their Words of Wisdom (WOW) – using the unique WOW Talks event format.

The audience will be made up of up to 1,000 young women in total, with an afternoon session tailored specifically for secondary school students (14-16) and the evening for university-aged students and young women already in the workforce (18-25).

In addition to the inspiring talks on the main stage, the event will also offer interactive workshops, the opportunity to demo exciting, new technologies and to network with some of the leading female tech entrepreneurs and execs in the UK.

“We are excited to be hosting our very first Women in Tech event, which aims to change girls' perceptions about science and technology being a male-dominated field, and demonstrate how tech can be used as a game-changing tool across all industries. We want them to see that there is a place for all kinds of interests, talents and skills in the world of technology”, commented Kim Arazi, CEO of WOW Talks.

“We specifically chose this topic for our first flagship event as we feel very strongly about closing the gender gap in tech and think that one of the most effective ways to do this is by having inspiring women (in tech) share their personal stories...their WHY. We are also delighted to have Accenture on board as a Gold Sponsor, showing their commitment to diversity and women in tech.”

“It’s critical that girls and young women are encouraged and inspired about the vast array of exciting opportunities available to them through a career in technology. By addressing the gender imbalance in the tech industry, we can help to ensure that the UK has the right skills in place to drive economic success,” said Arabel Bailey, managing director for Accenture Digital in the UK & Ireland.

Steve Brown, Director of Empiric and founder of Next Tech Girls, comments:

“1.46 million people are employed within the technology sector in the UK, but only 17% of them are women. If we, as a profession, are to tackle current
and future skills gaps created by the meteoritic rise of automation and digital communications, it is crucial that organisations work together to tap into female talent pools before they are tainted by negative and narrow connotations surrounding what a career in technology looks like.”

“Whether a student’s passion is law, art or fashion, digital will be integral to a career in their chosen discipline. Next Tech Girls is incredibly proud to be lead partner on this ground-breaking event. I have no doubt that the 1,000 young women who will attend on the day will leave inspired by the stories of the incredible role models who will be joining us.”

Other organisations supporting this event include Apps for Good, Acorn Aspirations, TechUK, Tech London Advocates – Women in Tech, developHER, Stemettes and GrowthEnabler, as well as the Mayor of London.

For further information on sponsorship opportunities and registration (for schools or the public) please visit http://women-in-tech.wowtalks.tv/ or contact Kim Arazi (kim@wowtalks.tv)


About WOW Talks

WOW Talks is a social impact organization that delivers engaging live events and digital content to inspire people to connect with their ‘WHY’ - their purpose - and discover and pursue career paths in areas they are passionate about and feel connected to.

Using a unique format of multiple short talks, WOW Talks events create an insightful, entertaining and inspiring experience. The industry-specific events feature people from a variety roles, levels of experience and backgrounds who all have one thing in common: they are committed to creating a life doing what they love. In their 7-minute talks, these passionate people share their very personal stories and Words of Wisdom (WOW).

WOW Talks is a global brand whose inspiring events have been featured in Apple stores, Google Campuses, art galleries, cinemas, co-working spaces, universities and schools around the globe. All talks are filmed and available to view on the website and on the WOW Talks YouTube channel.

For more information, visit www.wowtalks.tv


Next Tech Girls

Next Tech Girls is an initiative brought to you by Empiric with an aim of sustainably and strategically increasing the number of women in technology by securing meaningful tech work experience for girls. 1.46 Million people are employed within the technology sector in the UK and only 17% of them are women. We want to help change this.

Our mission is to improve gender equality in the technology sector by providing 5,000 girls with tech work experience by 2020. If we want to see change in the industry, we have to be a part of it. Next Tech Girls will join the hundreds of organisations and companies around the world dedicated to gender equality in the IT sector.

We’re asking technology companies across London to offer work experience opportunities to school girls who are passionate about technology. One or two week long placements will show these girls a full scope of technology opportunities available to them.

For more information visit www.nexttechgirls.com