StrategiQ Sponsor the 2019 DevelopHER Awards
In 2018, we partner sponsored the DevelopHER Awards – and we are proud to announce that we are yet again, the headline partner sponsor for the 2019 DevelopHER Awards. Yet another year, we are delighted to be involved in celebrating women in technology alongside other local companies as well as national brands like Google and Amazon.
Established in 2015 by Vickie Allen, founder of SyncDevelopHER, the awards aim to promote gender equality while raising the profile of women in technology in order to create role models for the next generation of women in the industry.
“As a full-service digital agency, having a diverse team of people who come from varied backgrounds allows us to be more creative and considered so we can conceive the best ideas and connect with our clients’ audiences through the utilisation of different perspectives allowed by our team’s diversity.”
James Bavington | COO of StrategiQ
Why are these awards important in our industry?
Statistics show that boys are more likely to choose careers in technology and other STEM-related professions than girls – but why?? Although a definite “cause” is complex – Microsoft found a clear link between the loss of interest in these careers and a lack of female role models in the industry in addition to not enough practical, hands-on experience in primary and high school – in its research study of 11,570 respondents (aged 11-30) across 12 European countries – including the UK.
Another Microsoft study of Europe found that although young girls may become interested in STEM and digital technology related careers at an early age – they end up becoming disinterested around the age of 15 – which could be due to lack of interaction with mentors and role models in these professions.
Another study by PwC UK called “Women in Tech – Time to close the gender gap” on female university students, also highlighted that over a quarter of survey participants were put off pursuing a career in digital technology because of the perception that it’s too “male-dominated.”
Bearing the above in mind, to combat this, and encourage young girls to pursue careers in digital technology – businesses must work together to increase awareness of the impact women are making in the sector as well as the opportunities available. There are also many places where current women in tech can become role models or mentors for girls in tech, some of which include FabFems, Tech Girls are Superheroes and Dot Diva.
“Vickie’s vision and celebration of women within technology in the DevelopHER Awards reflects our values as a company and our hope to help inspire future generations of women considering a career in digital.”
James Bavington | COO of StrategiQ
StrategiQ Women – Succeeding in Digital
For us as a company, we feel these awards are an opportunity to encourage young women to pursue careers outside of the ‘norm’ – and have worked hard to create a culture where everyone on the team – regardless of gender – can excel.
Over the past year – women in our team have had many successes including:
- Hannah, our Senior Search Consultant, winning the Digital Marketer DevelopHER Award for her mentorship and continuous innovation that has helped us become more efficient at what we do – from her Forecaster to her Cannibalisation Tool and more.
- Bex, one of our lead Designers, being shortlisted in last year’s Eye for Design DevelopHER Award in addition to being the design eye behind some of our biggest campaigns with some being recognised in the industry such as her work with our client Jacada Travel.
- Kara, an SEO Executive, recently winning a Hackathon hosted by Innovate Suffolk for her app Stress Buddy and being the strategist behind our industry award submissions.
- Amy, originally our Client Services Manager – being promoted to Head of Production for her organisation, dedication and work ethic, which has considerably improved and streamlined our development pipeline.
- Levi, Content Outreach & PR Executive, Nicola, Office Administrator, and Roisin, Marketing Executive for winning MVP and consistently offering opportunities within their individual channels from UX improvements to large PR campaigns.
- & Rheanne, one of our newest Developers, for helping to research and enhance the interfaces of some of our long-standing clients both national and local, which included changing the ways users travel through some of the websites as well as improving the underlying strategy of how content is presented.
Are you a client impressed with the work of any of the team members mentioned above?? Why not send in a nomination here?
How can you get involved?
The awards opened on the 31st of May and will close on 3rd September. If you and your company would like to get involved you can go to the website for more information. You can also go there to nominate a woman working in tech, sponsor a package, attend the event or volunteer and get involved.
We hope to see you there!
We’re hiring!
Are you looking for your next big career move?? We are currently hiring for many positions across our marketing, design and development teams. Click here to view our current list of open positions. Have other skills you can offer?? Get in touch!
