On February 10th the Women in IT Global Summit, sponsored by HSBC and Amazon Web Service (AWS), will take place. With 2020 having been a year of such unprecedented change, reflecting on the lessons learned and hurdles overcome are bound to be a key component of the upcoming event.
Kicking off the new year’s ‘Women in IT series’, the free virtual event will focus on the lack of diversity in tech, a long-term issue that shows no sign of waning in importance in 2021.
The event promises a wealth of tools, resources, and action points for attendant delegates.
Who’s speaking
The speakers will delve into tech-focused topics and the key learnings from 2020, facilitating discussion through a blend of informative keynotes, panel sessions and interactive fireside chats.
Speakers will include multi-award-winning disability specialist and one of the BBC’s top 100 Women in 2020, Shani Dhanda. Dhanda will be on the ‘Progress Made & Lost in Equity’ fireside chat alongside Zakiya Mabery, Founder, B. Global Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Planning. The moderator will be Lindsay Hewitt, EMEA Diversity & Inclusion Leader, AWS, who will lead on topics including gendered roles in unpaid work, anti-racism movements and virtual work for those with disabilities.
Other talks include the ‘Your Future Talent Pool’ conversation, moderated by Vanessa Vakharia, Founder + CEO, The Math Guru. The Toronto-based entrepreneur wants to make maths and jobs in STEM industries accessible to all, and in this panel, she will explain just how to do it. Vakharia will be discussing how to build a diverse and inclusive workforce alongside key guests, including CASUAL founder Marley Melbourne, whose CASUAL Zine magazine features and promotes the art of young and diverse people worldwide.
The panel will also be joined by a member of the future workforce, Engineering student Nicole Ooi, who is also the Vice President of her University’s WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) chapter. Also, on the panel will be SmartCane founder Riya Karumanchi. The SmartCane is a modern cane designed to provide orientation and mobility for the visually impaired, blind and deafblind.
What to expect
The Women in IT series will be sharing an overview of the exciting year ahead, revealing their 2021 event calendar including informative summits, prestigious awards, and brand-new DEI focused deep dives.
Registration for the event can be found here.
