This is just a tiny sample of the thousands of women working in tech in the UK, including startup founders, vendor executives, CIOs, security experts, developers, technologists, lawyers and academics.
It is well known fact that women are under-represented within the technology sector. Many people have discussed how, why and what can be done to help fix the imbalance. We won’t go into those questions here. What we will discuss is a place where this problem can become particularly acute: events.
Sadly it is still not uncommon to see panels that only feature male speakers, even in 2016. When the inevitable backlash on social media occurs, it is always interesting to see how the event organisers respond.
Ideally, it goes something like: “We’re sorry, we will do better next time.” Sometimes the organisers claim to have invited (usually unspecified) women but all of them couldn’t make it. Regularly the defence is: “There just aren’t enough women working in this area.” But how true is this?
We decided to investigate ourselves to see how many UK-based women we could find who’d be able to speak in public across the various sectors within tech. With relatively little effort we found tons of impressive vendor executives, chief information officers, startup founders, developers, technologists, lawyers…just to name a few sectors. They are listed below, by their (quite loosely defined) expertise category, with links to their profiles.
This list is by no means exhaustive. In fact, we’re certain it’s just a drop in the ocean. So if you are or know a woman working in tech who’d be a great speaker, please get in touch.
177 UK women who could speak at your tech event
- Founders and women working in startups speakers
- Developers and technologists speakers
- Vendor executives and tech company staff speakers
- Female CIOs and CTOs
- Academics, trade bodies, thinktankers and non-profits
- Security and tech law speakers
- Venture capitalists
- Public sector speakers
Founders and women working in startups
- Yodit Stanton, founder and CEO of internet of things startup OpenSensors
- Alex Depledge, cofounder of cleaning app Hassle
- Emily Forbes, founder of video app Seenit
- Gemma Young, founder and CEO of property tech startup Settled
- Cherry Collins, creative director of shopping app Grabble
- Louise Doherty, founder of events app PlanSnap
- Melissa Morris, cofounder and CEO of online locum marketplace Network Locum
- Nicola Anderson, VP of marketing at payments company GoCardless
- Caroline Harding-Gelbard, senior director at ecommerce stationery company Paperless Post
- Tracy Sambrook, CFO of online investment service Nutmeg
- Emer Coleman, founder and CEO of consultancy DSRPTN, EY associate and Irish government advisor
- Paola Marinone, cofounder and CEO of online video startup BuzzMyVideos
- Priya Lakhani, founder of edtech AI platform CENTURY Tech
- Sumita Jindal, CMO at recipe app for students Digimeal
- Leah Hutcheon, founder and CEO of scheduling software startup Appointedd
- Pam Burton, UK COO at peer-to-peer lending marketplace Funding Circle
- Lisa Jacobs, Global chief strategy officer at Funding Circle
- Sophie Eden, cofounder of tech hiring startup Gordon & Eden
- Johanna Bergqvist, head of UK network business at user engagement platform Playbuzz
- Aneeqa Khan, cofounder and CEO of trade community app eporta
- Alice Bentinck, cofounder of company builder Entrepreneur First
- Jelena Aleksic, cofounder and CEO of online marketplace for genetic testing GeneAdviser
- Katryna Dow, founder and CEO of personal data platform Meeco
- Liz Hardwick, cofounder of digital training company DigiEnable
- Zabetta Camilleri, cofounder and CEO of shopping app Shopological, formerly SalesGossip
- Steph Fiala, COO at ecommerce startup Flubit
- Roxanna Zea, COO at online lettings startup Rentify
- Sophie Adelman, head of EMEA sales at Hired
- Angie Ma, COO at ASI Data Science
- Joséphine Goube, technical evangelist at recruitment platform startup YBorder
- Nat Hunter, strategic director at Machines Room
- Sarah Drummond, cofounder and managing director of Snook
- Leanne Kemp, founder and CEO of blockchain-based diamonds database Everledger
- Julia Salasky, founder of public interest litigation crowdfunding platform CrowdJustice
- Luciana Carvalho Se, chief evangelist for VR/AR incubator and office space AVR Centre
- Sarah Gold, founder of design studio IF
- Francine Bennett, CEO and cofounder of Mastodon C
- Samantha Kingston, cofounder and client director at VR marketing specialist Virtual Umbrella
- Vicky Hunter, COO at 3beards
- Gemma Milne, cofounder of Science: Disrupt
- Iona Inglesby, founder of personalised DNA service Dot One
- Silja Litvin, founder and CEO of PsycApps
- Adizah Tejani, director of marketing EMEA at Token Inc
- Elizabeth Varley, founder and CEO of TechHub
- Justine Roberts, CEO of Mumsnet
- Martha Lane Fox, cofounder of lastminute.com, Lucky Voice, Antigone, Go On UK, and Doteveryone
- Jessica Butcher, cofounder of Blippar
- Judith Clegg, founder and CEO of innovation consultancy Takeout
- Nancy Cruickshank, founder of beauty shopping service MyShowcase
- Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-a-Porter
- Nathalie Gaveau, cofounder of Priceminister and Shopcade
- Sarah Wood, cofounder and CEO of Unruly
- Sherry Coutu, founder and CEO of Interactive Investor, plus angel investor and London Stock Exchange board member
- Robyn Exton, founder of social app HER
- Cathy White, founder of CEW Communications
Developers and technologists
- Jessie Link, head of engineering at Twitter UK
- Sathya Smith, VP of technology at hospitality company OneFineStay
- Angelique Vu, developer at the Financial Times
- Jeni Tennison, CEO of the Open Data Institute
- Timea Tabori, programmer at video games company Rockstar North
- Amanda Colpoys, scrum master at online card retailer Moonpig.com
- Clare Sudbery, developer at hotel booking company LateRooms.com
- Nicole Covey, zSeries software support specialist at IBM
- Marnie McCormack, technical architect at JP Morgan Chase
- Lynsey Campbell, VP developing the cloud proposition at JP Morgan
- Sissel Juul Jensen, applications manager at DNA analysis firm Oxford Nanopore Technologies
- Anna Shipman, technical architect at the Government Digital Service
- Carrie Anne Philbin, director of education at the Raspberry Pi Foundation
- Hannah Nicklin, game designer
- Jessica White, software developer at Oakwood Finance and organiser of Women in Tech Nottingham
- Helen Clark, web designer at Clark CX
- Kriselda Rabino, software engineer at Deliveroo
- Danielle VanDyke, software engineer at Google
- Praveena Fernandes, software engineer at graph database specialists Neo4j
- Mazz Mosley, freelance developer at Livestax
- Lily Dart, service design, UX and user research expert
- Maria Gutierrez, VP of engineering at FreeAgent
- Rebecca Stafford, head of testing at Marks and Spencer
- Vera Mehta, head of development at UK Ministry of Justice
- Alice Bartlett, frontend developer at Government Digital Service
- Ruth John, technical lead, The Lab at O2 (Telefónica UK)
- Melinda Seckington, developer at FutureLearn
- Beth Aitman, technical writer at Improbable
- Jessica Rose, head of developer relations at DreamFactory Software
- Hadley Beeman, technical architecture group member at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
- Jenny Brennan, developer and developer relations at Entrepreneur First
- Katie Goode, games designer at Triangular Pixels
- Bodil Stokke, web dev lead at Trading Technologies
- Holly Cummins, Technical Lead at IBM Bluemix Garage London
- Belinda Waldock, agile business coach
- Adizah Tejani, technologist and previously Head of Ecosystem Development at Level39
- Esther Kuforiji, software engineer at Diagnostic Questions
- Susie Coleman, software developer at Guardian News & Media
- Kim-Leigh Pontin, lead interaction designer at Sky
- Caylee Farndon-Taylor, mobile product designer at Pariti
- Mergime Raci, user experience designer at Nice Agency
Vendor executives and tech company staff
- Veronique Mondollet, EMEA VP at performance management specialists Dynatrace
- Sarah Aktinson, VP of communications at CA Technologies
- Susan Bowen, general manager and VP at web infrastructure and cloud company Cogeco Peer 1
- Shirley Creed, global corporate secretary at Dell
- Jacqueline de Rojas, EVP of Northern Europe at Sage and techUK president
- Shelia Flavell, COO at IT provider FDM Group
- Emma McGuigan, managing director of technology at Accenture
- Helen Lamb, VP at Fujitsu
- Charlotte Finn, VP of programmes at Salesforce.org EMEA
- Kelly Angood, UK tech, design and hardware manager at crowdfunding platform Indiegogo
- Dr Elizabeth Maxwell, EMEA mainframe technical director at Compuware
- Keri Gilder, general manager EMEA at Ciena Communications
- Jo Bertram, Northern Europe general manager at Uber
- Elizabeth Eastaugh, head of customer experience at Expedia
- Tanuja Randery, President of Schneider Electric UK and Ireland
- Linda Humphries, digital business manager at the Co-op
- Jess Stephens, CMO at marketing SaaS company SmartFocus
- Sophie Sparkes, team lead at data analysis firm Tableau Software
- Rebecca Taylor, Global Head of HR at call tracking company Responsetap
- Jennifer Elver, European mobile app factory lead at IBM
- Margarete McGrath, director of digital strategy at EY
- Sue Duke, European director of public policy at LinkedIn
- Dr Sally Howes, associate director at Templar Executives
- Gail Lyon, social and digital engagement lead at the Co-op
- Carrie Bishop, director of FutureGov
- Meg Pickard, associate consultant at Ninety Consulting
- DeAndra Jean-Louis, EMEA Vice President, Services at Workday
- Anna Mazzone, UK MD of fintech compliance company Trunomi
- Zoe Cunningham, MD of software development firm Softwire
- Cindy Rose, CEO of Microsoft UK
- Magdalena Kron, head of Rise London (Barclays innovation programme)
CIOs and CTOs
- Natasha Sayce-Zelem, head of technology at Sky
- Christine Ashton, SVP of technology at Thompson Reuters
- Monique Shivanandan, group CIO at Aviva
- Christina Scott, CTO at News UK
- Anna Barsby, chief technology director at Morrisons
- Sarah Flannigan, CIO at EDF Energy
- Fumbi Chima, CIO at Burberry
- Jane Moran, global CIO at Unilever
- Catherine Doran, group CIO at Royal Mail
- Meri Williams, CTO at online print business MOO
- Sharon Cooper, chief digital officer at BMJ
- Rachel Murphy, digital delivery director, NHS Digital
- Alison Vincent, CTO at Cisco
- Gabriella Poczo, CTO at international money transfer startup WorldRemit
- Kelly Olsen, CIO at NHS Property Services
- Sarah Wilkinson, chief digital, data and technology officer at the Home Office
- Rachel Dunscombe, CIO at Salford Royal Foundation Trust
Academics, trade bodies, thinktankers and non-profits
- Charlotte Holloway, head of policy at techUK
- Danielle George, vice-dean for science and engineering at Manchester University
- Dr Hannah Fry, mathematician at University College London
- Annika Small, chief executive of Nominet Trust
- Professor Rachel McKendry, professor of Biomedical Nanotechnology at UCL
- Amali de Awalis, CEO at Code First Girls
- Dr Sophie Bostock, Sleep Evangelist at health startup Big Health
- Carole Mundell, head of astrophysics at the University of Bath
- Dr Lucy Rogers, engineer, writer and Robot Wars judge
- Naureen Khan, director of public services at techUK
- Anne-Marie Imafidon, cofounder of social enterprise Stemettes
- Debbie Forster, co-CEO at education tech charity Apps for Good
- Maxine Mackintosh, UCL neuroinformatics PhD and chair of HealthTech Women UK
- Dr Jo Twist, CEO at UKIE, trade body for games and interactive entertainment businesses
- Nathalie Nahai, web psychologist
- Dr Beth Singler, research associate at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion
- Rebecca Fiebrink, lecturer in computing at Goldsmiths University
- Dr Kate Devlin, senior lecturer in the Department of Computing at Goldsmiths University
- Diana K Lee, MEng mathematical computation student at UCL, and lead curriculum instructor at Code First Girls
- Sarah Sheerman-Chase, participation manager at Code Club
- Laura Kirsop, product manager at FutureLearn
- Amanda Smith, senior consultant at the Open Data Institute
Security and tech law
- Sian John, EMEA chief strategist at Symantec
- Julia Harris, Post Office chief information security officer
- Becky Pinkard, VP at security vendor Digital Shadows
- Mieke Kooij, security director at thetrainline
- Jennifer Arcuri, ethical hacker and Hacker House founder
- Sue McLean, technology lawyer and Of Counsel at Morrison & Foerster
- Joanna Zonneveld, associate global general counsel from EY
- Vicky Cooper, IP and technology disputes partner at Kemp Little
- Samantha Ahern, senior information security officer at UCL
- Nicola Fulford, head of data protection and privacy at Kemp Little
Venture capitalists
-
Ophelia Brown, general partner at LocalGlobe
- Anna Boffetta, associate at Balderton Capital
- Anna Hyde, partner at Bethnal Green Ventures
- Sonali de Rycker, general partner at Accel Partners
- Reshma Sohoni, partner and cofounder at Seedcamp
- Laurel Bowden, partner at 83North
- Camilla Dolan, investment director at MMC Ventures
- Sitar Teli, managing partner at Connect Ventures
- Tracy Dorée, founding partner at Spring Partners
- Nancy Fechnay, partner at Flight Ventures
- Sonali De Rycker, general partner at Accel Partners
- Avid Larizadeh Duggan, general partner at Google Ventures
Public sector
- Ade Adewunmi, head of data infrastructure at Government Digital Service
- Rebecca Kemp, freelance digital director (previously UK Trade & Investment, Public Health England, GDS)
- Ann Kempster, head of recruitment for digital at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Janet Hughes, previously programme director for GOV.UK Verify at GDS
- Julie Pierce, director of openness, data and digital at Food Standards Agency
- Chris Atherton, head of design at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Kit Collingwood, deputy director of Universal Credit at Department for Work and Pensions
- Emma Stace, executive director of digital, data and technology at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Aoife Ni Mhorain, head of user research at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Yash Harris, service designer at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Sharon O’Dea, digital engagement lead at Department for International Trade
- Louise Downe, head of design for the UK Government, GDS
- Lara Sampson, product owner, Universal Credit at Department for Work and Pensions
- Lucy Knight, open data lead at Devon County Council
Awesome Original Content by Charlotte Jee via www.techworld.com