New Platform for Women in Tech Launches
With women making up only 17% of tech sector employees in the UK*, there is a need for a platform that will showcase their accomplishments, connect them to career opportunities and allow them to leverage one another as allies. One female Fintech professional, Cecilia Harvey, is on a mission to deliver that vision.
Ex-Wall Street, now one of the few female senior professionals in FinTech, and founder of mobile beauty App WalkingRed, Harvey has launched Tech Women Today (TWT) (www.techwomentoday.com) as a professional network and platform to showcase and recognize women in technology at all levels, performing various roles, across various sectors. Harvey is keen to not only focus on women who have attained senior positions or running already successful businesses, but recognize women achieving at all levels: “All women have a story to tell that is important. At all levels women are achieving great things and those achievements should be shared and recognized”
Tech Women Today will also encourage and inspire women to enter the technology industry by showing the range of technology career opportunities available. As Harvey explains: “Women in technology are not only coders. They are project managers, business analysts, product managers, and sales and marketing professionals. We want to showcase women working in technology across various sectors. For example, a women working in digital strategy may work in banking, fashion, art, or the non-profit sector. Tech is everywhere.”
Tech Women Today will also offer practical training to support career development, such as mock interviews; webinars and masterclasses on leadership skills, employment laws, recruitment trends and interactive discussions about relevant technology industry trends.
FINALLY! A Resource for Non-Technical Female Entrepreneurs
One exciting focus is that TWT will be a resource for non-technical female entrepreneurs who need to leverage technology to grow their business. TWT aims to connect female entrepreneurs to resources that can help them with tech related business issues such as cybersecurity, website and app development, digital marketing, ecommerce, business process automation, etc. TWT will also deliver workshops and events that demo technology tools that can help companies to improve productivity and profitability.
Men Welcome!
Another unique aspect of TWT is that Men can join as TWT Allies. Harvey makes the point that “Men need to be active sponsors of initiatives which promote the advancement of women in technology. Many men are decision makers in their respective organizations and hence in a position to drive positive change. We want men to join us in the room, engage with us and become TWT Allies that champion the advancement of women in technology in their respective organizations.”
Business Sponsorship
TWT will be working with companies to structure and offer work experience and internship opportunities for students. Also sponsors can promote open roles to TWT membership who are a great pool of diverse talent for companies.
Membership benefits
There is currently no charge for members and membership offers opportunity to:
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- Access a job bank full of exciting career opportunities.
- Connect globally with members who can be helpful resources that drive career progression.
- Participate in programmes that provide excellent career development.
Visit Tech Women Today for more information on how to become a member, ally, or sponsor. Companies (start-ups to large corporates) are also encouraged to become sponsors and join TWT’s mission to inspire, educate and advance women in technology.
“Women supporting other women leads to the advancement of women in the workplace. The most valuable resource of Tech Women Today is not the events, training or corporate sponsors, it is the women of Tech Women Today. Our members become one another’s most valuable resource.”
Cecilia Harvey
Cecilia Harvey is available for interview, content and comments. Please contact [email protected], or Paula Gardner on + 44 7534 984298.
About Cecilia Harvey
With over 20 years on Wall Street, and one of the small number of women in leadership within Financial Tech today, Cecilia is an advocate for not only women in FinTech, but also for women aspiring to leadership anywhere.
Graduating from the prestigious Wellesley College, which counts Hillary Clinton as one of its alumnae, Cecilia was led to Wall Street by a chance careers day visit to Wall Street that her friend persuaded her to join. Once there, Cecilia was captivated by the energy and knew a career in finance was for her.
20 years later, she is now a tech start up founder, a senior women working in FinTech, and a champion of diversity in technology. Her previous roles include being the COO of Citigroup Markets and Securities Services Technology, and positions with Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital and IBM Consulting.
Cecilia’s experience as an African-American woman within the financial markets has inspired her to become an advocate for not only women in FinTech, but also diversity and equality of opportunities. Past projects include developing female talent for Citigroup, as well as implementing a worldwide female empowerment programme. Cecilia is now working on
This Tech World, where she investigates how technology can help all of us lead more productive and fulfilled lives, as well as looking into how technology can empower small and medium sized businesses and help them compete. She also heads up Tech Women Today, a platform to showcase women in technology, and a resource for women who want to be leaders and increase their influence in the workplace.
Cecilia has previously written a career book for those just starting out, the Green Machine: A Career Guide for the Young Professional, and has spoken at numerous conferences, worldwide. Her current messages include shining the spotlight on the negative impact Queen Bee Syndrome in the workplace; how tech can improve our lives and businesses, and how to position yourself for career success.