Proudly sponsored by Red Hat, the event at SETU Arena in Waterford aims to showcase the very best of women in technology, while empowering the next generation through a series of talks by top names and inspirational speakers.
Last year, SETU’s Women in Technology event attracted over 1,200 female students from Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Wexford, and Waterford, with this year’s event promising to be even bigger and better.
Household names
The event has some amazing guest speakers with inspirational stories to tell. Among them is travel blogger and entrepreneur Stephanie Barry-Woods. A Cork native, Stephanie quit her corporate job to travel the world and has amassed a huge online following through her social channels under the handle “stephmylife”. She has since established two successful businesses in travel and web development.
This allows students to meet with and talk to women who have interesting and varied careers in technology, engineering, ICT, and software development. Women who are changing the face of technology and society. There will also be a designated room in the venue for teachers and parents to chat with people in the industry where they can have their questions answered and learn more about the opportunities and career paths available.
Addressing a diversity and gender imbalance
Commenting in advance of the event, Lea-Anne Gaffney - Technical Project Manager, Red Hat said, “Red Hat is very aware of the diversity and gender imbalance in the tech industry, especially in technical roles, and we put a lot of work and effort into trying to improve this. We believe that by making the younger generation more aware of the opportunities in the tech industry and trying to break the stereotypes, we will inspire more females to consider a role in this industry.
“That is why we put our time into events like the SETU Women in Tech event so that we get the opportunity to speak to the students and have them listen to inspiring women who work in the industry with the hope that it will inspire them to consider a career in tech as an option.”
Ms Gaffney continued by saying, “It is time now to focus on the next generation of female talent in order to make gender equality in technology a reality. Solving this issue will have real-world consequences for the future of society and the world.”
For more information or to book your place at this year’s event, tap here