This article was published on May 16, 2012

Girls in Tech launches in the UK and collates European top 100 for women in the sector


Girls in Tech launches in the UK and collates European top 100 for women in the sector

Girls in Tech, the international network that promotes women in technology and entrepreneurship has announced that it is primed to invade London in June.

The organisation was founded in 2007 by Adriana Gascoigne in San Francisco. Since then, the network has grown to include chapters in China, Greece, France, Singapore, Taiwan and around the United States. With 8,500 members worldwide, the Girls in Tech movement is a force to be reckoned with.

The London branch will be launched with an event at the Google Campus in partnership with Google and Criteo. Attendees will be able to hear talks from female leaders in the sector including, Reshma Sohoni of SeedcampDeval Delivala of Uber, Alexandra Chong of Luluvise, Bindi Karia from Microsoft Bizspark and Kathryn Parsons of Decoded.

The event in free to attend and open to both men and women. (The Girls in Tech site says, “Please note that Girls in Tech is not a radical feminist organisation. We host tech conferences but with primarily women speakers…for a change!”) Space is limited and attendees are encouraged to share a bit about their backgrounds in order to confirm their spot, if you’re interested in going you can register here.

100 women to know

To bolster the network’s continental ties along with the London launch, the top 100 European women in tech will be announced, known as the GIT Euro 100. If you know a woman who should be on that list, then you still have time to make your nomination. There’s a form to fill on the Girls in Tech site and the deadline for nominations is May 25th, so shake a leg if you want to highlight the work of any particular tech-led lady.

The Girls in Tech London chapter will be run by Roxanne Varza, Ella Weston and Mihiri Bonney. The organisation recognises that it is the new-girl in the established UK fem-tech arena but is hoping to bring strength via consolidation. Verza says, “We are definitely working on collaborating with other women organisations. We are currently in the process of finalising an agreement with The Next Women, we are also discussing with ladies who code. And we are open to talking to the other organisations as well but nothing has been confirmed yet.”

There are quite a few organisations supporting women in the technology field now from Geek Girl Dinners and MzTek to Women in Tech and Geek Girl Meetup and thankfully not all of the sites are screamingly pink. It’s great to see a range of organisations now available to women who work in different ways, but there is also something to be said for consolidating the movement to avoid cliques. If Girls in Tech is moving in this direction, it could be just the thing for bringing female UK IT organisations to their tipping point.

After the launch event, there will be gatherings 4-6 times a year on tech related topics and the GIT Euro 100 will also be refreshed each year to highlight fresh talent and new faces. Smaller meet ups in between are also encouraged.

The fact that the tech landscape is shifting in this way is a positive sign for the presence of women who work in the sector. It’s often said that we’ll know when the balance has been achieved when there will be no need for all-female organisations, but frankly there will always be things that women see in a different way to men and it’s good to have opportunities to to discuss this and compare with others.

So, who will you nominate for the GIT Euro 100?

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