Panel Debate: Want to Succeed in Tech? Try not to be a Woman…

In his June 2017 column for the Observer, John Naughton asks, “What lies behind the abusive or derogatory attitudes to women that one finds both in the (tech) industry and the products (for example, social media) that it has created?”

At this Women in Computing live event, writer and activist Suw Charman-Anderson chairs a panel debate asking why women continue to experience sexual harassment and blatant bias in the tech industry. She is joined by John Naughton – journalist and author of From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: what you really need to know about the Internet, Claire Hopkins – Director of IT company – Ideal, Valerie Lynch – academic and CEO of AND Technical Research and Amanda Prorok, lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, University of Cambridge.

Time: 6.30 (Doors will open at 6pm)

Panel

Suw Charman-Anderson is the founder of Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Each year, ALD hosts a flagship science cabaret event in London, whilst around the world independent groups put on their own events. Prior to working full-time on Ada Lovelace Day, Suw was a social technologist and, as one of the UK’s social media pioneers, worked with clients worldwide. A freelance journalist, she has written about social media, technology and publishing for The Guardian, CIO Magazine and Forbes. In 2005, Suw co-founded the Open Rights Group, a digital rights campaigning group.

Claire Hopkins is Founding Director of Ideal, an IT company which designs, provides and manages secure IT infrastructure. Ranked by Tech Track as one of Britain’s fastest growing private technology companies for the last 2 years, Claire created a company with a culture of excellence, combining customer-focused account management with a highly skilled in-house engineering group. New to IT when she founded Ideal, Claire brought fresh eyes to the industry and has campaigned to encourage more women in IT, tackling everyday sexism in the industry and promoting diversity.

Dr Valerie Lynch is CEO and founder of AND Technology Research Ltd, and is an active participant in a number of creative and electronic industry organisations. Her career began as a programmer/analyst for British Telecom and has involved creating digital and electronics based solutions for consumer, industrial and telecommunications products. A believer in life-long learning, Valerie achieved Chartered Director in 2012 and in 2013 was awarded a PhD for her work investigating the value of embedded software.  In addition to her role at AND Valerie undertakes research with the Cambridge University’s Institute for Manufacturing.

Professor John Naughton is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) in Cambridge. He is also Emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Technology at the Open University, Director of the Press Fellowship Programme at Wolfson College, Cambridge and the Observer’s technology columnist. His most recent book — From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: what you really need to know about the Internet is published by Quercus.

Dr Amanda Prorok is a lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, University of Cambridge.