SITS15: UK’s leading ITSM Show launches Women in IT Week initiative
Diversified Communications UK, organiser of SITS – The IT Service Management Show, has announced the launch of a new initiative – Women in IT Week – designed to highlight the importance of gender equality in the IT workplace.
Women in IT Week, which runs from 1-5 June 2015, aims to inspire more women to pursue careers in the technology and IT service sectors. By recognising and promoting the important contributions that successful women working in IT have made to businesses across the UK, it seeks to encourage greater support for addressing gender imbalance in IT.
According to the ‘The Women in IT Scorecard’ published in 2014 by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and the Tech Partnership[1], less than one in six of the 1.1 million people working as IT specialists in the UK were women (16%). Given that the same research also revealed that females accounted for just 6.5% of those taking Computing A-Level, and just 18% of qualifiers from all Computer Sciences/IT related HE courses, the next generation of women in IT could be similarly under-represented.
Diversified UK will be publishing ‘my story’ blogs every day throughout Women in IT Week 2015, written by inspiring female leaders within the IT community (www.WomeninITweek.com). SITS15 – the UK’s leading event for IT service management professionals (taking place at the new venue of Olympia National, in London, on 3-4 June) will also host a Keynote panel discussion focusing on the importance of championing equality in IT. This opening day Keynote will be chaired by internationally-renowned IT trainer, Karen Ferris – who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from itSMF Australia last year.
“I think it’s important to give back to an industry that has served me so well,” says Karen Ferris, the first contributor to the Women in IT Week blog. From starting out as a computer operator at a UK building society in the 80s to heading up a team of 50 at a major financial organisation in Australia, she reflects on her career as a woman in ITSM and some lessons learnt along the way. To read her story, please visit www.WomeninITweek.com.
Diversified UK is encouraging all women working in IT to share their stories for Women in IT Week. To contribute, please submit a blog piece (up to 500 words) with the title ‘How my journey in IT began…’ at www.WomeninITweek.com.
Companies and associations involved in the sector are also invited to support the initiative and make use of the Women in IT Week logo (download at www.itsmshow.com/wp-content/uploads/Women-in-IT-Week.jpg).
To register for a free pass to SITS – The IT Service Management Show, please visit www.eventdata.co.uk/Visitor/SITS.aspx?TrackingCode=105SITS.
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[1] Too few women in IT - the facts (17 June 2014) – http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/52909
Media enquiries to:
Emma-Louise Jones, Head of PR
t: 44 (0)1273 645134 e: ejones@divcom.co.uk
http://www.twitter.com/DiversifiedUK
http://www.divcom.co.uk
Exhibitor enquiries to:
Toby Moore, Event Manager
t: 44 (0)1273 645153
e: tmoore@divcom.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SITS_UK
Website: www.ITSMShow.com
Notes:
SITS was shortlisted for Best UK Trade Show Exhibition (under 2,000m2) at the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) Excellence Awards in 2012.
High resolution imagery is available upon request.
Diversified Communications UK Ltd (Diversified UK) is a fast growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton, Peterborough, Leamington Spa, and Nailsworth, Glos. Diversified UK’s portfolio includes SITS – The IT Service Management Show; office*; Casual Dining; lunch!; Natural & Organic Products Europe; Nordic Organic Food Fair and Natural Products Scandinavia in Malmö, Sweden; camexpo; Natural Products magazine; the Natural Beauty Yearbook; Geo Business; Ocean Business (including Offshore Survey Conference & Ocean Careers); MARELEC Marine Electromagnetics conference in Philadelphia, USA; Euro Bus Expo; Coach and Bus Live; Best of Britain & Ireland; Route One; and Coach Monthly. For more information, visit: www.divcom.co.uk
Diversified UK is part of Diversified Communications, a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, eMedia, publications and television stations. Diversified serves a number of industries including: seafood, food service, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine, and business management. Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified employs over 800 staff, with divisions in the Eastern United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: www.divcom.com
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