Socitm was delighted to be nominated for the Diversity initiative of the year award at the sixth annual Women in IT Awards on 29 January 2020 at the Grosvenor Hotel, London
Nadira Hussain, Director of leadership, development and research attended the prestigious event alongside Chantelle Denny, Director of finance and operations. The nomination recognised the success of Socitm’s ground-breaking Empowering Women (EW) programme in redressing the technology sector’s disheartening gender imbalance.
Delivered in partnership with QA training, empowering women is designed to enable participants to develop and exercise their leadership potential with confidence and free from gendered criticism. The initiative was the vision of Nadira and Chantelle was part of the first cohort to complete the programme.
Described by cohorts as ‘a revelation’ and even ‘life changing’, EW began as part of a strategic drive to promote diversity and inclusion in the public sector. Since its inception and development, it is now recognised for its life-enhancing potential more widely. Given its success, Nadira and Chantelle are piloting a roll-out into UK schools. Remarkably, they are even exploring the potential of taking EW to the Gambia and directly improving the lives and outcomes of women in Africa’s smallest country.
Speaking after the gala ceremony, Nadira said: “We are thrilled to be recognised as a pivotal and influential organisation in the battle for gender equality within ICT and the public sector more widely. One of Socitm’s key policy themes is Leadership, diversity and skills. This recognition highlights how Socitm works tirelessly to address gender inequality in digital roles within the public sector. It’s never been more important to attract, retain and develop people with passion, commitment and foresight. Through their vision, we can transform public services and deliver robust, customer-centric place-based outcomes for the communities we serve. Our Leadership Academy EW programme is a powerful means of achieving this. Public sector leaders need to reflect the demographic make-up of the communities they serve. Therefore, women need the freedom and confidence to develop and utilise their talents and abilities impactfully. Without this, services that improve outcomes for people holistically cannot be delivered.”
Chantelle added: “It is amazing to get recognition for something I care so passionately about. I want to help create a level playing field where all women have the same opportunities, aspirations and abilities to play to their core strengths professionally and live free from discrimination both in their careers and personal lives. I have worked extremely hard to reach a lot of my goals in life, but I have had the good fortune to work with some remarkable people who have supported and encouraged me along the way. To be able to give something back to other women, some of whom have struggled against great adversity, truly inspires me and I am so excited about EW and Socitm’s next steps towards creating a fairer, more equal society.”
About Socitm: Socitm is the society for innovation, technology and modernisation. It is the network for professionals who are shaping and delivering public services. Established for over 30 years, Socitm continues to challenge convention, inspire change and power progress.