Leeds event empowers women in tech this International Women’s Day

A sold out event, aimed at celebrating the contributions of women in the digital, science and technology industries, is being hosted in Leeds to celebrate International Women’s Day this March.

Being held at the Howard Assembly Rooms on the 8th of March 2019, this event is hosted by ‘Empowering Women with Tech’ a Leeds based social initiative that aims to educate, elevate and empower more people into digital, science and technology careers.

Accenture Digital and Leeds City Council are the main sponsors of the event, with event planning being undertaken by Consume Comms.

The high profile speaker line-up, includes:
Ana Jakimovska the Director of Product Management at Guardian News & Media; Milena Nikolic, Director of Software Engineering at Google;
Niamh McKenna, Managing Director at Accenture Health UK,
Vinita Marwaha Madill, Space Operations Engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA);
Eve Roodhouse, Chief Officer of Economic Development at Leeds City Council
Councillor Rebecca Charlwood, Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adults at Leeds City Council.
Natasha Sayce-Zelem, Head of Technology for Digital Service at Sky and the Founder of ‘Empowering Women with Tech’.

The speakers will discuss their career journeys to date whilst also offering tips for people looking to follow in their footsteps. They will also offer the audience a sneak peak of the projects they are currently working on too.

Other sessions include a panel discussion with Leeds City Council, where the team will be shining a spotlight on Leeds’ healthcare technology in the city, and sharing insights as to why so many companies choose to move their tech teams to Leeds, including Channel 4, NHS Digital, UKTV and Sky.

An Accenture Health spokesperson will also be discussing the company’s newly released 2019 Technology Vision report; a trends report that takes a look at technology’s impact on the world, from healthcare to ethical considerations.

Due to its expert knowledge of the city, ConferenceLeeds was called upon to help with the organisation of the conference, utilizing their skills and expertise to select a venue and assist with the negotiation of the rates for the organisers. The event organisers were introduced to many event spaces across the city before selecting the Howard Assembly Rooms, located inside Leeds Grand Theatre.

Claire Heap, Head of ConferenceLeeds, said: “Leeds is the perfect place to host a conference aimed at empowering women in the technology industry. With strong links to the digital and technology sectors, and the biggest FinTech centre outside of London, Leeds is home to a variety of companies such as CallCredit, NHS Digital and more. As such, the city draws in talented female professionals from all over the country to work for some of the biggest companies operating in this space nationally. Leeds is already a hub for young, diverse and creative female talent and it is hoped this conference will encourage these professionals to continue their great work.

We’re delighted to have been able to assist ‘Empowering Women with Tech’ and Consume Comms in organising the event, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming a wealth of talented females into the city!”

Natasha Sayce-Zelem, founder of ‘Empowering Women with Tech’ said “I launched ‘Empowering Women with Tech’ in 2017 to help improve the gender imbalance in the digital, science and tech industries.

To date, over 1000 have attended at least one event and I’m proud to have hosted all the events in my hometown of Leeds. Our speakers are often international leaders in their fields and it’s brilliant to be able to bring them here to Leeds and showcase how vibrant the digital and technology scene is in the region, whilst hosting the events in wonderfully iconic venues like the Howard Assembly Rooms.

We’re really grateful for ConferenceLeeds’ support on this event.”