Women in Tech Scotland Reflections
By Katy Fraser, Senior Security Analyst at i-confidential
I’m not sure how the rest of the world is, but Edinburgh feels like a busy place at the moment!
One of the many events going on here last week was Women in Technology Scotland, which I had the pleasure of attending.
It was the first time for me. My initial impression was how thriving the technology sector is in Scotland. There were so many stalls showcasing the great work people are doing here – it has really opened my eyes to the FinTech sector in particular.
The agenda for the day was full on: 40+ talks between the hours of 08:30 and 18:00 running in three simultaneous streams, plus workshops. A testament to the abilities of the conference organisers for fitting so much into one day.
With so many great speakers, it has been a challenge to summarise the many takeaways from the day. Here is just the tip of the iceberg:
· Perfection is the enemy of efficiency.
· What energy do you bring to work - is it the same as you bring on vacation?
· Just 23% of people working in Scottish tech are women (2017 figures).
· The number for girls studying computer science is only 18% (2017 figures).
In addition, the overall skills gap suddenly felt quite real to me. There has been a drop in the number of people in Scotland studying computing. What made it really stark was hearing about the number of roles to be created in technology here in the near term – a lot if the predictions are true.
This event was truly inspiring. I have come away full of positive energy, thanks largely to the stimulating speakers, a glowing agenda, and thought-provoking discussions. Watch this space, there is definitely more to come.