On 5th November, leaders from across the tech industry gathered in London for the Women and Diversity in Tech and Channel Festival, where they explored key challenges and opportunities for creating a more inclusive and sustainable tech sector. Here, Shilpa, Scrumconnect’s Co-Founder and CFO, and our team member Keerthi, share their unique insights and takeaways from this inspiring event.
Attending the Women and Diversity in Tech and Channel Festival was both enlightening and empowering. The sessions provided invaluable, practical insights on overcoming barriers, building confidence, and promoting inclusivity. Highlights included actionable advice on handling challenges we face in tech, emphasising real-life examples and mentorship.
Empowering Confidence: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Talk by Vanessa Boachie
Imposter syndrome remains a significant challenge for many women and minorities in tech. Vanessa Boachie’s talk illuminated how this self-doubt can limit career growth, particularly in male-dominated spaces. According to a recent PwC survey, 61% of women interested in tech leave due to insufficient support—a clear signal of the barriers created by imposter syndrome.
Key Takeaways:
Interestingly, 80% of people from diverse backgrounds report that imposter syndrome hinders their growth. Vanessa encouraged reframing self-doubt with positivity and resilience, helping individuals reclaim confidence and unlock their potential.
Navigating Mental Health Challenges in the Workplace Talk by Kerry Adams, Head of CIO Office, Retail Banking Technology, HSBC
Kerry Adams emphasised that mental health is essential for high-performing teams, with psychological safety as its foundation. In this context, psychological safety means creating an environment where people feel free to take risks, ask questions, and learn from mistakes without fear.
Key Points:
As Scrumconnect’s Co-Founder and CFO, I attended the event with a mission to explore how we, as a company, can actively support diversity and inclusivity. The discussions were both powerful and thought-provoking, underscoring how critical it is for organisations like ours to foster supportive environments. Here are some of my reflections and actionable steps we’re committed to at Scrumconnect.
Addressing the Drop-Off: The Need for Diverse, Inspiring Role Models
A key statistic from the event revealed that 50% of women leave the tech industry by age 35, often due to a lack of relatable role models and inclusive environments. To bridge this gap, it’s essential to spotlight examples of women who have succeeded in tech. At Scrumconnect, we’re amplifying the stories of women in our team through blog posts, social media, and speaking engagements, challenging stereotypes and inspiring future generations.
Mentorship and Psychological Safety: Foundations for Self-Belief
One of the most impactful discussions was around mentorship, which I believe is more than a single relationship. It’s about learning from various people over a career. Kerry Adams’ talk on psychological safety resonated with me deeply, as it aligns with our own values at Scrumconnect.
To foster psychological safety, we focus on four stages:
By embedding these stages, we aim to cultivate a high-performance culture where people feel empowered to bring their best selves to work.
Supporting Women’s Health and Mental Well-being
The event highlighted the importance of addressing women’s health in the workplace, especially around family responsibilities, menopause, and mental health. Nearly 50% of women leave tech roles by age 35 due to family obligations, and 1 in 10 leave due to menopause. These figures serve as a call to action for companies to support women at all career stages actively.
Inclusive Hiring Practices: Rethinking Talent Assessment
Traditional hiring practices can inadvertently exclude neurodiverse candidates, who may find standard interviews challenging. At Scrumconnect, we are committed to exploring alternative approaches, such as case studies or practical assessments, to create a fairer hiring process.
Celebrating All Contributions
Diversity goes beyond hiring; it’s about recognising every contribution. At Scrumconnect, we celebrate the achievements of our junior team members and support staff, as they are integral to our success.
The Women and Diversity in Tech and Channel Festival reinforced that inclusivity and diversity require ongoing commitment. By creating supportive environments, amplifying diverse voices, and fostering psychological safety, we can empower all team members to thrive. At Scrumconnect, we’re excited to continue our journey towards a more inclusive and sustainable tech industry.
On 5th November, leaders from across the tech industry gathered in London for the Women and Diversity in Tech and Channel Festival, where they explored key challenges and opportunities for creating a more inclusive and sustainable tech sector.
At Scrumconnect, we specialise in navigating challenges by leveraging Agile methodologies that foster resilience, adaptability, and strategic growth. We partner with clients to not only meet these challenges head-on but to turn them into opportunities for growth.
November marks National Career Development Month, a time dedicated to highlighting the significance of career growth and encouraging both employers and employees to invest in their professional and personal advancement. At Scrumconnect, we take career development seriously, providing our employees with opportunities for mentorship and upskilling opportunities.
Scrumconnect is pleased to announce its successful award of G-Cloud 14 Lot 4 Framework Contract.
We are committed to continuously providing the best in tech with our people, practices and technology through our certifications.
Scrumconnect is committed to disability rights.
This enhanced government-endorsed standard demonstrates that we have implemented the essential plus security requirements for protecting your data, and that of your client’s, against unskilled internet-based cyber attackers.
We are a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Cloud Compute 2 framework, a testament to our commitment to providing high-quality services to the UK public sector.
An integrated management system, designed for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2015, operates across our business. These are regularly reviewed in order to ensure the continuous improvement to meet the needs of our customers and stakeholders.