The Last Word: Rachel Pattinson

What is Women in Tech North East and what are its aims and objectives?

Women in Tech North East is a regional community, led by directors Kathryn Wharton, Jennifer Wood and I, that aims to promote the participation of women and non-binary people in the technology sector.

We provide a supportive and welcoming network for people from all career stages, and from across the technology sector too.

Our objectives are to produce networking events to help our community make connections, provide an online network and resources to share information and opportunities, and deliver education, skills and career development activities.

We also collaborate with industry partners to create a more inclusive tech ecosystem, and advocate for, and raise awareness of, gender diversity in the technology sector.

We started as an informal network, led by dedicated volunteers, back in 2022.

Since then, our online community has grown to more than 1000 members, and we’ve delivered seven fully-booked community events with amazing partners like Newcastle University, Aspire, Womble Bond Dickinson and Waterstons.

The organisation recently secured community interest company (CIC) status. What does the title mean and how will it aid the endeavour’s growth plans?

We’re really excited to have become a CIC, which is a type of not-for-profit limited company.

CICs exist to support their community, and invest money they make back into benefits for that community – for us, that’s women and non-binary people who are working in, are interested in, are studying and are championing technology in the North East.

It’s a big step forward for us.

Previously, we didn’t have a formal structure or company status.

Becoming a CIC means we’re putting in place business plans and policies to futureproof Women in Tech North East’s work.

And as we’re now a social enterprise, we can also do things that involve money, like fundraising to support our start-up costs (thank you to Newcastle University START UP for becoming our first funder) and partnering with sponsors.

As you’ve alluded, the venture is underpinned by a commitment to helping women, women-identifying individuals and non-binary and gender non-conforming people progress in a tech sector that still carries a male bias. How important is greater diversity to a more successful and prosperous digital landscape?

In 2023, women accounted for only 26 per cent of the people working in the IT profession , and statistics for non-binary workers in the digital sector aren’t available yet.

We see even fewer women in leadership, founder and technical fields.

This under-representation means women and gender minorities haven’t yet reached a point of critical mass.

However, gender diversity leads to more innovation, and research shows having diverse leadership teams improves financial performance.

And with the growth of the technology sector in the North East, women and non-binary people have an important role to play in making our region stand out for developing really innovative digital products and services.

LinkedIn: Women in Tech North East CIC