REFLECTING ON A GREAT WEEK AT LEEDS DIGITAL FEST 23
Wow, what a week! We’ve done and learnt a LOT – and enjoyed meeting and listening to some brilliant speakers and thinkers at Leeds Digital Fest 23.
Our own panel event – Women in Tech, Where Do They Go? was really well received and produced some amazing, thought-provoking ideas and contributions.
Our Art of Cloud CEO, Liz Rhodes and Executive Chairman, Ben Stevenson joined Reward Finance’s Regional Managing Director, Gemma Wright, to offer some informed opinions and the contributions from the floor reflected some fascinating takes on how we help others reach their leadership potential.
It was great seeing so many new and familiar faces and sharing our experiences and strategies for tackling this pressing issue.
We’re still mulling over some of the brilliant insights and wanted to share a few stand-out takeaways:
Positive discrimination and quotas…we asked ‘do they work?’ In the panel’s experience there was a clear difference between targets – and their ability to inspire and create progress – and quotas which were often counter-productive.
Visibility – when it comes to female leadership, visibility is key – being seen and heard in the workplace and in the wider sector are a vital part of creating new kinds of teams and leaders and inspiring others
Life-long learning is the bedrock of our sector – and can open doors to woman at all stages of their lives and careers. We need to shout more loudly about this as a route into promotion, new roles and leadership.
Honesty and flexibility – helping people/women identity and overcome practical barriers to progressing in the workplace
Imposter Syndrome – this had been a huge concern for so many of those of you in the audience and our panel. Coaching, mentoring and cultural changes were all suggested as useful tactics to overcome this
How the finance and banking sector got it right – looking at female leadership as part of a wider shift to be more diverse/representative and achieve greater commercial success as a result.
Thanks to everyone who made it such a fantastic event and to all those who took part.
See you next time!
If you are interested in joining our team then please get in touch by sending your CV and cover letter to us at info@artofcloud.co.uk
