Why I Changed My Name To Steve

Take a look at the inspirational Dame Stephanie Shirley who is a big part in the WCIT where I am a Journeyman.

https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/why-i-had-to-change-my-name-to-steve/p06yyqv1?playlist=older-and-wiser

It is unimaginable now that as a woman you wouldn’t be listened to just because of your name, but I know this was a very common thing and to some extent it still is today, not just with women and men but preconceptions when you read somebody’s name or CV before actually meeting them.

Unfortunately, it is still common for women to have to choose between a career and a family, often that is an individuals choice and increasingly more companies are willing to help with flexible hours etc. But there is still a choice to be made and that’s a lot of pressure on a woman’s mental health.

Should there be separate sporting events for men and women?

I was watching The Grand Tour episode from Friday 8th Feb, and in their usual “Conversation Street” part of the show they started to talk about a new racing league which is going to be women only and their thoughts on the matter, and probably the best thing Richard Hammond has ever said is that we should be encouraging girls from an early age to be getting into go karting and racing.

I completely agree with this, it’s the same for the STEM industries, I always get asked how do we get more women into tech and to some extent it’s too late by the time they are at university etc, to gain a real increase we need to be putting the effort into exposing girls under 10 to what they can achieve in STEM.

I can understand why in sport there are segregated leagues and teams etc, especially if it’s to do with different types of weight categories, like boxing, however when it is something like racing I don’t think it’s necessarily encouraging to girls because often it can be seen as an inferior league, like it is in football with less TV coverage, sponsorship and pay. I think separate leagues are fine with different purposes, if there is maybe then an ultimate one that brings together all to compete?

Let us know your thoughts below or on social media 🏅🤓

EveryWoman Finalist

Delighted to be announced as a finalist in the 2019 FDM EveryWoman Tech Awards among many inspiring #WomenInTech 🤓 in the Rising Star category!

Looking forward to meeting other women in technology at the award show in March and am very grateful for the nomination and recognition.

Taking place to celebrate International’s Women’s Day, the awards are a timely reminder that only 15% of people working in STEM roles in the U.K. are female and just 5% of leadership positions in the tech industry are held by women.

“Achieve, Elevate and Inspire” is this year’s rally cry

Looking back over the past year, it has been a whirlwind and I hope this can bring me more opportunities to dispel the STEM stereotype.

Wominspiration: Digital Marketing

Had a great evening yesterday speaking about my career and how i digital market, honoured to have been asked by Eileen Brown as it was her BCS Digital Marketer book launch 📚

Met some lovely people and it’s always great to put yourself out there to practice speaking and support events when you can.

500 Twitter Followers!

Thank You all for following us! If you haven’t, please follow @TashaITGirl on Twitter and Instagram!

More exciting stuff to come in the new year, so keep tuned 🤓🥰

*Apply* To Whitbread Graduate Scheme 2019

If you’re looking for a graduate scheme in IT, then take a look and apply for the scheme that I’ve been on since September.

As part of the IT Architecture stream, I’ve been working with colleagues on designing new or making changes to existing IT systems. I’ve learnt so much within 3 months there already with the support of my line manager, mentor and sponsor, as well as, other members of my team and other members of the company.

As graduates we are also striving towards giving back, we are doing this through the company aligned charity Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

With the Costa sale, Whitbread brands such as Premier Inn and Beefeater, are going to be in an even stronger position for growth and this is where IT is key.

So take a look:

https://www.whitbreadcareers.com/job-details/616447-11216/

If you have any questions, feel free to message me! 🤓

6 years ago…

6 years ago I went to Brunel University for a Computing Taster Day, having not decided what I was going to do at uni yet or what uni to go to, but that day I decided both those things!

Crazy how time flies, I’ve finished my degree and am working in tech, if it wasn’t for events like that I don’t know where I’d be or what I would have done. That’s why putting effort back into promoting STEM has best interest for everybody!

Big Data Ldn 2018

Today I went with another graduate to the Big Data Ldn event @ Olympia London. It was soooo busy! So many great talks on that you weren’t able to attend all the ones you wanted to go to because you couldn’t get in! But, it was good talking to some vendors and getting to understand how their products were tackling company big data issues and the architecture around that. The key message I got from attending this is that we can utilise the Data we are collecting more and do more with it then we deem possible at the moment! We need to think out of the box and use data to our advantage whilst also being ethical (I also managed to get some good freebies, including two very punny t-shirts)

Unfortunately, I’m not able to attend tomorrow’s continued conference, but I was able to attend topics such as:

– Can Britain lead the 4th industrial revolution?

– AI vs GDPR

– Fortune 100 lessons on architecting Data lakes for real-time analytics

– Women In Data

– MIFlow: Supporting the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle

My First MP3 Player

I can’t believe I found my first MP3 Player… 512MB, ran on a AA battery which I jazzed up with diamanté’s 👌

This week’s #wamimh

My week summed up: Early mornings, awful drives home, free lunch and nice work campus walks 🤓

Now for the weekend, seeing my boyfriend and relaxing before doing it all again next week!