Tech from the Heart:
Insight and She Codes Spark Coding Careers for Women
Written by Athena ThompsonMarketing & Strategic Partnerships Director, APAC
Focused on captivating clients, delivering differentiated solutions and profitable growth across APAC with our innovation, tech expertise and trusted partnerships. I firmly believe we must reflect and represent the communities and clients we serve. Insight Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Council chairperson since August 2022, and member since inception in Feb 2020. APAC co-lead for Insight’s Global Citizen Report, 2020 and 2021.
Technology connects people in powerful ways. However, as technology continues to evolve and progress, we should be measuring more than the advancement of coding and AI. The human aspect of the industry is crucial to progress too.
As the leading Solutions Integrator, we’re change agents, driven to improve every day. We believe the more diverse our teammates’ skill sets, perspectives and backgrounds, the more innovative we can be when uniting on our common goal to harness the power of people and technology.
It’s this belief that motivated us to partner with another extraordinary organisation, She Codes.
She Codes Australia is on a mission to teach women — at any career and life stage — coding skills to land a career in technology and to build communities of like-minded women for ongoing career support.
In 2023, Insight Australia partnered with She Codes to participate in four one-day workshops across Australia: in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.
This partnership means Insight Australia can contribute toward building awareness among women about career opportunities in the field of technology and digital businesses, grow curiosity for STEM, and help close the gender gap in tech.
Says Kate Kerwin, She Codes’ dynamo founder: “Our goal at She Codes is to create an inclusive community of 100,000 women in tech by 2025. We are working with businesses across Australia who are keen to make a tangible impact on gender diversity in tech, and we are proud to partner with Insight to move the needle. We know that diverse teams are more productive, build better products, are safer, and are more fun.”
Kate's personal experience in learning to code inspired her to develop a program that is tailored to women and helps create a supportive environment where they can learn new skills, have a voice, and explore potential opportunities in a new industry. The program is designed to enable women to leverage their existing transferable skills, enabling them to enter a new career with confidence. To that end, She Codes is underpinned by the growth-mindset mantra of leaning in to the uncomfortable and being OK with being a “learn it all” versus a know it all.
Tejes Singam, a volunteer mentor and Insight Architect based in Sydney shares, "Participating in the She Codes workshop was a rewarding experience for me. As a woman in the tech industry, I know how important it is to promote diversity in this field. She Codes does precisely that by providing opportunities for women to learn and grow within the tech space. It was truly a privilege to serve as mentor as I enjoyed interacting with attendees of all ages.
While they came with varying levels of experience, their passion and determination to learn how to code and work on their respective projects was both inspiring and motivating. I look forward to seeing more events like this!”
Likewise, Ollie Flavel, one of our volunteer mentors and Insight’s Cloud Apps and Integration Team Lead, also based here in Sydney, says: “I mentored at the Sydney She Codes event; this was an amazing event to be a part of, with a great bunch of switched-on women from a variety of backgrounds getting a taste of writing code.
I was impressed by this event, and this program — and the others offered by She Codes —supporting women looking to start a skill, or new career, in software development. I look forward to helping the next time this great event comes to Sydney!”
I mentored at the Sydney She Codes event; this was an amazing event to be a part of, with a great bunch of switched-on women from a variety of backgrounds getting a taste of writing code.
While Insight is a huge supporter of She Codes’ vision to increase diversity in tech by inspiring 100,000 women across Australia to go into coding careers, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s necessary to pursue strategies to ensure everyone in that now-diverse pool of talent have the tools they need to show up and bring their authenticity and experiences to the table. This calls on another part of Insight’s values: to bring Heart to everything. We take care of each other, our clients and our communities.
Insight integrates this through a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) vision to be “a workplace where all people thrive, and individual difference is celebrated.”
This is a key foundation for us at Insight; the sense of belonging is a critical foundation of an inclusive culture - and it starts with a basic respect for everyone’s individual differences. When this is in place, we see results that lead to the most innovative ideas and solutions.
By actively advocating for gender equality and careers for women in technology, we’ve doubled the number of women joining us in technical roles, and we are focused on improving this ratio. Insight has invested over $150k across a range of initiatives. This includes leadership programs, like sponsoring 40+ Insight women in the Microsoft Women Rising Program across a multi-year investment. We also bring Heart to the community through our Partnerships That Makes a Difference, which are aligned to our Diversity and Inclusion strategy, such as our partnership with Dress for Success, a charity supporting the return of women to the workforce —specifically women who have experienced significant challenges and marginalisation in their life experiences.
Just as education, mentorship and access are priorities for Insight, we are also invested in the mental health and well-being of all our teammates, whether that is through paid parental leave, our Teammate Assistance Program (TAP) and our Mental-Health First Aid training programs or the introduction of newer policies, such as domestic violence paid leave.
These efforts of putting our people first, and focused on gender parity have earned Insight Australia the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) recognition for Equal Pay for Women & Men Same Position for the fourth year in a row.
Diversity and inclusion isn’t simply a box to be ticked. It brings major benefits for our teammates, our growth-mindset culture — and to our business results. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is essential for driving innovation and progress, and through initiatives and partnerships like these, we can make a real difference in promoting change.
We believe diversity brings new ways of thinking and enables us to push the boundaries of performance. That's why we put people first. We don't just support each other, we also give back to our local communities and our industry, with the Hunger to be better, Heart to take care of each other and the Harmony of valuing our differences.
Read more stories about how we’re using technology to make a positive impact.
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