Coding Future Women Event
On Friday 18th October Headington Rye Senior School was delighted to host the first ‘Coding Future Women Event’.
In conjunction with “Coding Future Women”, Headington Rye invited four female Software Engineers to inspire Year 7 and Year 8 students during PSHE, and talk about what it’s like to work in Software Engineering.
Coding Future Women is a non-profit organisation which encourages girls to pursue a career in the field of Software Engineering (link). They believe that introducing girls to successful female role models in tech can have a profound impact on their career aspirations and confidence.
Recognising that some girls may be discouraged from pursuing a career in Software Engineering due to various unfounded stereotypes, the aim of the event was to emphasise that this field is truly rewarding, engaging, and lucrative. It is well-suited for girls who possess an analytical, curious and creative mindset. This career path is ideal for those who thrive on problem-solving and enjoy collaborative work, especially when approached with determination and resilience.
Speakers included; Grace Jansen, who works at IBM and is a Java Champion & Developer Advocate, Women of the Future Winner, TechWomen100 Winner, and Author.
Rashi Saxena is the Head of DevOps at WorldPay and a Director at FIS. An organisation behind nearly all online payments.
Alice Gammond is a Software Engineer at Sophos, a British security software and hardware company based in Abingdon. Alice attended Headington Rye from 2005 to 2016, took Computer Science at GCSE and A Level and studied Computer Science at Aberystwyth University.
Alex Peach is a Renewable Energy Consultant, Sustainability Specialist, Project Manager and Marine Consultant who also studied at Headington Rye from 2012 to 2019. She took Computer Science at GCSE and A Level and went on to achieve a First-Class MSci in Marine Geography from Cardiff University.
The talks were inspiring and thought-provoking. In addition to the talks from the speakers, the Year 7 and 8 pupils had submitted questions beforehand in their Computer Science lessons. These were open to our speakers and two further panel members:
Elspeth Briscoe, CEO/Founder of Learning with Experts, and former director of strategy at Skype and Evrim Tekeşin who is Regional Director at Dynatrace, with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry.
The event culminated in the speakers and guest panelists having lunch with 20 GCSE and A level Computer Science students where they were able to ask questions and discuss issues around the industry and employment.
Victoria, Year 10, said: “Having lunch with successful women in the IT industry was a really special experience for me. The lunch really changed my preconceptions of working in the IT industry”.
