International Women’s Day 2024: #InspireInclusion and Digital Her

​At Gravitas, we believe inclusion is critical in creating a positive workplace environment, boosting engagement, staff retention and innovation. We aim to encourage a sense of belonging and empowerment, so that everyone feels valued and respected.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day2024 is #InspireInclusion, which drives to inspire others to learn more about the meaning of inclusion and the value of gender equality.

We sat down with our UK Technology Country Director, Jo Callaghan, alongside Mobile Team Leader, Lara Thomas, to discuss the 2024 theme, as well as their pledge in joining Manchester Digital’s initiative, Digital Her. 

In the video, we discuss with Jo and Lara:

• What is Digital Her?

• Why did you want to be a part of Digital Her?

• What does being a role model mean to you?

• Why is inclusion important for Women in Tech? 

• How will you #InspireInclusion as a Woman in Tech?

Watch their video and see how you can #InspireInclusion. 

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Transcript

What is Digital Her?

Digital Her is an initiative by Manchester Digital. They're an organisation that's on a mission to combat inequality in the tech sector,

Why did you want to be a part of Digital Her?

So it made complete sense to be a part of digital hair. As a woman that hires actively in the tech space, I can still say that it's a very male dominated industry. So to be part of an organisation that's genuinely on a mission to really combat inequality brings another meaning to my role as a recruiter as well. I think it's really important to practise what you preach and I think being able to be a part of an initiative like this actually enables you to put something practical in place that's actually going to have an impact on people.

What does being a role model mean to you?

A role model for me is someone that I aspire to be like but also it's attainable. So it's somebody who's authentic and self aware and and genuinely someone who actually leaves a positive impact wherever they go. I've always been really lucky to have female role models. I attribute a lot of my success to those people and I just think it's really important for me to be able to give that back. And I think so often females put themselves down very self deprecating and I think it's important to to demonstrate that you know, vulnerability can be a strength. And actually to be able to be there for someone maybe when their confidence isn't high and and sort of you know just give them that little bit of a boost and to push on. I I just think that's really valuable.

Why is inclusion important for Women in Tech?

I still remember years ago my first women in tech roundtable and the level of inclusivity at that table that I genuinely think enable people that wouldn't have usually spoke up to really get involved and push their ideas forward. And and what we came out of it at the end was just phenomenal. Inclusion is so important and the more we educate around the importance of inclusion will ultimately lead to a better environment for women in tech and we know that leads to more imagination, fresh ideas and as a result tech will just move forward.

How will you #InspireInclusion as a Woman in Tech?

In terms of how I'm going to inspire inclusion, I think the main thing is to educate from my perspective. I think from the conversations I've had there's a lot of people out there that still don't quite understand it and still almost find the subject a little bit to Boo when actually it is just a piece around education and making people feel comfortable. I think as as alongside the practical elements of being involved in great initiatives like digital Her internally and I D and I committee. I want to continue to practise what I preach and I really want to work on being an approachable director and ultimately help bring down those barriers.