Sponsoring FLOSSIE 2012

Sirius has decided to take the opportunity to sponsor FLOSSIE 2012; an event focused primarily for women working within IT or who are intrigued about the opportunities it brings.

With various presentations and discussions on the day, it's an excellent chance for women from different backgrounds, technical or not, to network and acquaint with different organisations who are keen and focused on taking more women on board. Our CEO Mark Taylor is committed to ensuring there is the right balance of men and women in Sirius, and calls on the rest of the industry to follow. He believes that women have just as much to contribute as men in our IT industry.

Here at Sirius, 33% of employees are female which is already above the IT Industry average of 22%, and we are determined to reach parity. With Kelly Taylor being a director of the company, she is one of the small number of 3% of females working in a senior position within the UK IT industry. It makes me wonder; whatever happened to girl power in IT?

Not coming from a technical background, working at Sirius means that you're sure to learn something new everyday. If I ever need any technical assistance, one of the tech team (and yes we have female engineers) is always around to help and also educate me along the way. This gives me the opportunity to not only learn, but I also know that I don't have to rely on a boy every time I need technical help.

I still find it pretty fascinating how open source technology can be adapted to meet the needs of individuals as well as large organisations. This only makes me wonder at all the opportunities and extraordinary ideas which can come about if organisations focused more on gendar balance. But yet these are most certainly going amiss, simply because of the image this industry has.

Promoting more women into IT will not only create a good workforce balance but also introduces more sense of diversity within the industry. Companies with a balanced workforce have the advantage of increasing their creativity and getting difficult problems solved quicker. With a mainly male dominated industry, it's obvious this is a key factor which puts women off from working in IT. The perception of men in technology carrying a hostile attitude towards women, I believe is not a matter of perception but of fact. For things to start changing, this attitude has to change. In fact, I think introducing more women into IT will definitely bring greater enhancement and employers will find that not only will this increase creativity but also the quality of the work produced.

Sponsoring the FLOSSIE event is a key step to encouraging and promoting women into the IT industry. Kelly Taylor and myself will be talking at the event and will also be available for discussions. This is an excellent chance for women to get familiar with the diversification of opportunities available to them and actually realise that women are able achieve extraordinary milestones. If you're a female who has an interest in IT then come along to the event, say hi and hear us talk. Hope to see you there!