Firstly, a huge congratulations to you both on a super successful 5 years of WITB! To kick off, can you describe in 5 words only, what the WITB community is like? Ready?? Go!

Emily:

Thank you so much! OK, in 5 words I would have to say: A powerful network of determined, complex, supportive people!

Joanna:

For me that’s easy! Inspiring. Fearless. Curious. Supportive. Friendly.

Yes to those! Ok next quick fire question… what is the best event you’ve put on over the last five years in your opinion?

Emily:

I really enjoyed our first She Solves event. We got such interesting conversations going and giving the opportunity to our members to give each other advice felt really empowering. We could feel the unwavering support women in tech can provide to each other and the genuine want to help.

Joanna:

For me, it was our very first Intro to Tech Careers event. It was our most well-attended event since starting and hearing people say they were inspired to take a new step in their careers because of the speakers was so encouraging.

Love it! Ok question 3… What have been the biggest learning moments since launching WITB?

Emily:

I want to say we learn something new at each event! I think realising that people were actually interested in joining our events was a bit mind blowing at first, but it did made us want to work harder on making each event accessible and interesting. I think for me, networking was probably the biggest learning curve. We made a lot of interesting contacts over the last five years. It definitely made me go outside my comfort zone, be more extroverted and outgoing, so we could have access to those opportunities.

Joanna:

Definitely that consistency is key. We've seen so much growth just by having regular events and giving people the chance to get to know each other better!

Yes definitely, consistency is great advice in general life! Ok as we’re coming to the end of 2023… tell us, what are your ambitions for WITB in 2024?

Emily:

We have so many goals for WIT’s future, it is hard to select what we want to focus on! I think I would definitely want to continue doing regular events, but I think it would be interesting to see how we can also appeal to students. We have quite a lot of career changers and people that already work in tech, but I believe that we could also have quite an impact on students. A recent chat with one of our attendees confirmed that students don’t really know what different tech careers look like aside from software development. I believe we could truly make a difference at that level as we have people from many tech professions in our community.

Joanna:

Yeah and I’d also add that I'd love to increase event attendance and get more consistent numbers. I'd also love to engage more with other groups or companies as it helps us get our message out and also really evaluate how best we can serve this wonderful community.

Here’s to 2024 and smashing those ambitions! OK final question… can you give us 5 reasons someone should attend a WITB event?

Emily:

There are definitely more than five but the top ones are:

1) Feeling inspired and invigorated by other people’s success stories

2) Learning about how to get into a specific career by firsthand accounts

3) Getting support from other people facing similar issues

4) Feeling empowered and understood

5) Meeting interesting people

Joanna:

1) Hearing inspiring stories of other women

2) Learning about different roles in the tech industry

3) Advice on how to further your own careers

4) Tips on dealing with problems in your workplace

5) A wonderful community of local women to support and get support from.