Championing gender diversity in IT

Gender diversity is at the core of our company values and is incorporated into M&T Resources’ candidate sourcing as standard practice.

Our team are passionate advocates of gender diversity in the workplace. We work with our clients to address gender equality in the workplace, and in particular in niche IT and executive roles in which females are typically under represented.

We apply the same focus on gender diversity within our own team. In 2017, we were proud to have seen the M&T Resources leadership team progressing from being 28% to 43% female, with a further increase to 50% in 2018.

As a company, we are Corporate Sponsors of VIC ICT for Women, an organisation that is committed to championing gender diversity in ICT. M&T Resources Account Managers Evelien Leon and Jacquie Connaughton have been working closely with the organisation, with Jacquie the 2iC School Liaison and Evelien named an Associate Board Member.

By supporting VIC ICT for Women initiatives, we are proud to be proactively committed to gender diversity and a balanced workforce. We anticipate our activity in this group will also increase our engagement to the talent pool of women in IT, which is of great benefit to our clients.

Recently, M&T Resources supported VIC ICT for Women by hosting their Grad Girls Workshop. We were also proud to be Platinum Sponsors of the What’s Hot in IT event, entitled “Move Fast + Break Things”.

We caught up with Jacquie and Evelien for to hear their thoughts on these events…

 

jacquie connaughton

VIC ICT for Women’s Grad Girls Program promotes diversity in the ICT sector at a university and beyond level by supporting new females entering the market. M&T Resources is one of seven sponsors of this program and worked closely with fellow sponsors on the first event, which was held in our Melbourne offices on 15th February 2018.

grad girls

Sixteen ‘Grad Girls’ attended the event from different universities around Melbourne. After welcoming the students with all important pizza and networking, the night was kicked off with an introduction to the program, followed by sessions on:

  • Setting up your profile and maintaining a strong online presence – LinkedIn speaker Claire Gallagher
  • What companies look for in a grad – ASG speaker Maree Bilalovic
  • Personal experiences from a current grad and a past grad – ASG speakers Teresa Taing and Kim Liew
  • CV preparation and interview tips – M&T Resources speaker Jacquie Connaughton

Through these sessions, we supported the development of skills that would not otherwise be learnt through university. We hope this will assist the grads’ success as they enter into job / graduate program application stages.

Being able to provide this support and guidance was a rewarding opportunity and something I wish I had benefited from during my 9 years of study. With changing technologies and expectations from employers, the focus was not only around the preparation of your CV, but developing a strong and appropriate online presence. Everyone involved (and myself included) learnt a lot from the recommendations provided by our LinkedIn speaker Claire Gallagher.

The grads were left with a wealth of knowledge to use moving forward as they plan their next steps after uni. Both myself and M&T Resources look forward to working with them over the coming years – helping them to put their best foot forward by providing them with the necessary tools to achieve their goals.

On behalf of M&T Resources, I would like to thank all of the grads for being so engaged throughout the night and asking a lot of insightful questions, contributing to the collective knowledge of the whole group. A big thank you to all of our fellow sponsors and to VIC ICT for Women for collaborating with us on this initiative.

 

evelien leon

What’s Hot in IT is an interactive event series run by VIC ICT for Women, showcasing emerging technologies and industry trends in a friendly and informative atmosphere. Using a ‘round table’ format, these events feature a panel of technology specialists leading discussions and providing insights into their area of expertise. An opportunity for networking is also available, allowing a great night for learning about new technologies and connecting with fellow IT professionals.

what's hot in IT

M&T Resources sponsored the latest event, “Move Fast + Break Things”, alongside Monash University, who also provided the space. It was an evening of networking and discussion to connect with Technology leaders who are disrupting the way we live, work, interact and transact through technology innovation.

Attendees had the opportunity to meet with a variety of Monash University professors who are leading the way in emerging technologies and championing opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The event began with an inspiring presentation from keynote speaker Maria Garcia de la Banda who provided an overview of some exciting innovative technologies. She discussed current trends in the IT industry, including Cloud Services, Data protection, IoT, VR, Blockchain and IA, as well as her future predictions for 5G, AI as cloud services, near-real-time translation and augmented reality. She discussed the impact these could achieve on our society, such as better healthcare, transport and increased safety, smarter cities, and a more sustainable planet.

what's hot in IT

We then moved into a round table discussion where all attendees had the opportunity to ask questions. We had 10 speakers around various topics such as Bitcoin, Machine learning, big data, digital transformation, Artificial intelligence, Optimisation and many more.

Following this informative discussion, there was also the opportunity to trial the Halo lens which was demoed by Monash University.

I would like to thank Monash University for co-sponsoring the VIC ICT for Women event and providing us with a fantastic space to hold it. We look forward to working with VIC ICT for Women on their upcoming events, leading to a future where females have equal representation in the IT industry.

what's hot in IT

You might also like