July 2, 2019

ShadowTech Day 2019: Encouraging females into tech roles

By

Theta

We were involved with ShadowTech again this year, and this time around we had four very talented secondary school girls visiting us at Theta.

Mahdieh, Bryniah, Jerseyleigh and Truc Linh joined us from Mangere and Sancta Maria College, with the aim of finding out more about the tech industry and talking through the career that they are hoping to become involved with.

What is ShadowTech?

ShadowTech is run by TechWomen with support from NZTech.

The programme connects secondary school students with people working in the tech sector, who act as mentors, allowing them to experience a day in the life of an IT professional. It educates girls about the wide range of careers and opportunities available to them.

Increasing the number of females who choose a STEM subject (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is at the forefront of ShadowTech’s goals. Ultimately, the hope is that they choose to pursue a career in technology.

Our involvement

Phoebe Dobson, Theta’s Head of Project Delivery, is the organiser (and big supporter) of our involvement with ShadowTech.

‘Hopefully, we can encourage some more girls to consider tech careers!’

On the day of the visit, our Theta ladies (all in various roles) sat with the girls and gave them an overview of what they do on a day-to-day basis. As well as this, there was ample opportunity for questions – and there were lots of them! It was great to hear about what the girls are passionate about, and how they could channel this into a potential future tech career.  

Thank you to Mahdieh, Bryniah, Jerseyleigh and Truc Linh for bringing your enthusiasm and engagement along to the ShadowTech day. We hope you feel inspired to carry on doing well with your studies and enjoying other hobbies you told us about, we’re sure that they will lead you to great places.