Female Influencers In Tech - April Edition

Hello everyone! Hope you are all staying safe and sane during these strange times.

For this month's event, we are taking FiiT online! We did not want to cancel as we have some really fantastic speakers lined up for you, plus with the event being online, it opens up the doors to a global audience. So join us on Wednesday 22 April from 5:45pm via Zoom!

Please see an outline of the event below:

5.45 - 6.00 pm: Social & Intro
6.00 - 6.30 pm: 1st Speaker
6.40 - 7.10 pm: 2nd Speaker
7.10 - 7.30 pm: Q&A

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TALK 1: How our own financial position enables or constrains the choices we can make - by Ellen Cresswell

The choices we make in our life are influenced by many factors: our goals, our ambition and our financial position. Ellen will talk about how that enables or constrains the choices we make, and will provide some practical tips for managing your own money.

About the speaker:

Ellen Cresswell - Principal, Digital Manifesto

Ellen has led digital teams at companies including Coles, TAL, Microsoft and Barclays. She now runs her own consultancy, Digital Manifesto, which helps organisations define and deliver amazing online experiences.

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TALK 2: The Role of Men in Closing the Gender Equality Gap: Fathers Experiences, Perceptions, and Negotiations of Workplace Flexibility For Family Purposes - by Alina Ewald

Considering the challenges and increased expectations facing working parents today, there has been increased interest in workplace flexibility and ‘family friendly’ work policies; in particular, how such practices and policies facilitate parents ability to manage work and family commitments. This is particularly the case within industries that have a large number of highly valued knowledge workers, such as within the finance industry and the technology space. However, there is a paucity of fathers adopting flexibility for family purposes and much of the focus on workplace flexibility has related to mothers. It has been argued that there needs to be a greater focus on the role fathers play in closing the gender equality gap, and considering the changing nature of fatherhood, there also needs to be a greater focus on how such arrangements can facilitate father involvement.

About the speaker:

Alina Ewald - PhD candidate, School of Psychology at Western Sydney University

Alina comes from a background in business management and in providing enterprise information management software and enterprise resource management software (ERP) solutions for various organisations within Australia.

Her PhD research explores the way fathers experience, perceive and negotiate flexibility (including working from home, flexible start and finish times, and parental leave) for work-family balance purposes. Her research has uncovered a number of barriers that fathers face in adopting such arrangements, including: pervasive gender norms around caring responsibilities, a lack of acceptance within the workplace around making choices that prioritise family and caring responsibilities, and a lack of modelling from senior leaders.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

If you would like to speak or host at our next event please email Priya at priya.patel@contino.io