Technology

Posted on December 16, 2016 by staff

100 female tech role models list ‘a wonderful celebration’

Technology

BusinessCloud has been celebrating women in tech and last week named 100 of the UK’s best female role models in the industry.

More than 200 names were whittled down to a century for the latest edition of the magazine, and many took to Twitter to comment on a “wonderful celebration of women”.

An online debate sparked by the list was hugely popular between December 9 and 16, and Tweets using the hashtag #100techwomen reached more than 1.1million people and were engaged with more than 1.5million times.

The conversation included people as far away as the US, Canada, Brazil, Australia and Romania. And tweets using the hashtag #100techwomen have (so far) been liked 426 times and retweeted 223 times.

Co-founder of Mums in Technology June Angelides said: “Very honoured to be included alongside so many women that inspire me in tech.

“Thank you, BusinessCloud.”

Her firm is the first child-friendly coding school in the UK, and aims to inspire more mothers into the technology industry.

The BusinessCloud list included everyone from tech entrepreneurs to women in women involved in the traditional field of STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths).

Entrepreneur Cristiana Camisotti has founded several companies, including Silicon Milkroundabout, and described the list as a “wonderful celebration of women”.

Her message was engaged with more than 132 times on Twitter.

Timea Tabori, video games engine programmer at Rockstar North and chair of IGDA Scotland, wrote: “Great to be included on this Top 100 Women in Tech list!

In a message liked 19 times, she added: “Thank you @BCloudUK and congrats to all the #100techwomen included.”

Kathryn Parsons is the co-founder and co-CEO of the digital skills organisation Decoded, famous for teaching people to code in a day in more than 40 countries across the world.

She said: “Wow, thank you BusinessCloud! Honoured to be alongside some of my tech heroines.”

Debbie Forster, CEO of Apps for Good – which teaches young people to create applications that will impact their lives – said: “What a list! Honoured to be in such amazing company.”

Emma Mulqueeny, who was awarded an OBE for services to eductaion and technology, added: “Thank you for honouring the efforts of women in tech, BusinessCloud.

“What a fabulous list of new faces too!”

Broadcast icon Maggie Philbin also said she was honoured to be “listed alongside so many brilliant women”.

Emma Sinclair, who was awarded an MBE after becoming the youngest person to float a company on the London Stock Exchange at 29, “loved” being named beside many friends and tech pioneers.

An institution in the digital world, Jacqueline de Rojas, said the list was a “wonderful celebration of tech talent”.

President of IT trade company techUK, she said she was “in great company with many good friends”.

Natasha Sayce-Zelem, head of technology at Sky, was “thrilled” to be included and passed on a “huge congrats” to the other 99 women.

The writer of BusinessCloud’s 100 reasons to celebrate women in tech, Katherine Lofthouse, said the list focused on “women who hold roles in technology and have been actively involved in getting other women into tech”.

She added: “The list celebrates the enormous contribution that women make to the tech sector.”