Women in Tech is one of the events organised by Croydon Tech City community Pic: Todd Kulesza

A conference focusing on the role of women in technology is taking place this evening in south London, hosted by Croydon Tech City, a community of digital developers and creatives.

The Women in Tech conference is part of the London Technology Week and is being held at the Croydon Conference Centre starting at 7.30pm.

It will include presentations and panel discussions focusing on how to promote a better female representation within the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields with practical advice and the personal experiences of the all-female panel.

Croydon Tech City Team: Nigel Dias, Jonny Rose and Sarah Luxford Pic: Fluid4Sight Photography

Jonny Rose, a founder of Croydon Tech City wrote in the Croydon Citizen: “There is a dearth of women operating in the technology sector, globally and locally, and something needs to be done about it.”

Although the number of women involved with Croydon Tech City is rising, they still only make up a third of the community.  Data from Lady Geek, a London-based agency supporting women working in technology, shows that percentage of technology jobs held by women has decreased from 22 percent in 2001 to 17 percent by 2011.

Speakers at the event include Alex Depledge,  founder of Hassle, an online platform to book cleaners, and Juliana Meyer, songwriter and composer who founded SupaPass, a system that allows music fans to fund their favourite artists in exchange for exclusive content. Her project won Best European Startup at SXSW Hatch 2014, a competition for creative startups held at the famous festival SXSW, in Texas, US.

Women in Tech
Thursday, June 19 – 7.30pm
Croydon Conference Centre