Microsoft to hold “Codess” event for Women in IT

Microsoft is holding an event for women in the IT sector which will examine the concept of the ‘growth mind-set’. Part of Microsoft’s ongoing Codess event series, the seminar will see speakers share insights with professional women from the technology sector which will benefit them as they seek to grow their own careers. A range of breakout sessions will facilitate networking and discussion of the latest technologies, including big data, the future of cloud computing and user experience design trends.

Microsoft is delivering the event as part of its broad commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and it aligns to the company’s #MakeWhatsNext campaign. This was launched on International Women’s Day to raise awareness of the STEM gender gap around the world. The campaign celebrates the accomplishments of female inventors ranging from Patricia Bath, the creator of laser cataract surgery, to Ada Lovelace, who made the first computer algorithm. By the first week in May and including Girls in ICT Day on April 28th, this campaign will have encompassed 43 events in 27 countries all aimed at inspiring women about the opportunities careers in STEM can hold for them.

Cathriona Hallahan, Managing Director at Microsoft Ireland, said events like Codess serve an important purpose.

“The gender gap in the technology sector is evident around the world and Ireland is no different. Though you have this amazing, thriving sector built on innovation and new thinking, and with enormous opportunities for career expansion, women are too often left out of the conversation. That is not to say women aren’t playing a role – they are and our #MakeWhatsNext campaign has been created to showcase a wide array of amazing women inventors and their achievements. With Codess and the many events we are organising around the world in the lead up to Girls in ICT Day, we are communicating the potential of a career in STEM to women of all ages.

“Codess is aimed at those who have already begun their career in the technology sector but who would benefit from expert advice on how to maximise their workplace experience by embracing a growth mind-set. There is huge scope in a company like Microsoft and in the wider technology sector to make your role your own and to deploy a wide range of talents in the process. Entrepreneurial and innovative thinking is something which we prize – the more perspectives and varieties of experience which can feed into that process, the better the outcome. The drive and the ideas which push technology forward come from people, and the message we are carrying forward at the Codess event and through our wider efforts to encourage diversity in the technology sector is that there are no limits to female advancement. If you can dream it, you can do it – and that’s an important truth we should all take to heart at every stage in our lives and careers,” said Ms Hallahan.

Codess – Ignite Your Future will take place in the Marker Hotel in Dublin on April 11th. More information is available at Codess.net, @MicrosoftIrl and #codessdub.