Yesterday we were thrilled and excited to host our fifth Power Women event at Facebook HQ in Dublin. It was Power Women’s first meeting in Dublin and we welcomed talented and inspiring women in tech from across the capital.
The theme of this event was women in tech, specifically “transforming business by driving diversity in technology”. Our speakers took to the stage to discuss how we can deliver greater innovation and performance by driving diversity across all sectors within the technology industry, and across all levels from schools to the boardroom.
We welcomed two awesome speakers, Fiona Gallagher-Payet, Director, Enterprise Engineering International at Facebook, and Kendal Parmar, Co Founder and CEO, Untapped, alongside our hosts, Hannah Massam (Dreamtek’s VP) and Victoria Neeson (Dreamtek’s CEO).
Hannah and Vicky opened the event by streaming Vicky in live from the Facebook offices in New York. Vicky delivered an introduction to the Power Women events, what they mean and what we hope to achieve by uniting women in tech. Hannah shared her own stories and experiences on diversity, drawing on examples from the women who lead the technology world, and then introduced our two guest speakers.
Fiona has been with Facebook for over 5 years, holding esteemed roles such as Head of Global Enterprise Engineering, Regional IT Manager, EMEA and she’s now the Director of Enterprise Engineering International. Having lead large technical teams for one the world’s leading technology companies, if anyone is qualified to speak about women in tech it’s Fiona.
She shared her own personal story, including her work progression and the experiences she’s had navigating her path through a male-dominated environment. Fiona gave us an insight into working at Facebook (they are hiring by the way) and the skills she has developed and used during her career, including courage and resilience. Exercise and feeling physically strong plays a key role in Fiona’s day-to-day life, putting her in the best position to succeed elsewhere.
Kendal runs Untapped AI, known for speeding up behavioural change in the workplace. She trained as a clinical psychologist and has spent 20 years as an occupational psychologist specialising in company cultures. She created the algorithm behind the Sunday Times “100 Best Companies to work for” list. She’s passionate about encouraging more women in tech to use their voices, speak up and change the cultures of tech companies.
She opened with a song and finished with a ROAR! Kendal focused on our voice and asked the audience to think about some scenarios, including when they didn’t use their voice and have regretted it and when they did use their voice to achieve something positive. Kendal shared her experiences with us, including her work progression and her family life.
A huge THANK YOU to all our speakers and hosts!
Our fifth Power Women event was another inspiring and hugely successful event, we heard what our audience thought about creating a more inspiring culture for women in the workplace and we came away with a fresh view on how we can drive a culture that celebrates the successes and achievements of women in business, without compromising our true personal identity.