I established and organise the Manchester chapter of HER+Data - a meetup group which brings together women and all those who identify as women who work with and love data. Women have shared experiences and challenges that we face in fields dominated by men. As a thriving tech scene, Manchester only stands to benefit from gender balance in data roles - it is therefore important to build a network of women with whom to share our experiences, support each other and build confidence in ourselves to help combat gender inequality in tech. The mission of HER+Data MCR is to connect, inspire, support and empower the NW UK’s women in data.
HER+Data was founded in Dublin, Ireland (originally as XX+Data) by Karen Church with its kickoff meeting in May 2017. I established HER+Data MCR in July, and our kickoff event was in September at the Manchester Science Park’s brand new Bright Building. The group grew to 200+ members within the first 5 months and gained 2 co-organisers (we now have 900+ members after 2 years). Our events are very kindly supported by Evolution Recruitment Solutions and our hosts vary from month to month (MSP, PwC and Rentalcars in 2017; Colony, MSP, the Federation, Hello Soda, Auto Trader UK, PwC, Valtech, Intechnica, Thoughtworks and KPMG in 2018).
To find out more information or join our community of women in data, check out our Meetup, Twitter and LinkedIn pages. Please get in touch if you are interested in giving a ~10 minute lightning talk, want to get involved, collaborate or host one of our events!
2017 Events
1. September
Host: Manchester Science Partnerships
Speakers: Geraldine Gallagher (DWF), Angeliki Loukatou (University of Manchester), Rachael Ainsworth (University of Manchester)
Attendees: ~40
2. October
Host: PwC
Speakers: Kamila Szczeblewska (Rullion Niche Talent), Leanne Fitzpatrick (Hello Soda), Reka Solymosi (University of Manchester), Carys Davies (PwC)
Attendees: ~40
3. November
Host: Rentalcars
Speakers: Karen Pudner (BBC), Clare Nolan (Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service), Mona Schommer (Rentalcars)
Attendees: ~40
2018 Events
4. February
Host: Colony
Speakers: Louise Griffiths (PH Jones), Niche Talent CV Masterclass
Attendees: ~30
5. March
Host: Manchester Science Partnerships
Speakers: Tania Allard (University of Sheffield), Rosie Higman (University of Manchester), Linda Humphries (Co-op)
Attendees: ~30
6. April
Host: The Federation
Speakers: Silvia Maggi (University of Manchester), Rebecca Davey (INRIX), Clara Higuera Cabanes (BBC), Magda Piatkowska (BBC)
Attendees: ~50
7. May
Host: Hello Soda
Speakers: Bethan Turner (Honeycomb), Tana Joseph (University of Manchester), Szu-Yao Chien (Hello Soda)
Attendees: ~40
8. June
Host: Auto Trader UK
Speakers: Zoë Stafford (The National Probation Service North West), Laura Kenny (CLOS Consultancy), Agnes Altmets (Auto Trader UK)
Attendees: ~35
9. July
Host: PwC
Speakers: N/A - this event is our summer social dedicated to networking!
Attendees: ~25
10. August
Host: Valtech UK
Speakers: Margaux Dumon (Valtech UK), Sarah Belghiti (Valtech UK), Cheryl Edwards (Valtech UK)
Attendees: ~40
11. September
Host: Intechnica
Speakers: Zandra Moore (Panintelligence), Kirsty Devlin (Thoughtworks), Karen Church (Intercom)
Attendees: ~40
12. October
Host: Thoughtworks
Speakers: Lindsay Pellow (Co-op), Evolution Recruitment Solutions Interview Techniques Masterclass
Attendees: ~30
13. November
Host: KPMG
Speakers: Anne Sloman (Red Tiger Consulting), Mayowa Ayodele (DWF Law), Katie-Marie Friday (KPMG)
Attendees: ~50
2019 Events
14. February
Host: BookingGo
Speakers: Bella Vartanyan (BookingGo), Robyn Ellis (BookingGo), Hannah Jepson (BookingGo) filled in for Karen Wilson
Attendees: ~50
15. March
Host: Peak
Speakers: Areeb Alowisheq (Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University), Kathryn Smith (Sopra Steria), Amy Szadziewska and Kirsty Parsons filled in for Lauren Rodgers (Peak)
Attendees: ~35
16. April
Host: Dept, e3creative
Speakers: Zainab Peera (Worldpay), Melissa Hermitt (Dept), Bethan Blakeley (Honeycomb Analytics), Leanne Fitzpatrick (Hello Soda).
Attendees: ~40
17. May
Host: Hello Soda
Speakers: Lucy Walker (Manchester Metropolitan University), Francesca Crossley (Moneysupermarket Group), Bernadette Clarke (Evolution Recruitment Solutions) Salary Negotiation Masterclass.
Attendees: ~45
18. June
Host: Thoughtworks
Speakers: Jessica Winters (Freelance Creative Specialist), Annie Mbako (The Heroworx Institute), Amy Lynch (Thoughtworks).
Attendees: ~30
19. July
Host: Manchester Technology Centre
Speakers: N/A - this event is our summer social dedicated to networking!
Attendees: ~15
20. August
Host: On the Beach
Speakers: Natalie Stephenson (KPMG), Ella Worsdale (NHS)
Attendees: ~50
21. September
Host: Cox Automotive
Speakers: Tana Joseph (University of Manchester and Founder of AstroComms) filled in for Natalie Jameson, Mona Schommer (BookingGo and HER+Data MCR co-organiser), Bernadette Clarke (Evolution Recruitment Solutions and HER+Data MCR co-organiser), and Rachael Ainsworth (University of Manchester and HER+Data MCR organiser)
Attendees: ~40
22. October
Host: KPMG
Speakers: Edafe Onerhime (Slack & Hime), Annette Joseph (Co-op and Founder of Diverse & Equal), and Kirsty Devlin (Recode and Founder of Women Who Keynote)
Attendees: ~40
23. November
Speakers: Kerry Parker, (IQBlade and Co-Organiser of TechNomads), Viv Yau (Founder of Bee Influence), and Jennifer Stark (LADbible Group and Co-Organiser of PyData MCR)
Host: Auto Trader UK