EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
Web Summit 4-6 November 2014 RDS, Dublin
websummit.net
Payments Conference 6 November 2014 IoD Hub, London
fstech.co.uk/payments/
Euro ID 2014 18-20 November 2014 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
mesago.de/en/EID/home
Retail Business Exchange 12-13 November 2014 Runnymede on Thames Hotel, Surrey
retailbusinessexchange.com
National Retail Federation 2015 11-13 January 2015 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City
bigshow15.nrf.com
EuroCIS 2015 24-26 February 2015 Messe Düsseldorf, Germany
eurocis-tradefair.com
Technology for Marketing & Advertising 2015 25-26 February 2015 National Hall Olympia, London
t-f-m.co.uk
Retail Business Technology Expo 10-11 March 2015 Olympia Grand Hall, London
retailbusinesstechnologyexpo.com
The Augmented Reality Show 10 - 11 March 2015 ExCel, London
facebook.com/augmentedrealityexpo
Cloud Expo Europe 11-12 March 2015 ExCeL London
cloudexpoeurope.com
2015 FDM everywoman in Technology awards 17 March 2014 London Hilton Park Lane
everywoman.com/award/2015-fdm- everywoman-in-technology-awards-
GIRL POWER: SEEKING FEMALE RETAIL IT ROLE MODELS
E
arlier this summer, Marks and Spencer’s multi-channel director
Laura Wade-Gery broke through the glass ceiling when she was promoted to the role of UK retail director and given responsibility for the retail giant’s stores as well as its online business. This news marked the first time
in Marks & Spencer history that a woman was to take the helm of its retail business. The announcement inevitably led to speculations that Wade-Gery could be next in line for the top job, currently held by Marc Bolland. Aside from this particular
achievement however, the retail industry and particularly its technical underbelly, is still a place where women are struggling to break into the higher levels of decision making. “Technology is still a male dominated
domain anyway and the industry knows that it has an image problem which it’s trying to address,” explained Maxine Benson MBE, co-founder of everywoman, during a conversation about the recent launch of the 2015 FDM everywoman in Technology awards. “That’s what these awards are about,
which is why so many technology businesses are supporting this programme and getting involved in it as they want to attract more women into technology businesses. But as industry sectors go, retail’s challenge is that despite 60% of the workforce being women, you’ve got less than 15% in managerial roles,” continued Benson. “When you start talking about
technology in business, those are not the most junior roles. Technology as a professional function is up the pipeline more towards managerial senior roles and that’s where it starts to really drop off. So that’s a ‘double whammy’ for
08 Autumn 2014
women in retail IT.” Benson highlights the importance of the retail industry in general and how it’s particularly impacted by women both in the workforce and on the consumer side. “Two thirds of people working in
retail are women, we’re talking about 1.8m employees are women in retail in the UK out of 3 million overall,” she noted. “One of the reasons we want to demonstrate that there are absolutely opportunities for women in retail IT is the fact technology is not only the growth area of retail, but more importantly it’s the piece that’s going to get retail closer to the consumer. “And with 80% of shopping
decisions being made by women, I think that technology, if it’s getting retailers and consumers so close, has to have the input of women.” Benson is encouraging any woman working in technology to enter the awards in order to demonstrate that technology first and foremost is a place where anyone can forge a great career for themselves. “We want to showcase the diversity
of opportunities within the IT profession and also demonstrate that technology is the opportunity in every single industry sector today. “So in terms of encouraging young
women thinking about where they can go to have a great career, we want them first and foremost to think about technology but then also want the awards to demonstrate that technology is absolutely everywhere and that there isn’t an industry that isn’t becoming increasingly reliant upon technology to keep it innovative and give it a competitive edge.” Benson is especially keen that women
in retail technology should apply as she feels this industry in particular lacks role models. “We want to show that the retail industry is a place where women
www.retailtechnology.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60