Celebrating Women in Technology with Awards Ceremony by Group Member WITS

Published: Friday, November 16, 2018

Ireland celebrates Women in Technology this November with 2 Awards Ceremonies: The Women in IT Awards on the 21st of November and the Women in Tech Awards on November 22nd. Here's a little more info about WITS, careers in STEM and outline the upcoming awards and women in technology events this November.

About NWCI Group Member WITS Women in Technology and Science

WITS was set up to promote women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). STEM covers engineering from the infrastructure of bridges and roads to the biomedical technology that enables us to have stents in our hearts. It applies to the science we use to explore our cells and to reach the stars. The technology we use every day, our smart phones and our medicines are developed by the women and men working in STEM. It includes agriculture, computer science, energy, the environment, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

WITS works by advocating, acting and connecting women in STEM. It advocates and speaks for and with women in STEM, developing and improving policy and practice for us all. It campaigns for and with women in STEM to inform and educate about women’s participation in STEM. It also  connects women in STEM at all levels, from students to professions, across all areas, from the life sciences to computing and engineering and in business and academia. As a voluntary, independent organisation WITS has been a member of the NWCI since 1990 and are glad to be part of the NWCI society wide network of women; being part of the NWCI community is important, it enables the group to play their part in the development of civil society.  

A World of Opportunites with STEM

There are many careers and job opportunities in STEM. ranging from teaching and research to working in small start-up companies or the big technology companies that are part of our everyday lives such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. WITS members work in many different areas of STEM and love it. STEM qualifications gives the chance to see the world, to experience other cultures and to develop throughout their working lives. There is world-wide demand for graduates with qualifications in computer science, engineering, and many other areas of STEM.  Among the WITS members in technology/computer science are Fardus Sultan, Vicky Twomey-Lee and Julie Hogan. Read about them here.

WITS members use the skills from their STEM degrees, those of critical thinking, asking questions and systematically developing answers and solving problems in a range of roles. They can be managers, researching a problem, developing a new product or working with students. However there are not enough of Women in STEM: 19 % of ICT specialists in 2016 are women, it was 30 % in 2004; 16 % of engineering professionals are women[ii]; 25 % of those working in Ireland’s STEM industries are women[iii]; 1% of full professors and 17% of CEOs[iv] This means that women in STEM are not always seen and heard. WITS has been working since 1990 to be a voice for women in STEM.