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鈥淏e curious鈥�, 鈥淕o around any barriers鈥�, and 鈥淥wn your accomplishments鈥�. These were just some snippets of the advice given to female students for navigating their future careers.

On Friday 8 March, 麻豆传媒视频网站 Computer Science hosted an event based on this year鈥檚 IWD theme, 鈥業nspire Inclusion鈥�. The topic provided a springboard for discussions that encompassed job interview advice, bias against women in AI models, and compassionate leadership.听听听

The Head of Department,听Steve Hailes, welcomed the room and the speakers, Pippa Chick, Jingya Yun and Ivana Drobnjak.听

Pippa is Sales Director, Energy, Retail, Transportation and Life Sciences at Intel 听She is also an honorary Professor in Practice at 麻豆传媒视频网站 Computer Science.

Jingya is a Regulatory Program Director at HSBC. She graduated from 麻豆传媒视频网站 in 2012, having studied for a Master鈥檚 in Financial Computing.听

The panel was chaired by Ivana Drobnjak, Professor of Computational Healthcare and a Director of the Undergraduate Programme at 麻豆传媒视频网站 Computer Science.

The panellists exchanged positive stories and practical advice. Pippa shared how her colleague was three months pregnant when she was recruited for a role at Intel. Pippa praised the forethought of the hiring manager, who not only gained an excellent employee but used the maternity cover to develop another staff member.听

The听speakers听talked about being in the minority in a work environment. Jingya mentioned that she hasn鈥檛 experienced significant career barriers due to gender. Throughout her career, she has always had supportive female leaders and mentors.

She has seen the financial services industry addressing gender imbalance, such as the gender pay gap, and compared to 2012, the graduate scheme now has much more female representation.

The discussion turned to the many women in the world who experience discrimination. Their countries may not have the outlook, or the legislation, of the UK.

It鈥檚 also important to highlight where prejudice can be hidden. Ivana is involved in a project investigating bias against women and girls in large language models, which she has presented to UNESCO and the UN.

Excellent questions came from the floor. One of these touched on affirmative action policies, such as women-only internships: are you viewed differently in a company if you join through one of these internships?

The panel noted that although affirmative action can feel slightly forced, it is a path to equity. The focus should be on your output; be good at your job, and your gender becomes less significant.

The students were encouraged to form a network. Echoing the phrase 鈥楾ogether we rise鈥�, it鈥檚 a way for them to support each other and celebrate their achievements.听

Savani Sawaikar, in her second year of a Computer Science BSc, said: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 event was inspirational. We heard from women from different backgrounds and with different experiences. I鈥檓 glad that the talk wasn鈥檛 so much about battling challenges but more about what we鈥檙e doing now to make a difference and how we can do better in the future.鈥�

Lara Yanc, a first-year undergraduate student studying MEng Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, added: 鈥� It was inspiring to hear different perspectives from strong, powerful women. It鈥檚 great to hear that things are much better, and we should be more confident.鈥�

Pippa Chick said: 鈥淚 always find it incredibly heartening to interact with the students. These women will shape the workplace of the future.鈥�

Jingya Yun said: 鈥淭here was a strong sense of camaraderie and solidarity among attendees, leaving us all feeling motivated to continue advocating for women's advancement in the workplace. Kudos to the organizers for orchestrating such an impactful and memorable gathering.鈥�