Women and Diversity in Tech Fest part two: build momentum, maintain hope and practice allyship

In the second part of this recap, we tackle an afternoon of panels dealing with the topic of hope in DEI efforts, as advocates across and beyond the industry talk about how they’ve managed to maintain their optimism and momentum

After a lively networking lunch, the afternoon sessions at this week’s Women and Diversity in Tech fest tackled the topic of building momentul in a social or DEI movement. From Exertis’ Jamie Brothwell talking about the early years of her transition and how her career served as a source of empowerement, to former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton delving into her fight for justice in the wake of the Horizon scandal, speakers took a wide lens to the topic of resiliency in the face of an uphil battle.

The afternoon continued with a talk from Jane Ashworth, global strategic partnerships director at Lenovo, who spoke about the importance of menopause acknowledgement, at and outside of work.

“The first thing to know about menopause, is that we are allowed to talk about it,” Ashworth said.

She made sure that the audience understood how menopause affects everyone, not just those assigned female at birth.

“Whether you have a wife, a daughter, a sister, or a work colleague, at some point in your life, you will be affected by menopause.

Because of the taboo and the lack of understanding around this stage of life, she sometimes felt like “not brave enough or bound to talk about it” when she went through it.

“This affected my career as a commercial channel director, one year into working with Lenovo.

“It started by changes in how I felt.

“I felt exceptionally tired all the time, I was having ‘passionate’, not just emotional conversations in the workplace, and I didn’t realise these were related to menopause.

“I went to the doctor’s, who prescribed me antidepressants.”

It’s only a week later, when talking with female colleagues, that she understood that menopause was causing this.

She then described the three stages of menopause: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.

Perimenopause, which can start up to ten years before menopause, causes irregular periods, hot flashes, mood swings, and a decrease in oestrogen production.

Menopause is usually diagnosed when going without a period for 12 consecutive months, as the body stops producing eggs.

Symptoms might vary, but usually include mood swings, a lower sex drive, painful sex, a faster heartbeat, headaches, enhanced sweating, and trouble sleeping.

Postmenopause, the last stage, lasts for the rest of a woman’s life.

While most menopause symptoms lessen at this stage, postmenopause can increase the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease.

In 2024, 72 per cent of women in the UK said there was a lack of support and understanding about menopause.

“We need to consider these symptoms and make sure the workplace is a place where women can find support.”

She took Lenovo as an example in how a company can help its female employees through education and awareness.

“We built out a menopause employee resource group (ERG).

“I noticed that not only women but also men came to us to be signposted for help, because their wives were struggling so much.

“The audience and the community which we support is growing in terms of male participation, as more men became part of our ERG board.

“It really is a fantastic group of people.”

Ashworth then listed the three questions the team asked themselves when setting out the ERG.

“Is it clear how Lenovo supports menopause at work?

“Do we have a culture where menopause can be talked about openly?

“Do managers have the right knowledge and skills to talk about menopause at work?

“The answer was no.”

From that starting point, the company built three strategic pillars, one around community, one around platforms, and one around education.

Community-wise, Ashworth said that the ERG “comes together every month online,” to create “a safe space for anybody, where women going through these challenges at work, or a male colleague that wants to know more, can come to chat.”

“We also have webinars on a quarterly basis where we do very similar things.”

The global strategic partnerships director also insisted on the importance of having a story to share, as “the more people can relate to you and your story, the more they're likely to be involved and share their stories and their challenges too.”

“We also have a menopause inbox, so if people don't feel like sharing in a public or a work environment, they can just email the inbox, where each one of the nine members of the ERG is able to guide and advise them via emails.”

While the group is not made up of medical experts, Ashworth said they can help people by directing them to the right support.

In terms of platforms, she talked about the importance of the company’s SharePoint, which the ERG is updating every single week.

“It's one of the most used SharePoint in Lenovo UK.

“We've got white papers on there, podcasts, as well as expert and specialist links on there.

“On top of our private healthcare, we've also introduced Peppy, an app which puts you in touch with specialists and GPs who can answer your questions.

“You can also make appointments via the app, and I would urge you to go and have a look at that as a method to support women in the workplace.”

She concluded with Lenovo’s education strategy, which consists in a mandatory training for every single manager at the company on how to deal with menopause and support women in the workplace.

Maintaining hope while avoiding toxic positivity

Continuing the afternoon, Jamie Bennett, senior workspace technology consultant at Softcat, delivered a compelling session reflecting on diversity’s evolving role in the tech landscape.

Drawing on over three decades of experience, Bennett’s session focused on keeping a balance between hope and optimism and being a catalyst for genuine change. This set the stage for a critical view on performative efforts in diversity

Bennett candidly shared his recent ADHD diagnosis, connecting it to his professional journey: “I bring it to you through another lens… what was termed toxic positivity. This has deepened my commitment to inclusivity and shaped how I engage with change.”

He reflected on the challenges faced by neurodiverse individuals, advocating for workplaces that enable everyone to reach their full potential.

Amid moments of introspection, Bennett celebrated wins and highlighted the importance of optimism: “All good movements are fueled by hope and success.

“There is a lot to celebrate, and we must not forget to build on that.”

She closed with a resounding call for action: “If you are empowering every part of your team equally, you’re building a truly innovative community.”

Embracing diversity: How to be a better ally

To close the day, Donavan Hutchinson founder & CEO of D&A Services International hosted a panel discussion focused on allyship and inclusivity in the workplace.

Panellists shared their experiences, highlighting the lack of sustainable allyship and the challenges faced in the industry.

“I’ve navigated the MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Have I ever truly felt supported outside of tokenistic gestures or short-term initiatives? No I haven’t. I'm not actually sure I've ever experienced true and sustainable allyship,” Jennifer Bello, diversity and inclusion trainer told the audience.

“But I do think that having not experienced that has made me a lot more vocal.”

Exertis managing director Jamie Brothwell shared her experience of transitioning from male to female and the lack of support she endured during this time.

“Up until the age of 31 I had a very successful career in tech, but it's been a lot more challenging since I transitioned from male to female when I was 31 at which point I was told my career was over,” she retold to a shocked audience.

“A big part of allyship is getting support. When I transitioned it was quite taboo. It wasn’t common and I was very alone.

“I spent six months getting up on my own, going to work, and I didn't see a human being outside of work for six months. So that's a negative impact of allyship. I was determined that I wasn't going to let my personal choices define me, and I was going to let my work do the talking.

“So I wrote a business plan for DCC around transforming our business into a specific area. They agreed to it. I set about it, and three years later, we delivered £8m growth.”

Jamie continued the company is still focused on driving change and improving the culture of the business.

“We had more diverse figures join the business, and we work really, really hard to create what I believe now is an amazing business, and the business is leading cultural change.

“No, I’ve just been promoted to managing director following three years managing our AV business. It’s my proudest achievement today.

“I hope that acts as living proof, and hopefully the hardship I've been through creates a platform for other people to follow, and I use my position now to really champion change and drive positivity.”

There are numerous months in the calendar dedicated to celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), such as Pride Month in June, Disability Pride Month in July, Transgender Awareness Month in November, and the UK’s Black History Month in October.

But DEI “isn’t limited to just one month”, as Bello explained.

“We don’t just bring our work to work. We bring our life, who we are.

“Allyship is continuous. It happens every single day of our lives.

“So for businesses more focus on intention and education rather than accolades almost, rather than a badge, rather than a sign.”

Kirsti Smith, neurodiversity coach and tech ally believes businesses can do more by simply looking to have more conversations around DEI experiences in order to drive change.

“I think one of the things that is really important is opening up conversations and changing the cultures within a lot of organisations,” Smith said.

“Actually listening to people's experiences, I think, is one of the biggest steps that people need to take in general.”

Taking these first steps to opening up conversations can be daunting for those who fear making a mistake.

However, Brothwell concluded with a powerful statement for people and businesses who may feel these anxieties.

“From my experiences, don't be scared to say the wrong thing, because actually to say nothing is worse. I think anybody knows when you're coming from a place of heart and from a good place then it's okay to make mistakes. Because ultimately, we need authentic people, and we want people to be genuine and inquisitive.”