Hello, I’m Eleni, a Talent Partner at Justice Digital, and I joined the team in September 2023. In this blog, I will be sharing my reflections on our inclusive recruitment practices and why the inclusion of women in the digital and tech space is key to building a stronger and more equal organisation.
Obviously, everyone here will agree that we cannot properly serve society if diversity is not reflected within the organisation. Without representation from a broad cross-section of society, how can we make informed decisions about what’s best for people? How can we innovate and lead if we all think the same due to our similar backgrounds? History has shown that products and services designed with only one specific type of customer in mind often fail or become obsolete quickly.
Bringing change, especially in the public sector, can feel like a huge task. People can become frustrated when promises aren’t followed by meaningful action. At the same time, the public sector itself has quite specific processes that we need to follow, to ensure fairness and equity for all, which sometimes can impact diversity.
At Justice Digital, we believe in the power of internal growth and inclusion. We are committed to nurturing the diverse talent already within our organisation by giving women a voice, and offering internal female employees both the space to be themselves, and the opportunity for personal and professional development, through mentoring initiatives and specialised training programmes such as ‘CloudUp For Her’,a Cloud Practitioner Programme or ‘TechHer’, a government initiative for women working in the UK public sector. Through programmes like these, women can skill up or can make a change to tech and digital roles. By prioritising the development of our people, we not only help them thrive but also ensure they continue to grow with us, contributing to our mission and fostering a truly inclusive workplace.
In addition, since I’ve been here, we have organised two events around female representation; Justice Digital participated in the ‘Karren Brady Women in Business and Tech’ event, where we got the opportunity to meet so many ambitious and capable women, one of whom has recently joined us! (for her perspective, please continue reading).
We also attended the ‘Women of Silicon Roundabout’ event, an amazing opportunity to showcase our dedication to diversity for women to attend sessions around the latest technology trends and to network with like-minded professionals.
I would also like to share a recent example that highlights the power and value of diverse representation. In October, the Software Development profession launched a campaign for mid-level developers. For the first time during my time here, the panel chairs worked hard to gather as many women as possible to sift through applications and interview candidates. Out of 13 panel members, 6 were women which was incredible! While achieving diversity is often easier at less senior levels, the focus now should be on increasing female representation at senior and lead levels.
At the Ministry of Justice, we offer incredible flexibility in hybrid working and adaptable work patterns, enabling many women to join us. Our parental leave benefits surpass those of most tech companies.
Mary Ford, a Software Developer who recently joined us from the private sector after hearing about Justice Digital through a colleague at the Karren Brady event, shared her experience:
"I was searching for organisations open to hiring part-time software developers when someone mentioned that Justice Digital had been promoting flexible working at an event. Many tech companies dismissed part-time work outright, even after positive interviews, making it hard to find opportunities. I know many women need flexibility at some point in their careers, that was definitely the starting point for me to apply (and to take the job!)”
We may not have all the answers right now, and we might not for some time and that’s okay. What matters is that here in Justice Digital we are committed to addressing the issues that matter and having those difficult conversations.
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