Tees Business LIVE : February 2025
EVENTS
Tees Business LIVE : February 2025
BOHO X , MIDDLESBROUGH
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ABACUSBEAN
PICTURES : TOM BANKS
Panel – Sophia Gowland ( The Petite Agency ), Francesca Kosina ( Outrank ), Bev Goodall ( AbacusBean ), Chloe Clover ( Wander Films ) and Kimberley Turner ( Double Eleven ).
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
How to get more women in tech – expert panel discusses barriers and solutions
The barriers are coming down for women in tech – but there ’ s still work to do .
That was the message from an expert panel at the biggest ever Tees Business LIVE event , held in the magnificent new HQ of games developer Double Eleven .
The morning event gave 140 delegates their first glimpse inside Middlesbrough ’ s stunning Boho X – dubbed “ the best offices for 100 miles ” and the seven-storey home to one of Teesside ’ s trailblazing tech firms .
Sponsored by leading Teesside accountant AbacusBean – a specialist in the tech and gaming sectors – the February Tees Business LIVE featured networking over breakfast provided by SIX , the Gateshead-based restaurant of Pneuma Group , which also owns Double Eleven .
Guests then enjoyed a discussion about the challenges and opportunities for the Tees tech and digital scene , including the need to attract more women into the sector .
And when it comes to boosting female numbers , Double Eleven ’ s commercial and finance director Kimberley Turner felt upbringing had a lot to do with it .
She told the meeting : “ When I think about the Double Eleven board , I don ’ t think about who is female or male – we have a great leadership team because of the skills we all bring to the table .
“ But when it comes to tech barriers to entry , my maybe old-fashioned traditional view is that a lot of it starts at home . If you grow up in a family where you ’ re told you can be anything you want to be , you go into the world with that mindset .
“ But if you don ’ t have an early life that says you can achieve things , for me that ’ s where it all starts .”
Francesca Kosina , operations director of Middlesbrough-based digital marketing agency Outrank , said one myth that could be debunked was that tech is only about people from STEM-related backgrounds going into areas such as programming and developing .
She said : “ The industry has grown a lot and a key thing in tech is communication and collaboration .
“ That has opened up many different career opportunities , including design , creative skills , account management , project management – it really is a diverse playing field and as long as women in particular are open to good collaboration and communication , there ’ s lots of opportunity within the space .”
Sophia Gowland , MD of social media marketing specialist The Petite Agency , said women and girls were well-placed to take advantage of AI ’ s shortcomings .
She told delegates : “ As amazing as AI is , and it can be a game-changer in many ways , it can ’ t replace human qualities . “ But statistically , women have better emotional intelligence , and AI can ’ t replace those skills – it can ’ t replace building good relationships with your clients , building good relationships in-house or being a good manager .”
And Wander Films creative director Chloe Clover , another former Tees Businesswoman of the Year , felt individual firms had a responsibility to encourage girls into tech .
She said : “ The Power of Women campaign , for example , is doing incredible things to educate and empower young girls .
“ I think there ’ s an onus on individual companies and agencies to do something , rather than expecting us all to do it as a collective .
“ At Wander , we ’ re often asked about things like work experience , so we ’ re inviting more young people and neurodiverse young people in to see what we do and to meet the team – we feel it ’ s really important to help grow and shape and show people the things we do .”
Series associate for Tees Business LIVE is the North East Chamber of Commerce . This edition was organised by Tees Business in collaboration with Pneuma Group and Double Eleven .
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