AN INDUSTRY leader in the IT sector is to give a lecture this week at the University of Reading.
Dr Rhian Taylor is the guest speaker for this year’s Edith Morley Lecture, as part of the University’s Women’s History Month activities.
A University of Reading graduate, Dr Taylor’s theme will be gender equality in IT, and she will be sharing the ups and downs of her journey, from academia to industry, including overcoming challenges and celebrating victories in the tech world.
Dr Taylor studied BSc Computer Science with Industrial Year and a PhD at Reading.
“I first became interested in computers whilst at school, but due to the lack of opportunity and support available to me in this area, I was leaning towards studying English at university,” she said.
“But then I attended the Computer Science Open Day at Reading and saw a demonstration of a project that centred around helping people with Alzheimer’s to stay independent for longer.
“I knew straightaway that studying computer science at Reading, and developing my own ideas about tech and healthcare, was the right fit for me.”
Dr Taylor said she encountered numerous obstacles in her computer science career.
She said: “As I started to pursue IT, it became very apparent that there was a massive gender gap.
“I struggled with my confidence. It seemed that the men had been coding for years and I felt like I was starting at a massive disadvantage having not had any exposure to that.”
It was during Dr Taylor’s placement year at Eli Lilly and Company – a US pharmaceutical giant where she now manages a team delivering IT capabilities – that her desire to champion of diversity and inclusion in IT began.
Dr Taylor said she believes encouraging a focus on diversity and inclusion is important: “In the tech sector in particular, the pace of innovation is astounding, but ultimately we could do so much more if we were more diverse and inclusive.
“Where teams are more diverse they can solve problems faster and in different ways, be more creative, and find better ways of working.
“We need to combat the age-old stereotype that IT is for boys and show that activities like gaming and coding aren’t gendered.”
This free, public lecture is taking place on Wednesday, March 13, between 6.30pm and 8pm in the Van Emden Lecture Theatre, Edith Morley building, Whiteknights Campus. It will also be streamed live online.
All are welcome to this free lecture, but booking is essential
This lecture is dedicated to the late Eleanor Draycott, former Head of Customer Experience and Service Delivery in Digital Technology Services at the University of Reading.
For more details, or to book, log on to: https://www.reading.ac.uk/events/Feed/2024/March/Annual-Edith-Morley-Lecture-2024-with-Dr-Rhian-Taylor
