Vogue is starting a new fashion revolution but this one is not about clothes – it’s all about code.
At the inaugural Vogue Codes event, more than 100 guests, from school students to seasoned corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, tech leaders and academics, came together to discuss the “harsh realities” of today’s tech sector.
Among the guest speakers were Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins, muru-D co-founder Annie Parker and InDigital founder Mikaela Jade.
“Vogue Codes is all about how women can be empowered by technology,” Jade tells StartupSmart.
“They decided to run this event to start a dialogue on the importance of women starting code and how women who don’t know code can enter the technology industry.
“They had women from around the world there.”
During the event, Jade says they explored ideas, practical tools and strategies to create a more inclusive tech sector.
An app, Textio, that uses machine learning to make content more less biased came up in the discussion.
“It analyses content to see if there’s gender or racial biases,” says Jade.
“It can be used for recruiting and job ads.”
“Check your LinkedIn and Twitter and promise yourself a 50/50 gender split so you are listening to women AND men” #VogueCodes @adblanche
— Alice Brennan (@alicelizabrenn) October 14, 2016
Earlier this year, Vogue Australia’s editor-in-chief Edwina McCann said she and her team were confronted head on by the sheer lack of diversity in the tech sector during recruitment efforts to bring in more women for these roles at the fashion magazine.
“One in 20 girls are considering a career in science, technology, maths or engineering [but] the proportion of women working in IT and computer-related fields has dropped to 26.4 per cent,” she said at the event.
“We have the ability to demystify technology, making a career in technology not only a natural choice for women, but a fashionable one.”
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Dinushi Dias is a freelance journalist and a former StartupSmart reporter and multimedia content producer. She is the co-founder of Melbourne-based production house Dinushi & Power.
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