Pink it and Shrink it.

Little Miss Geek Campaign.

I have stumbled upon an article on BBC News this week that I found really interesting as it is a topic I haven't thought about before. (Please find original article here...all facts etc are taken from it).

There are always cries for more women in science, especially physics and chemistry, and also encouragement for women to get involved with engineering. But not for technology specifically.

The article talks about the image of the male, pizza-guzzling, antisocial nerd that technology is struggling to shake off (an image that does come to my mind!). In the UK only 17% of jobs in the technology sector are held by women which is a low figure when you consider that four in 10 tech products are now bought by women (according to Forrester research).

Although more women than ever before are buying technology products, the lack of female presence in the technology sector should still be a concern. The industry needs female presence to provide a different view point and a different approach than 'pink it and shrink it'.

I think the below illustration is brilliant!! I have never noticed before...but this does happen. Just because I am a woman does not mean I need something smaller and in a nice pastel colour for me to want to use it. (Previous annoyance caused at the launch of special pens for girls with glitter ink as well...apparently they were easier to hold. THANK god someone invented those as my feeble girl hands could hardly cope with the Blue BIC I am currently using).

From BBC News by Belinda Parmar

ANYWAY - I am really pleased that someone is coming out with a campaign encouraging companies to look at the way women can improve the technology industry on all levels. Belinda Parmar the author behind the campaign has developed a 10-point practical manifesto to help teach tech companies how to attract and retain the next generation of women.

Good Luck with the campaign Belinda - here's hoping there is more women and less pizza guzzling in the future!!

Follow Belinda Parmar on Twitter here to keep up to date with the Little Miss Geek campaign.

I am a crisis

A campaign that has recently caught my eye is from The British Red Cross with its focus on a crisis. The dictionary definition of a crisis is as follows;

a time of intense difficulty or danger

The word 'crisis' is used in my vocabulary in two occasions, the first being when I am being very dramatic usually over not having anything to wear or losing my favourite pen. The second being a world crisis, such as a tsunami or famine, that hits the headlines and attracts the attention of many.

Now watch the following video...

I am the fire that leaves you homeless.

A heart attack in aisle six.

The prescription you can not collect.

I'm the boiled sweet stuck in your child's throat.

The motorway pile up that leaves you traumatized.

The food shopping you can not do.

I'm the reason you need a wheelchair.

The flood that leaves you stranded.

The empty house when you return from hospital.

I'm a crisis and I don't care who you are.

Would you categorise some of those examples as a crisis?

When I watch this it puts the idea of a crisis into a whole new light.

The British Red Cross have come out and changed the way I view a crisis. I have watched this advert with many people who have all reacted the same way; the room falls silent and everyone reflects for a while.  How did you react?

Thanks much. x