SimpleClick has been shortlisted as a finalist in the DevelopHER Awards 2019

SimpleClick, an Ipswich-based technical agency that specialises in web design and development, bespoke software development, usability testing and mobile app development have announced that Developer, Rachel Cooke, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Tech Star category at this year’s DevelopHER Awards.

The awards celebrate women in East Anglia who are working within the technology sector. They also aim to highlight the tech sector’s creativity and innovation to future generations to inspire them to pursue careers in the field.

Rachel joined the SimpleClick team in 2017 as a Junior Developer. Initially from a design background, Rachel has applied herself to learn HTML and CSS fluently, and has progressed to become a fully-fledged web developer.

Rachel said: “I am thrilled to be shortlisted in the Tech Star category of the DevelopHER Awards. I have been following the success of this scheme, and the women who enter the awards for a couple of years, and it’s a great achievement to have my name in the fold with all the amazing nominees.”

Richard Jennis, Managing Director at SimpleClick commented: “We are very proud that Rachel has been recognised in the DevelopHer Awards’ Tech Star category. She is a fantastic and valued member of the team, who brings client website designs into reality whilst making sure that each site is responsive and user friendly.

“The tech sector is seen to be a male-dominated field, and it’s great to see an initiative such as the DevelopHER Awards go from strength to strength. As an agency we want to encourage more women into tech roles and we are firm believers that diversification in the workforce can help to increase innovation.”

One of the industry’s biggest challenges is inspiring women from a young age to pursue careers in technology. The findings of PwC UK’s paper, “Women in Tech – Time to close the gender gap” revealed that only 7% of students currently taking Computer Science at A-level are female, and just half of girls who study IT & Tech subjects at school go into a job in the same field*.

Furthermore, only 15% of British women are in STEM roles, and of those, only 5% are in technology leadership roles**.

However, SimpleClick is bucking this trend – currently 38.5% of the company’s workforce is women, and the Ipswich-based technical agency is continuously looking to raise the profile of its female workforce. Director, Claire Thorpe, is also a STEM Ambassador and actively encourages women to consider technical roles.

SimpleClick is sponsoring, judging and presenting the Apprentice Award at this year’s DevelopHER Awards. The ceremony will be held at the Corn Exchange, Ipswich on Wednesday 27^th November 2019. The Full shortlist of finalists can be found here.

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