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Embracing equity for International Women’s Day 2023

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2023, BBD is proud to be a part of the vital conversation around #EmbraceEquity, a theme which speaks to active changes that can be made by individuals and organisations alike to affect change and create an inclusive and equitable industry. It encourages everyone to take action to promote gender equity and to ensure that women have equal access to opportunities, resources and career path.

This conversation couldn’t be more relevant for the technology landscape, which continues to be largely male dominated. From equal hiring practices to grassroots initiatives geared at widening the skills pool, we’re proud to be doing our part to ensure an inclusive and sustainable future for the industry.

In line with this year’s theme, our very own BBDers have made their unique pledges to #EmbraceEquity.

Community

Creating change in our communities

We’re committed to fair and equal hiring practices, grassroots initiatives geared at widening the skills pool, and other community programmes that seek to find and nurture talented individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity. We’re also proud to have women in all stages of their careers meaningfully contributing to our combined success.

We’re proud to be a part of multiple community and school programmes and initiatives. This includes the likes of Kerus Global, GirlCode, Afrika Tikkun, Kidz Hub and more, and participate in the Ikusasa Lethu Programme with St Mary’s Waverly.

BBD is also a partner to Dynamic DNA and Umuzi, both learning programmes which are recognised for entry into our Bursary & Beyond Programme. Additionally, BBD is a founding partner of WeThinkCode_ (WTC), a tuition-free programme educating the next generation of software engineers. First- and second-year WTC students complete internships at BBD, with some of the top third-year students then joining our Grad Programme – deep diving into real-world project deliveries and rapidly upskilling across numerous technologies and skillsets.

Pledges

I pledge to consistently create space, to make sure voices are heard and concerns are taken into account, to support growth, goals and beliefs, to recognise full potential and never limit talents

Dimpho

I pledge to actively work towards creating an equitable and inclusive world for all genders. I will continue to advocate for positive practices that promote gender equity

Charlene

I pledge to uplift women in the IT workplace with an attitude of equality and inclusivity, and to highlight and call out toxic attitudes in the workplace that may turn women and marginalised groups away

Rory

I pledge to always strive towards creating a safe space for womxn, where voices can be heard loud, clear and free of judgement and oppression

Willa

I pledge to understand the severity of being placed in a position where I have to be a representative, especially for people of marginalised groups, that when I do represent that I represent honestly and truthfully

Mika

I pledge to support women in the workplace and promote equity and diversity through all facets of my work and personal engagements

Sonia

I pledge to be a safe space for people to come and be vulnerable

Lucky

I pledge to step up and fight for a seat at the table for woman in tech, and to uplift those who think they don't belong

Sasja

I pledge to recognise and acknowledge my own implicit bias and call myself out as well as encourage others to call themselves out

Tori

I pledge to champion a BBD that is more diverse, equitable, and inclusive

Matthew

I pledge to treat people as individuals and be impartial to qualities like gender, race and religion

Jade

I believe if a person has the desire to excel, no one can stop them from achieving it, so I pledge to keep that desire igniting in every individual I am working with

Shikha

I pledge that I will leverage the privileges which I have received in life to uplift and empower those around me regardless of how they identify, their sex, race or age

James

I pledge to champion equality in all spheres of my life and utilise every opportunity to drive equity; finding ways to personally support and encourage diversity. I pledge to speak up for those who can’t always speak for themselves, so that their voice and talents are recognised and heard

Katie

I pledge to educate myself and others about the systemic barriers that women face, and advocate for practices that promote gender equality

Robyn

I pledge to drive equality and opportunity for the success of all in BBD

Max

I pledge to see the each person for who they are, in every way that means. I pledge to remember that inclusion is an everyday consideration that needs that I keep in mind in all my business and personal decisions

Liesl

I pledge to own my space and voice and find opportunities to amplify the voices of those around me

Amé

I pledge to drive for greater diversity, inclusion and opportunity on merit by combating bias and having a recognition of unconscious bias in our daily interactions

Gus

I pledge to challenge biases and to be accepting, empathetic and respectful to all beings

Cassandra

I pledge to further educate myself on gender disparities and to be more actively engaged in conversations around gender equality

Dané

I pledge to speak up against bias, discrimination, and stereotypes

Marco

I am committed to promoting equality and respect for all individuals and believe that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity, and have access to equal opportunities and resources

Kiara

I pledge to promote equality by supporting individuals of all genders, to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed

Arno

Check out our panel discussion members talking about this year's International Women's Day theme "EmbraceEquity and what it means to them and the greater tech community

Careers

Laying the groundwork for an equitable workforce

Alongside our community initiatives, BBD seeks to meet talented young students at critical junctures in their skills development journey, offering training, real-world working experience, financial support where needed and exposure to our wealth of industry knowledge. This sets them up for a successful career in software development!
Click on the links below to learn more.

Our Grad Programme positions are full-time, paid roles. Created to help recent graduates kickstart their careers in IT, our programme provides accelerated training so you can learn fast, and quickly become part of our team. Successful candidates are exposed to hands-on experience, mentorship and dedicated personalised learning paths.

#BBDEmbraceEquity

Did you miss Emma Pringle's #TechAwayThursday talk on Gamification last week?
Check it out here:

@bbdsoftware @bbdatc #gamification #EmbraceEquity #BBDEmbraceEquity

https://youtu.be/T0VVn_Zoz6I

Yesterday, Marni talked about the use of fiber optic cables for the purpose of environmental sensing.
If you missed #TechAwayThursday , you can catch it here:

@bbdsoftware @bbdatc #fiberoptics #EmbraceEquity #BBDEmbraceEquity

https://youtu.be/4QQFKDbcM9E

In case you missed yesterday's #TechAwayThursday on Neural Networks, you can catch it here:

@bbdsoftware @bbdatc #neuralnetworks #EmbraceEquity #BBDEmbraceEquity

https://youtu.be/voKLm2XnbXg

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