Liverpool Girl Geeks gets set to launch company membership programme for 2017 following a highly successful year of growth. Andrew Wright reports.

The all-female business, whose mission it is to bridge the gender gap within the tech industry, is encouraging partnerships with companies within the digital, IT and tech sector to showcase news, jobs and policies that will entice more women to work within the sector.

Companies already signed up include respected Liverpool agencies Mando, Amaze and Interconnect/it.

Currently only 17% of the UK technology workforce is female and the Merseyside-based Liverpool Girl Geeks is on a mission to address this gender imbalance and promote companies who to prioritise diversity in the workplace.

During 2017 the company will be working with just 12 companies to pilot the scheme and will launch a jobs board on their website to support members.

This year Liverpool Girl Geeks has been working with teenagers on projects to inspire them and motivate them, partnering with global brands such as SKY and more recently with Co-op Digital on The Girl Geeks Academy, housed at FACTLab – FACT’s creative technology hub.

More than 90 teens applied for the Academy with only 15 places available. They have since received enquiries from across the country about the project, slated as a ‘game changer for teenage girls’.

Chelsea Slater, co-founder of Liverpool Girl Geeks and managing director, said: “Liverpool Girl Geeks has always been about collaboration and partnerships, we have worked with some incredible companies in and around Merseyside who truly care about gender diversity within the workplace and we are now ready to make these partnerships official.

“We want women to recognise that they have a place within the tech industry and by working closely with our partners we can promote the range of career choices available to them.”

Amanda Follit, Head of Digital Operations at Amaze, one of the founding members of the membership, added: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Liverpool Girl Geeks to give some of our locally rising stars an injection of enthusiasm for a future in digital.

“Diversity is key for our industry to grow and we have seen the hard work that Chelsea, Rebecca, Jo and the team have put into helping young girls grow in confidence and to show them that the opportunities are out there”

To request more information about the Liverpool Girl Geek Membership, click here.