Belinda Parmar

Belinda Parmar
Born (1974-03-12) March 12, 1974
Occupation CEO and Campaigner
Website http://ladygeek.com

Belinda Parmar, OBE (born 12 March 1974), is an author and activist for the expansion of women's involvement in the world of technology and for a new way companies talk to women in the technology sector.[1] She is the founder and CEO of "Lady Geek," an advocacy agency, which "embeds empathy into companies."[2] The agency leads the Little Miss Geeks' campaign, which aims to inspire women to follow careers oriented towards technology.[3][4]

Campaigning

Parmar has stated that her personal mission is "to end the stereotyping and patronising of women within the technology" and the “pink it & shrink it” approach of selling to women.[5][6]

Parmar states that "The technology industry is still struggling to shake off the image of the male, pizza-guzzling, antisocial nerd",[7] and that it is this image problem which reduces the appeal of careers in technology to women. Parmar states that she will not speak at women-only events[8] as they tend to exclude the men who can help solve problems of women in technology.

Parmar stated: "I set up Lady Geek because I was frustrated (and bored) by the way companies design and market products. Despite the fact that women account for 4 out of every 10 tech purchases, technology and gaming companies continue to patronise professional women by 'pinking up' and 'dumbing down' their products and marketing."[9][10]

Honours and awards

Parmar was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to women in technology.[11][12]

In 2014 Parmar became a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader.[13] She was also named one of Business Insider's "The 100 Most Influential Tech Women on Twitter".[14] In October 2014 she was placed in Fortune's "55 most influential women on Twitter".[15] In June 2015 Parmar was named by The Guardian one of the "One of the UK’s leading campaigners to get more women into tech".[16]

Media

Parmar caused controversy in her Guardian column by claiming that her language degree had been a "waste of time", calling for more girls to challenge the presumption that there are 'girls subjects' and 'boys subjects' by taking up coding and pursuing degrees in the technology sector.[17] This was followed up with a video debate between Parmar and Adrian Searle, questioning the value of arts degrees and the wider financial return of a degree as a whole.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Chahal, Mindi (February 18, 2015). "Why brands are losing relevance with girls". Marketing Week.
  2. ↑ "The place for women-only events". ABC Women's Forum.
  3. ↑ The Empathy Era.
  4. ↑ Ajit Niranjan. "We don't really understand empathy, but we know business could do with a little more". New Stateman.
  5. ↑ "Belinda Parmar". The Huffington Post.
  6. ↑ "The Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network". Bloomberg Link.
  7. ↑ Belinda Parmar (2013-07-23). "Why the next Mark Zuckerberg currently won't be female". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "Why I won't speak at women-only events". The Guardian. 2013-07-03.
  9. ↑ "techUK members and tech pioneers recognised on Queen's Birthday Honours list".
  10. ↑ "Photos: Great female technology entrepreneurs". Computer Weekly.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60895. p. b14. 14 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Queen's birthday honours list 2014: OBE". The Guardian. 2014-06-13.
  13. ↑ "Young Global Leaders Class of 2014". World Economic Forum.
  14. ↑ Rebecca Borison. "The 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter". Business Insider.
  15. ↑ Caroline Fairchild, Colleen Leahey, Jennifer Reingold (2014-10-06). "Fortune's 55 most influential women on Twitter". Fortune.
  16. ↑ "10 of the best female role models in tech – in pictures". The Guardian. 2015-06-22.
  17. ↑ Belinda Parmar (2013-08-23). Guardian "I wasted four years of my life – don't make the same mistake" Check |url= value (help).
  18. ↑ "Is an arts degree worth the tuition fees? - five-minute video debate". The Guardian. 2013-09-30.
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