Women in digital training programme promotes boardroom balance 

Glasgow-based training body and registered charity TRCmedia has announced the eight delegates for Special Edition, a high-end training programme for women working in Scotland’s digital sector.

Funded by Scottish Enterprise, BBC, Channel 4, and Creative Scotland, the highly regarded programme was devised in response to the under-representation of women at board level in Scotland’s digital sector.

Over six months, Special Edition offers a dynamic mix of professional development training and creative expertise to help participants boost their confidence, improve entrepreneurial skills, expand professional networks and progress their careers.

The overall ambition of the programme is to set the women on a career trajectory that ultimately leads to the boardroom. Previous delegates have gone on to secure significant promotions, including to Board level, and start their own companies.

This year’s delegates are:

• Anne Grieve, Associate Creative Director, AmazeRealise
• Justine Leahy, Head of Production, ISO Design
• Alanna Innes, Product Owner, XDesign
• Yukari Yoshime, Senior Designer, Lewis
• Serina MacDonald, Associate Director of Data and Analytics, iProspect
• Iris Winter, Senior Developer,  Wyoming Interactive
• Laura Thomson, Creative Content Strategist, Front Page
• Leigh Dobson, Client Services Director, Signal

Claire Scally and Margaret Scott, Joint Managing Directors of TRCmedia, said in a statement: “Once again, the exceptionally high calibre of applications received from women working across the digital and technology sectors in Scotland is a clear indication of the wealth of talent within the industry.

“Unfortunately, women are still under-represented in senior positions in digital businesses. Special Edition was devised with this imbalance in mind and tackles many of the issues women come up against in their career progression in this sector. We congratulate the successful applicants and look forward to supporting them to realise their full potential.”

Laura McHard, Lead Creative at Soluis and delegate of the 2017 programme, said: “Special Edition is a life-changing six months, both professionally and personally. I never thought I would see this much change in myself in such a short period of time and I learned more about myself than I thought I ever would.”

This year’s Special Edition launches in September with the first of six sessions, covering topics ranging from professional and personal goal setting to pitching with confidence. The programme also includes a field trip, with previous locations including London, Berlin and Amsterdam.