News / Black Girl Convention
Trailblazing project to change face of tech
A trailblazing project was borne out of recognition that while the tech sector is booming, its doors are not open to all.
Thought to be the first of its kind in the UK, Black Girl Convention’s Digi-Tech Retreat aims to create a nurturing space for womxn* of African and Caribbean heritage to advance their skills, network and gain the confidence to forge a career in a growing industry.
The programme launched earlier this year and has already been nominated for a Sparkies award, which celebrate the best of tech in the West.
“Bristol is a massive tech hub and we are not visible in those spaces,” says Mena Fombo, founder and director of Black Girl Convention and brains behind the unique training programme.
“We focus on the advancement of black women and I wanted to make sure that we had voices in that space and the training to go for those jobs.”
Mena, who also leads a creative agency at Knowle West Media Centre and runs diversity training courses, knows all too well the barriers to entry in an industry that remains overwhelmingly dominated by white men.
People from a black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) background make up 15 per cent of the digital tech workforce – which is higher than the UK average, according to the Tech Nation report 2018. But only 19 per cent of people employed in the sector are female, significantly lower than other industries.
The campaigner and coach wanted to create a purposeful space to bring successful black female tech entrepreneurs together with those interested in pursuing a digital career. All places were free, and a number of Bristol organisations and businesses gave their support.
“I know many black women working in tech, but many are freelance, or work for international companies so they are not visible in Bristol.”
Attendees took part in a range of workshops. Photo from Black Girl Convention
The retreat, part funded by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), brought together a team of entrepreneurs together with 20 participants, who took part in workshops covering subjects from robotics and coding to podcast and audio recording.
Mena adds that it’s not just about considering the ‘hands on’ tech jobs, but also the many transferable skills that could be brought to the thriving tech sector.
The retreat is just one strand of work by Black Girl Convention, a movement that aims to be a lighthouse for connecting the ‘black girl experience’ cross-culture, cross-sector, and cross-generation in the UK.
Mena Fombo says black women are not visible in the tech sector in Bristol. Photo from Black Girl Convention
“I had been living in London and I came back to Brexit Bristol and I felt blacker than ever,” explains Mena, speaking about the inception of Black Girl Convention.
“The thing that was missing for me was a flagship project that was celebrating black female success. It’s about the advancement of us as people -we are allowed to be proud and black and we should be challenging systems.”
The Black Girl Convention team includes Bobbie O’Gilvie, Joyann Boyce, Emilie Harryman, Ngaio Anyia, Janelle John Henry – each successful in their own fields.
The plan is to build on the success and momentum from the Black Girl Convention events and Digi-Tech retreat to generate further funding.
On the future of Bristol, Mena says: “I want to see more trail blazing projects that are black women-led in the city.”
Mena hopes to build on the momentum so far to secure more funding for similar projects. Photo from Black Girl Convention
* Black Girl Conventions is open to all who identify as women or non-binary and of African or Caribbean heritage.
Read more: The future of tech in Bristol
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