The National Australia Bank has partnered with Girl Geek Academy as part of a move to retain the best talent and to enhance the technical capabilities of its employees while pursuing its aim of getting more women into technology.
The partnership with Girl Geek — a group that encourages women to learn skills and expertise in technology by delivering face-to-face programmess — sees its chief executive and technologist Sarah Moran join the technology team at NAB during this year as the inaugural Girl Geek in Residence.
Moran will support NAB employees to build their careers and use their skills to innovate for customers.
Through NAB’s Connecting Women in Technology programme, since 2014 NAB has seen the number of women in senior technology roles increase from 18 to 27%.
{loadposition peter}Founder of NAB’s Connecting Women in Technology programme and Divisional chief information officer of Technology Support Services, Dayle Stevens, says Moran is bringing an outside-in perspective that is helping NAB ensure its programme has the greatest impact.
“Sarah and the Girl Geek Academy pitched the Girl Geek in Residence idea as an opportunity to come together, use our knowledge and our networks to tackle the issues facing women in technology together,” Stevens said.
“As a major employer in the technology industry, this partnership is helping us deliver on our commitment to supporting gender diversity and the push to see more women in technology.
“I knew Girl Geek Academy were already changing outcomes for women in tech and having great success – and this was an opportunity to broaden the programme’s reach and positively impact NAB employees too.
“At the same time, Sarah gets to pilot Girl Geek Academy events and ideas with us, taking their programmes from smaller groups to hundreds here at NAB and even more beyond.”
According to Moran, she was drawn to sharing her expertise and helping NAB build its Connecting Women in Technology programme “as it has one of the largest tech teams in Australia and is changing the gender ratio in tech”.
“I chose to join the team at NAB because I wanted to know how they are doing what no organisation in Australia seems able to — changing the gender ratio of women in technology — and be part of the company’s success,” Moran says.
“The culture at NAB is a rare find in a company – it’s a culture where women are empowered to advance their career in technology.”
The NAB initiative will deliver this year’s programmes designed and created by Girl Geek Academy, including bringing Girl Geek Academy’s flagship programmes #SheMakes and #SheHacks – an all-female hackathon where people learn new skills and test new business ideas.