'You need to find a comfortable way to be visible' - Stemettes co-founder Imafidon on how women can thrive in the tech industry

Stemettes co-founder Anne-Marie Imafidon kicks off the Women in Tech Festival UK

Women working in technology need to find a "comfortable way" to express themselves and put themselves at the heart of the industry, according to Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon.

Headlining the first Women in Tech Festival UK, Stemettes co-founder Imafidon said it is crucial for women to find a method of putting their ideas forward in a way that they do not find intimidating.

"It's really important for us to find a comfortable way to be visible, which is something that we might not be conditioned to do," she said.

"How many of you have Twitter presences or are on LinkedIn?

"There are lots of people saying ‘you must have this or you must have that' - there are no musts, but you need to get into the habit of sharing ideas, sharing what you are thinking and sharing your expertise.

"It is not just about a project at work… it is about you being visible in what it is that you know."

Imafidon is the co-founder of Stemettes - a social initiative that aims to draw in the next generation of young women into STEM sectors, it has worked with more than 40,000 young people across Europe.

She said that a host of female innovators over recent eras have rarely been given the credit they deserve, displaying images on the screen of, among others, communications pioneer Hedy Lemarr and home security systems inventor Marie Van Brittan Brown.

"If we look back at those who have come before us… they're largely invisible and so we almost assume that they weren't there," she said. "Actually there were many of them who should be more visible."

Imafidon explained that it's important that women in technology continue to put themselves in positions where they can have a positive effect, stressing that there are many female role models already in the industry.

"There are lots of people are alive now who we can look up to, and many of them will be on the stage today. But it's not just about women being innovators," she said.

"As we look to the future, as we innovate and as we continue to create, it is really important that we are included in these innovations and that we are at least thought of as we're developing.

"It is important that we are in the room. As tough it might get, there might be bumps along the way, but the world needs you to be in those rooms."