Kainos CTO Aislinn McBride a finalist for CTO of the Year
The figures vary from study to study, region to region, but one indisputable fact remains the same: there aren’t enough women in tech. At Kainos we’re working to change this – both within our own organisation, and within our industry – and over the last year we have developed a plan to help us achieve gender parity in Kainos and attract more women to careers within IT.
For me, one of the key ways we can encourage more women to join our industry is to recognise and celebrate our trailblazers – the amazing women working in tech leadership.
That’s why the Everywoman in Technology awards are so important. These awards recognise exceptional women within the tech industry, celebrating the attitude, work ethic and commitment to supporting other women that makes them a credit to the industry and the organisations they work for, and means that they inspire success in others.
And it’s also why I’m absolutely delighted that one of the finalists in this year’s CTO of the Year category is our very own Aislinn McBride. And as one of our most inspiring female leaders here at Kainos, it’s no wonder why.
As Chief Technology Officer within our Digital Services division, Aislinn leads, inspires and nurtures a team of over 900 technologists, setting our technology strategy and developing the capability to deliver leading-edge technical solutions. This included leading the technical team who delivered DEFRA’s EU Exit programme and being instrumental the UK Government’s response to the Covid19 pandemic.
Having joined Kainos as a placement student in 2001, it’s no wonder that Aislinn has had a strong focus on education. As well as supporting over 300 technologists to achieve professional certifications from the world’s largest technology providers, AWS and Microsoft, she has also led the design of our 18-month entry level Kainos Academy programmes to support graduates and apprentices starting their career in technology. Over 200 graduates and apprentices have benefitted from the programmes in 2021.
Aislinn also shows her commitment to nurturing technical skills in underrepresented communities through her work with universities, advising on the technology curriculum, volunteering as a non-executive director for the charity Age NI and through her leading role in the BelTech conference.
A proactive advocate for diversity within Kainos and the community, Aislinn has championed policy and behavioural change and helped to develop our D&I agenda. She has personally established engagement groups for women technologists to collaborate and share knowledge, and support each other with personal challenges faced as women in the IT industry.
Aislinn is a female role model in the IT industry thanks to her expansive knowledge of all things tech, her authenticity, and her infectious passion for technology - her position as a finalist is testament to this. I personally have had the pleasure to work with and witness Aislinn develop throughout her career journey from Graduate to CTO (and hopefully contributed along the way) so I am really proud to see her receive recognition as a finalist in these prestigious awards. We wish her all the best of luck in the final – watch this space!