StratAspire was established from a genuine passion for women to encourage and support one another in the IT and wider tech industry.

As a collective, we knew that we were and continue to be part of something very special at CloudStratex, which is not only disruptive in its approach to market, but also bucks the trend when it comes to gender diversity in IT, boasting an inclusive culture top to bottom throughout the organisation. To help increase cultural brand awareness and engage both potential clients and new female talent to the organisation, the StratAspire ambassadors have developed an active LinkedIn group, which has many more male members than women, and we are now working towards launching our own website to encourage an open dialogue and debate with our industry peers.

As part of this journey, we have discovered the concept of ‘Male Allies’ and introduced this to the CloudStratex Senior Leadership Team to enable them to reach an informed and authentic position on gender diversity, whilst helping us to drive the StratAspire agenda throughout the industry.

Working closely with Gary and Mark [who run Men for Inclusion and help develop ‘Male Allies’], we have come to realise that open and honest dialogue which leads to genuine insight and understanding is the key to inclusion – where it probably isn't enough to just recruit more women into our organisation, but to ensure progress is attainable to all and that our culture remains supportive and engaging. To achieve this, we have to understand what motivates, drives, encourages and also what prevents us in obtaining this goal, both short and long-term.

Our LT enjoyed the process of discovering what it means to become a Male Ally, and we are grateful for their commitment and support as we continue on our StratAspire journey…

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