Cornwall


<p>International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women as well as being a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. Here at Muddy Cornwall we are marking the day once again with an interview series of inspiring women across the Duchy, celebrating women’s achievements, how are we raising awareness about discrimination and what is being done to take action to drive gender parity.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="883" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Caitlin-Gould-TECWomen-TECgirls-and-Kensa-Health-1000x883.png" alt="" class="wp-image-29928" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Caitlin-Gould-TECWomen-TECgirls-and-Kensa-Health-1000x883.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Caitlin-Gould-TECWomen-TECgirls-and-Kensa-Health-800x707.png 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Caitlin-Gould-TECWomen-TECgirls-and-Kensa-Health-768x678.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Caitlin-Gould-TECWomen-TECgirls-and-Kensa-Health-594x525.png 594w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Caitlin-Gould-TECWomen-TECgirls-and-Kensa-Health.png 1250w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-me-a-bit-about-yourself-your-background-and-what-you-do-and-how-you-came-to-do-this">Tell me a bit about yourself, your background and what you do – and how you came to do this?</h2>



<p>My name is Caitlin Gould and I am the Founder of TECwomen CIC and one of the creators of the new digitalUPLIFT programme in Cornwall. I&#8217;ve worked in digital and tech roles for over 15 years and even have my own women&#8217;s health startup called Kensa Health. While working in the space, I was constantly frustrated by the lack of women in the tech sectors, especially in the more technical roles and at the higher levels of the business. I also kept meeting amazing, talented women who felt stuck in their current roles and felt like the opportunities in digital and technology passed them by as it wasn&#8217;t something they were encouraged to do when they were younger. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tell me about how you are working to further the IWD area of celebration <em>improving equality for women in tech</em>.</h2>



<p>So, when Naomi from Truro and Penwith College suggested we do a course for women, I jumped on the idea. There are already a number of tech boot camps out there, but speaking to the women around us, we knew they wanted and needed something a bit different. They wanted to learn, play and explore in a supportive and safe space. They also needed it to work around their already large workload (both paid work and work at home caring for their families). </p>



<p>So we created digitalUPLIFT an online course that could be done anywhere and anytime but complemented by optional in-person sessions to connect with other women and local employers. </p>



<p>Each week women get to learn about a new aspect of the tech industry and a new digital skill, while also getting support around interviewing and self-confidence. Critically we also introduce them to Cornish companies who want to hire more women, many of which have female founders or women in leadership positions. </p>



<p>We didn&#8217;t know at first if this was going to work, but when we announced the course we were full within the first week. We actually had to expand the course to try to allow in as many women as possible and we have another one planned for Sept. Our hope is to continue to get the funding and support from local companies so we can continue to run this on an ongoing basis.  </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">And what about bias? What do you/your team do to <em>raise awareness about discrimination</em> in Cornwall?</h2>



<p>I&#8217;ve personally experienced a lot of bias in my roles at tech companies. Unfortunately, the bias seemed to get worse the higher up I got in those businesses. I&#8217;ve suffered from maternity discrimination, bullying, and professional gaslighting in a number of my roles. All of this has done a lot to knock my confidence and at one point had me questioning if I was even any good at my job or if all of my successes were just a fluke! However, when I was at my lowest it was the amazing community of women (and male allies) around me in Cornwall who helped pick me back up again and helped me rebuild my belief in myself and what I could accomplish. </p>



<p>And this is why I wanted TECwomen to not only run the TECgirls project for young women but also be a community that supports other women working in the space. Systematic bias is hard to fix overnight, but if women are surrounded by support and encouragement they can overcome discrimination and see their true value. I think we have such a uniquely caring and supportive community of women in Cornwall and everyone is so connected. I genuinely believe that if we tap into this network, women across Cornwall can have every opportunity to thrive and help Cornwall to thrive and prosper too.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Do you have any role models? Who are they?</h2>



<p>I have too many to name here, but luckily TECgirls has a whole blog series of amazing women who work in technology, engineering, and creative digital roles across Cornwall. We created this series not only because these are women who inspire us but also to help inspire more girls (and women) across Cornwall &#8211; <a href="https://www.tecgirls.co.uk/blog/categories/tec-women" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highlighting how much talent we have here</a>. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s your favourite Cornish beach / view?</h2>



<p>I love the&nbsp;view of Watergate bay as you come over the top of the hill from Newquay. I&#8217;ve spent many hours parked on the layby there over the years working from my car while a baby sleeps in the car seat in the back.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/Watergate-Bay-From-Cliffs-no-river-copy.jpg" alt="the view of watergate bay from the cliffs" class="wp-image-17011" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/Watergate-Bay-From-Cliffs-no-river-copy.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/Watergate-Bay-From-Cliffs-no-river-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/Watergate-Bay-From-Cliffs-no-river-copy-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/Watergate-Bay-From-Cliffs-no-river-copy-720x480.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What do you do in Cornwall to make the most of living here?</h2>



<p>Everything. Beaches. Woods. Walks. Food. Friends.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When I started my own business I really wanted the office to be in Truro so I could walk to work. I now get to do that every week and it&#8217;s really helped me fall in love with Truro. It might be a little city, but it is beautiful and I love living here.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favourite cafe/ restaurant / shop?</h2>



<p>This is a hard one as my husband owns two restaurants in Cornwall! But when I&#8217;m not eating sushi at RoBo (one of his) you can usually find me getting coffee from one of the many wonderful cafes in Truro. Bread and Butter, 108, and Lawrences all get my love on a daily basis. And on Weds I try to get my coffee at the farmers market in town. I also love the food from <a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/kate-atlee-sabzi-truro/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sabzi Deli</a>, who does a lot of the catering for our TECwomen events.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


Muddy Meets: Caitlin Gould, Founder, TECwomen

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