Sarah Baker, Head of Technology at Sky, has been announced as the latest speaker to join the panel at this month’s Silicon Yorkshire Expo, which takes place on Wednesday 19 April from 10am – 2pm at the Everyman Cinema in Leeds.
Despite having a 15 year career in tech, when asked what she would like to discuss with more than 250 delegates during the Expo, Sarah replied: “It’s a working title, but ‘Happy Ever After – navigating fertility, miscarriage and a career.”
Putting a spotlight on the fact that specialists within the IT, tech and digital sector have lives outside of the office too, Sarah is determined to break down the barriers to uncomfortable and emotive subjects by sharing her own story and encouraging others to do the same.
She believes that by opening up and talking about fertility, miscarriage and ultimately, personal choice, we can all help to create a more supportive and understanding culture within our own workplaces.
Sarah comments: “It would have been easy to talk about tech, it’s what I do every day, but there’s a wider agenda here. While the audience will work in tech, and for the most part the content will focus on associated topics, I want to take the opportunity to share my story in the hope that it might help others.
“I believe that trying to conceive and miscarriage could be one of the final taboos. People are talking more about women’s health, which is fantastic, however there are still subjects that are missing from this agenda that affect both men and women.
“Through sharing my personal journey, I will explain how I took the difficult yet liberating decision to give up and claim my life back, and how that allowed me to find eventual peace and happiness.”
Board Director of Silicon Yorkshire, Gareth Huxall, comments: “We cannot wait to welcome Sarah to the stage. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for addressing a difficult, emotive and very personal topic.
“Fertility impacts us all, both men and women, and we hope that as a result of Sarah’s talk, we can all open up the conversation, discussion and debate. It’s clear that more needs to be done to make sure we can create a greater understanding and acceptance of fertility, miscarriage and personal choice in the workplace.”
Sarah will join Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of Data at Yorkshire Building Society; Paul Jones, Chief Digital Information Officer for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and Bruce Daisley, former VP EMEA of Twitter and two times Sunday Times bestselling author, during the Silicon Yorkshire Expo, with further names to be announced over the next week.
As well as the opportunity to hear from leading IT, tech and digital experts, delegates will also receive a free copy of Bruce’s latest book, Fortitude, which asks people to consider if the version of resilience they have been spun is a toxic myth.
Welcoming tech and digital executives from Leeds, Yorkshire and the wider business community, the event is set to spark debate and ignite discussion between more than 250 guests and delegates that are attending on the day.
For further details about the Silicon Yorkshire Expo and to register for free tickets, please visit: https://www.siliconyorkshire.com/events/event/the-premiere-silicon-expo/
Attracting 3,000 pre-registrations before launch, Silicon Yorkshire brings together executives and senior executives from technology ecosystems in the North. The group has long-term ambitions to become the largest and most active tech community in the UK.
For more details about Silicon Yorkshire and the growing community of senior tech specialist please visit: https://www.siliconyorkshire.com/.
