Equal Terms: Establishing Pay Equity and Inclusive Environments in Tech

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our Abstract Group Leeds HQ for our recent Equality in Technology Event - Equal Terms: Establishing Pay Equity and Inclusive Environments in Tech.

We brought together an incredible mix of tech professionals, leaders, and allies for an honest and practical discussion on how to build more inclusive, equitable, and flexible workplaces within the tech sector.

Across the afternoon, attendees connected over lunch, shared experiences, and took away real, actionable insights from our expert panellists.

Together, we explored:

• How organisations can establish and sustain pay equity
• The importance of flexible working environments for attracting and retaining diverse talent
• Practical strategies for recognising your value and navigating barriers as a tech professional
• What truly drives fair, inclusive, and thriving technical teams

We were also proud to partner with Smart Works Leeds, a Yorkshire‑wide charity supporting women and non‑binary people with interview clothing and coaching. Thank you to everyone who brought donations to support their mission.

Our Panellists

Fiona Widd
Fiona Widd is Head of IT at Clarion Solicitors and a people first technology leader with experience across Financial Services, Education, and Legal Tech. Over the last decade, she has focused on delivering impactful technology transformation within the legal sector.

She is known for building inclusive, high performing teams and for advocating equity in technology. Fiona champions leadership that places people at the centre, ensuring technology becomes a strategic enabler and a driver of positive, sustainable change.

Charlotte Goulding
Charlotte is passionate about the positive impact inclusive organisations create, from stronger engagement and retention to greater innovation and better customer outcomes.

She believes events like this are vital for bringing people together, amplifying diverse perspectives, and reinforcing that inclusive, equitable workplaces are everyone’s responsibility.

Jumana Bohra
Jumana has over nine years of experience across embedded engineering, rail transport technology, full stack development and modern cloud native platforms.

She has led high impact projects, from modernising railway software in North America to redesigning authentication systems after a major merger, and she brings strong expertise in Golang, React, Kubernetes and Terraform. She is also passionate about fostering inclusive hiring practices within engineering teams, advocating for diverse talent pipelines and equitable recruitment processes.

Ash Gawthorp
Ash Gawthorp is Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Ten10, with over 25 years of experience in software engineering, technical consulting, and digital transformation. His expertise covers the full software development lifecycle, including hardware and software engineering, performance testing, and quality assurance.

He is recognised for his work integrating Generative AI and automation within enterprise environments. Ash supports organisations in modernising legacy systems and building scalable, “AI ready” technical teams, ensuring the next generation of tech talent is both technically proficient and strategically aligned with evolving business needs. He is also committed to shaping a tech industry where everyone belongs, championing inclusive cultures that create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to thrive. 

Emily Wells
Emily Wells hosted the panel discussion on establishing pay equity and creating more inclusive environments in tech. She is Head of Talent at Abstract Group and throughout her career, she has supported a wide range of organisations to attract, hire, and retain high‑calibre talent. Emily's background in executive search and talent strategy means that inclusive hiring has always been a key focus within her roles, and she is committed to having a positive impact on the tech sector by driving greater equality of opportunity and inclusive practices.

A full event recap will be published soon for anyone who was unable to join us — keep an eye out for updates.