Equal Terms: Establishing Pay Equity and Inclusive Environments in Tech
Date: Thursday 12th March
Time: 12:00 PM – 14:00 PM
Location: Abstract Group, 1st Floor, Harcourt House, The Coachworks, 21 The Calls, Leeds, LS2 7EH
Lunch is included
Secure your ticket now – Equal Terms: Establishing Pay Equity and Inclusive Environments in Tech Tickets, Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
We are excited to sponsor and host another impactful Equality in Technology event at our Leeds HQ, bringing together leaders, technologists, and early‑career professionals to explore practical strategies for fostering truly inclusive, equitable workplaces across the tech sector. This session focuses on pay equity and flexible working, two essential drivers for building diverse, high‑performing teams.
Whether you're advancing your career, leading a team, or simply passionate about driving positive change, this event provides the tools, insights, and community support needed to help everyone thrive in tech.
What to Expect
Expert panel discussion on establishing pay equity and flexible working environments, and why these matter for creating diverse teams.
Practical advice for tech professionals on knowing your value and overcoming barriers.
Lunch and networking with tech leaders and peers committed to driving change.
Who Should Attend
All welcome! Whether you’re navigating career advancement or a leader in tech or just an ally committed to driving inclusivity within the sector, this event is designed to provide a friendly environment to network, learn, and exchange ideas to support more equitable, flexible tech teams.
Why Attend
Gain actionable insights for building happy, fair, and productive tech teams.
Learn strategies to support career growth.
Connect with like-minded individuals passionate about equality in tech over lunch.
The Panel
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.
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.
Emily Wells
Emily Wells is Head of Talent at Abstract Group and will be hosting the panel discussion on establishing pay equity and creating more inclusive environments in tech.
With a background in executive search and talent strategy, she has supported a wide range of organisations to attract, hire, and retain high‑calibre talent. Inclusive hiring has been a key focus for Emily throughout her career, and she is committed to having a positive impact on the tech sector by driving greater equality of opportunity and inclusive practices.
We’re proud to partner with Smart Works Leeds at our Equality in Technology event!
Smart Works is a Yorkshire‑wide charity empowering women and non‑binary people by providing free interview clothing and coaching. Last year alone, they supported over 1,300 women — and two‑thirds secured employment afterwards.
At our event, you can support their mission by bringing interview‑ready clothing to their donation point.