| EQUALITEC started in 2001 as a two-year project funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with the aim to raise awareness of the barriers and opportunities for greater participation of women in Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITEC). Other major partners were the British Computer Society (BCS), British Telecommunications (BT), the Institute for the Management of Informations Systems (IMIS) and the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE), who provided match funding, expertise and strategic guidance. Hewlett Packard (HP) provided much needed server hardware on which the early Equalitec portral was delivered and still runs. The DTI topped up the funding to enable more robust server software to be used. On completion of the original project, on time and to budget, Equalitec also received additional cash support from BCS, IEE and IMIS to cover the costs of portal maintenance in the first year.
One of the most successful services produced was a Placement Database for women students in ITEC or those who were seeking to move to this area in the future. Over 300 female students registered their CV during the first year when the Database service was made available.
In 2004, Portia was successful in securing £ 900,000 of funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) under the Equal Programme for a new project, Advancing Women: Recruitment, Retention and Progression of Women and for Women in ITEC, which was match funded by partners to give a total budget of £1.8m over 3 years. The title of the project was later changed to Equalitec: Advancing Women in ITEC.
On completion of the Equal project, Equalitec became Portia's Consultancy Service transferring its products and services to benefit the wider community. More about Equalitec can be found on www.equalitec.org.uk
|
|
|
