Table Eight
Where women leading in London tech gather.
“If you’re afraid to use your voice, give up your seat at the table. ”
Otherwise, come sit at Table Eight.
The Mission
What
We exist to give C-suite women across all disciplines working in London tech startups/scaleups a place to come together, because we believe that is how we have the greatest impact on each other, and the wider ecosystem.
Why
Gender representation at executive level remains a problem for London startups, yet most women face similar challenges and prejudices in getting there. Many of us experience being the only, or one of few, women in the Executive team and/or at the Board level.
Being in the minority in every room can feel isolating. That's why it's crucial to connect more deeply with other senior women in the London tech ecosystem, irrespective of their domain expertise.
But right now, there's no specific community for this.
So we decided to create one.
The itch
Plenty of professional C-level networks already exist, but none of them scratched this itch.
We want to hang out with women who are united by the shared experience of being - of existing as - a senior woman in an operational C-role in the London tech ecosystem, rather than by their chosen domain.
Other networks
We’ve been part of many other startup networks for years (and have even run some of them), so we know they have great value.
It isn’t about knocking them for what they exist to provide. It is about recognising that they don’t scratch this itch. Because they can’t.
The itch to give dedicated space to the shared experiences and systemic challenges that are unique to C-suite women in London Tech companies.
Without that space, it is hard to find each other. And if we can’t find each other, we can’t amplify each other.
We want to offer a table for women in the C-suite to build meaningful relationships across disciplines and companies within London. To make a difference, to each other, and the ecosystem we are part of building.
For support.
For celebration.
To share the experience of what it means to be a senior woman in these spaces.
It is free to join, designed for C-suite women in Tech in London, who are not afraid of using their voice on topics that affect or occupy women in tech and support other members in finding their voices, too. At this table, you are safe. At this table, you are in the majority.
We are a Board Room
Table Eight is not designed as a social or networking group, but as the best Board Room in London. One populated solely by cross-disciplinary women working in tech in London. Who happen to socialise. ;-)
We facilitate structured and unstructured discussions on a variety of topics and learnings unique to the experiences and challenges professional women working at the executive and board level face.
Through sharing perspectives, tactics and approaches for how we each experience - and then show up - in those environments as women, we aim to generate the safe and supportive environment that is often lacking in mixed gender discipline groups today.
As members of this unique and wonderful Board, we can learn and understand the systemic issues women in tech face more deeply across the different perspectives we each bring to the Table. Identifying patterns, we can use our collective voice to address them in positive, scalable, sustainable ways to generate long-lasting positive systemic change for women in tech.
Format
There are a few ways in which we communicate and organise ourselves.
Comms channel (e.g. Slack)
Get togethers in London (in person)
Structured and facilitated opt-in Board Room sessions on topics the group decides
The calendar juggle of when, how often, etc. we evolve together once we are seated and are ready to get started.