Ada's List has given me the courage to share my ideas with the world – and actively tackle bias in the workplace

Bec Evans is a founder of Write Track, and head of innovation at Emerald Group Publishing, based in Yorkshire, UK. She has been a member of Ada's List since May 2014.

"I'm based in rural Yorkshire, so networking is tough. The online nature of Ada's has been great for flagging up events to attend, people to meet, articles to read, as well as inspiring me and giving me a kick up the ass.

It was one of the first groups I joined and introducing myself gave me courage to share my ideas with the world – an essential skill for any founder. I love reading other people's ‘brags’ and try to share their updates on social media, congratulate people and read books - recently I bought fellow member Emily Webber's Building Successful Communities of Practice and it's been used so much that HR had to buy replacement copies, as mine has become so dog-eared!

I have met advisors and mentors through the list, and am still in contact with several such as Sally Jenkinson, who gives me wise tech advice. Alison Coward whipped my workshop planning into shape and Mariana from Metaspeech coached me on delivering my first pitch to a packed conference hall.

I've attended events from the Ada's coffee mornings, to networking and learning events, and the big one for me was attending YCombinator's female founders conference in 2015 which I first read about on Ada's. 

Most importantly Ada's List has raised my awareness of bias in the industry and workplace, and given me to courage to speak up – not just for myself but for my colleagues (both female and male). 

This has gone right up to board level, where action is now being taken. For me, Ada’s proves that all you need is a voice and a supportive community and you can make a difference wherever you work."

Bec Evans is a founder of Write Track, and head of innovation at Emerald Group Publishing, based in Yorkshire, UK. Read her post on the Bookseller about getting more women to work in and build start-ups.

July 29, 2016
Anjali Ramachandran
Co-founder