At Principle One, diversity is a core value that drives our commitment to building high-performing teams. As our workforce has grown, it’s been at the centre of our recruitment strategy and the work we have done to harness an ever-broader talent pool. It’s also been a driver for a long-standing partnership with Coding Black Females, an organisation dedicated to breaking down barriers for black and other ethnic minority women seeking to break into the technology sector.
Founded in 2017, Coding Black Females provides a supportive network for black female software developers, engineers and tech enthusiasts to build careers in a field where they are traditionally under-represented. Through a programme of technology bootcamps, networking events and wider mentoring, Coding Black Females works to tackle diversity head on.
For its founder, Charlene Hunter, herself a software developer, the original goal for setting up Coding Back Females was to create a supportive and inclusive community for black women in technology; something that she wished had been in place when she herself had been starting out. Over the following few years, Coding Black Females evolved far beyond her initial aspirations, moving its networking events online during 2020 and building on those to launch its first technology bootcamps to create new routes into the technology industry in 2021.
Partnering plays a key role in the success of Coding Black Females. “Since starting Coding Black Females we've grown from strength to strength. We started out as a meetup group in London and now we have 20,000 members globally, and run a range of events, mentor programmes, courses and bootcamps. Working with Principle One has been incredible, with their support for events, mentoring our members and on our bootcamps and hiring great talent from our community. It's been lovely to see the impact they've had on help achieve our mission.”
Darlyn and Charlene
At the heart of Coding Black Females programme, is the CBF Academy, a range of courses and bootcamps that are offered to women at various skill levels, from beginners with no prior experience in coding to those looking to advance or transition into more specialised tech roles. The bootcamps offer a comprehensive curriculum that covers essential coding languages and platforms such as Python, JavaScript and AWS and have received sponsorship and support from a broad range of organisations seeking to diversify their recruitment.
As well as creating direct pathways into careers in technology, the bootcamps provide a strong support network and sense of community to make the learning journey as accessible as possible and providing valuable support to those who are coming to software development from less traditional degree path, making a career change or returning to work following a career break.
Principle One has been a strong supporter of the Academy since its launch and has offered additional seminars and training courses on the softer skills that are invaluable in a software engineering career to participants in Bootcamps. One highlight was hosting a ‘Courageous Conversations’ training event during Coding Black Females Careers Week in 2023. The event was designed to empower attendees by equipping them with the tools and confidence to engage in difficult workplace conversations, helping ensure their voices are heard in professional settings and build confidence.
Darlyn Norlay joined Principle One in an entry level role in September 2023. Having previously graduated with a degree in architecture, she made the decision to make a career change that would build on her interest in technology and first completed a diploma in Full Stack Development with Code Institute before joining the Coding Black Females AWS re/Start bootcamp in 2023.
“When I decided to make the switch from Architecture to Tech, the first course I did with Coding Black Females was a React course. It was a small group and I was actually quite surprised by how willing everyone was to help each other out both in and outside the classes. When I decided to join the AWS restart bootcamp this was one of the main things that pushed me to apply, and CBF absolutely delivered by putting us in study groups at the beginning of the course to support each other throughout. One of the big selling points of the bootcamp was the opportunity to meet potential employers, which as a career changer wasn’t something to pass up. We were well prepared throughout, with coaching on writing CVs that would showcase our wider skills and I felt confident going into in my interview with Principle One at the showcase.
Completing the bootcamp gave a great foundation in skills and confidence for starting my role at Principle One last September. I’ve found if I’m unfamiliar with a topic, the best thing to do is ask questions, go into it with curiosity, and use it as an opportunity to learn something new.”
Joining Principle One has given Darlyn the opportunity to build on these core skills, taking on new challenges as a scrum master and business analyst and working across a range of different internal and customer facing roles. She’s not the only member of staff to have joined us from the Bootcamp and our Coding Black Females alumni have become a catalyst for promoting diversity and inclusion inside and outside Principle One.
This week, we’ve been delighted to welcome the Coding Black Females team to our offices for the launch of October’s AWS re/Start bootcamp and to support Charlene and her team in kicking off a new 30-week course that will support a new cohort in developing technical skills and working towards AWS certification.
Esther and Darlyn
For Esther Oluwaseye, another former bootcamp alumni, it was a great milestone to welcome Coding Black Females to the Principle One office six months after she began her role as a software developer and she, along with Darlyn, was delighted to share her experience as a developer.
“It felt like coming full circle to be back with a Coding Black Females bootcamp and the energy we had was incredible. The bootcamp gave me a supportive network to develop new skills and I’ve been able to build on that since joining at Principle One, learning new technologies and working within software development teams. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Coding Black Females and can’t wait to see what this new bootcamp cohort will achieve. The opportunities that are created today will have a lasting impact for years to come!”
For more information about Coding Black Females and their work, visit their website here.
For information about career opportunities at Principle One, email careers@principleone.co.uk.