An interview with;

Jenni Sach, Director, Global Business Partner Marketing at Colt Technology Services. Jenni has been in the field marketing sector for 17 years and is the co-lead of Network 25, Colt’s global women’s group.

Rachel Collins, Head of Inclusion & Diversity at Colt Technology Services. Rachel has been with Colt for 11 years and leads on the inclusion agenda, forming part of Colt’s wider ESG (environment, social, governance) strategy.

Colt Technology Services provides world-class agile, on-demand and secure high bandwidth networking and voice solutions to businesses in Europe, Asia and the US, connecting 900+ data centres and over 29,000 buildings globally.

What is Network 25 and why was it set up?

Network 25 is Colt’s women’s network and it is so called because it was formed when Colt was celebrating it’s 25-year anniversary.

It started from the ground up, with many Colt employees expressing the need for a space for everyone to be able to talk openly and share. There are chapters across all of Colt, in countries from India to Italy, and everyone is welcome to join – it’s not exclusive to women but is for anyone who supports our goal of a more gender-balanced workforce. Network 25 is actively involved in holding events, and providing training and mentoring opportunities in Colt. We are also very active in the community, working with various charities that support women.

How many active members do you have within the women’s network?

To put a specific number, I’d say we have around 500 active members, but participation is much larger. All our events are open to all Colt employees.

And when we first formed the network, women made up 25% of the Colt workforce, whereas it is now around 31%!

What activities do you do?

Our activities align within the three pillars of events, community outreach and development.

Events – we run virtual and face-to-face events at Colt. We also collaborate with women’s groups in other tech companies. Some recent event topics have included leadership styles, making the most of mentors and networking, how to be an active bystander and domestic violence.

Community outreach – we run mentoring programmes with girls who are thinking about a career in the tech industry. We also work with charities such as Dress for Success, which helps empower women to achieve economic independence, and Bloody Good Period, who are taking steps to tack