How She Got There: Chloe Gillard, Version 1
After graduating from Northumbria University in 2013 with a BSc in Sports and Exercise Science, Chloe, like many students, didn’t know what she wanted to do.
She was soon offered an elite scholarship to play hockey in America, which was too good to turn down. Heading stateside, Chloe played hockey and gained two Master of Science degrees in Instructional Leadership with Sport and Management from Robert Morris University, and Management with Business from Central Michigan University.
Upon graduating, Chloe found herself working for the University at Buffalo Athletics Department, working directly with the Senior Leadership Team on all things diversity and inclusion. From there, she moved to the University of Pittsburgh, working as a Career Development Consultant and leading the diversity and inclusion work for the department.
In 2018, Chloe moved back to Northern Ireland and began working for AMS as a Diversity and Insights Consultant; before moving to Accent Housing where she led their diversity and inclusion strategy.
Earlier this year, Chloe took up her current role at Version 1. Within her first year, Chloe has helped place the organisation in a position where diversity, inclusion and belonging is at the core of the business.
Her philosophy around her work is focused on two aspects: It is everyone’s responsibility to own diversity, inclusion and belonging, and we need to ‘build it in, not bolt it on’.
Connecting women in tech
In 2022, Version 1 launched the Global Women in Tech Network, a thriving group of over 600 women across the globe. This group has been instrumental in ensuring that our women are supported to succeed in all they do. They have assisted in the launch of a new suite of Menopause Support and a new Reproductive Health Policy for those who need additional support in starting a family.
Off the back of a successful 2022, winning the Irish News Awards for Best Diversity, Equality and Inclusion for Large Companies award, Version 1 will launch its new Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) strategy which will look to ensure that we continue to place a DIB lens on all we do.
