Digital Fellowships

The Network was founded by Dr Shera Chok and Sarah Amani in 2019. We were Chief Clinical Information Officers and realised that over the last decade there have only been a handful of women of colour in similar roles. As diverse teams are more creative, productive, attract the most talented people and are associated with better patient experience, we decided to change the balance. In this short video, Dr Shera Chok talks about the Network and what we want to achieve: https://youtu.be/IPtYVTxLab8 The NHS 10-year plan states that “the NHS draws on a remarkably rich diversity of people to provide care to our patients. But we fall short in valuing their contributions and ensuring fair treatment and respect.” Over 24% of the NHS workforce are from minority ethnic groups and 77% are women. We all use technology daily to care for patients, and this has become even more crucial over the last few years. However, there are less than 5 women of colour in executive or director level non-clinical digital leadership roles such as CIO and CTO roles across 233 trusts, GP federations and national organisations. We are helping the NHS develop a leadership pipeline that more closely reflects our workforce – something NHS England and ICSs have pledged to do. We now have over 2400 members and allies from all backgrounds including underrepresented groups in digital leadership such as nurses, social workers and AHPs. Organizations including trusts and NHS England have sought our advice on recruitment in order to improve equality. We provide women of colour with a voice and a platform to progress into leadership roles.