Digital Echidna’s Fatima Khalid was recently announced as the 2018 recipient of the Women in Communications and Technology’s Leadership Excellence Award — Rising Star.
This award accepts nominations from across the province, and perfectly describes Fatima Khalid.
“This is an unexpected, but greatly appreciated, honour,” Khalid, a web developer at Digital Echidna, explained. “It wasn’t all that long ago that I moved to Canada from New York and joined the Echidna team. They’ve supported me in my efforts to take on leadership roles in the community in regards to technology leadership, diversity advocacy, volunteering and civic technology.
“Digital Echidna has given me the platform to have a voice and be a visible contributor of the tech community. For me that platform is not only about advocating for the voices of other women, but also paving a path for underrepresented women.”
Khalid has been active in the Drupal community, sitting on the leadership team of the Drupal Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (drupaldiversity.com). She twice has been a recipient of a DrupalCon scholarship (2017, 2018). Scholarships are awarded based on the impact or influence the applicant has in his/her home region’s Drupal community and Drupal adoption. She has also been interviewed multiple times by the CBC both in regards to diversity in the workplace and the role of women in technology.
“It is an honour to recognize these winners as leaders in Canada’s digital industries,” said Michelle Magwood, national chair of WCT, in a release posted on its website. “They are champions of change who inspire others to unite to close the gender gap. Communications and technology are fiercely competitive and innovation-driven industries where women still represent less than 27 per cent of the workforce and nine per cent of leaders in the C-suite. It’s time to change those numbers.”
Echidna’s content strategist Jay Menard nominated Khalid on behalf of the company. She will be honoured at the organization’s annual awards gala on Apr. 16th in Ottawa.
Khalid is one of only two Londoners receiving WCT awards this year, joining Laurie Hause, chief information officer and director of marketing, McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP. Hause received the WCT Leader award for her exceptional contributions to WCT and her role in helping to shape the experience of women who will soon be leading our industries’ most influential companies and organizations.
