County Derry woman rising through the ranks in Northern Ireland tech industry

International Women's Day is a global holiday celebrated annually, bringing attention to the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

A large part of the International Women’s Day initiative is the goal of advancing gender equality in tech and celebrating women forging innovation.

Garvagh-born Eimear Corrigan joined UX company Synergy Learning in 2018 as a placement student while studying Interactive Multimedia Design at Ulster University. She returned to the company following her graduation and has been with Synergy Learning since.

Eimear said women before her laid the groundwork for the current generation to succeed in tech.

“If you’re thinking of a role in tech but having doubts about being the best fit, all I can say is just go for it - don’t let the fear of stereotypes hold you back. Females before us shattered glass ceilings,” she said.

“Thankfully I haven’t experienced any gender inequality so far in my career. The teams I have worked with are all so welcoming, and whether I’m working remotely or at the company’s hub in Titanic Quarter, I always feel included and part of the bigger picture.

According to the UX Design institute UX is an area of tech where women are relatively well represented but 'but there's a lot more to be done'.

According to research by Morgan McKinley women account for 41% of workers in the sector.

Eimear credits her family for instilling in her the belief that she is capable of anything regardless of her gender.

“My biggest role models are my family, as typical as that may sound. I have always been encouraged to meet a challenge head on, and my family have always been right there behind me cheering my success.”

Eimear graduated from Ulster University in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, which brought with it a lot of uncertainty.

This unfortunately meant Eimear didn’t have the typical final year experience she had hoped for, and many opportunities were put on hold while the world was in lockdown.

“I would class graduating during the pandemic as one of my biggest achievements to date. It wasn’t easy and wasn’t how I had expected the last few months of my time at university to pan out, but it is what it is, and I made the most of it.

“Jumping straight into my role at Synergy Learning helped to balance the lack of closure when completing my degree – I had a new challenge to face head on and my new chapter began.”

Eimear’s current role as UX Developer allows her to work on developing learning platforms for organisations like the NHS, Save The Children & Ryanair.

Eimear’s role ensures that the user experience on these platforms follows best practice and makes it as easy as possible for someone to use the software.

She says she loves how the job presents a new challenge every day.

Outside of work, Eimear plays camogie and has done since she was a toddler. She says she owes a lot of her professional drive and persistence to skills learned in early childhood through her hobbies .

In addition to camogie, Eimear started playing volleyball last year, and was formerly a keen Irish dancer and competed for many years with the McNicholl School of Irish Dancing from age 5.