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BCS x Coding Black Females Membership Bursary

BCS and Coding Black Females are pleased to announce a joint bursary which will see 50 individual members of CBF provided with a year’s BCS membership.
Deadline: 17th December 2021

Click to APPLY for a BCS Membership Bursary

About the Bursary

Black women remain significantly under-represented with the IT profession, making up less than one per cent of the industry, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and Coding Black Females (CBF) are both committed to closing this gap, as part of building a highly competent and ethical profession that promotes talent from the widest possible range of backgrounds

Given this shared goal of developing the careers of black women in the digital fields, BCS and CBF are pleased to announce a joint bursary which will see 150 individual members of CBF provided with a year’s free BCS membership, as well as a range of mentoring and other career development benefits.

Watch the interview between Coding Black Females and BCS to find out more about how you can benefit from the bursary. You can also listen to the podcast recording.

Find out what BCS are doing about Diversity and Inclusion: BCS Diversity and inclusion

Apply for a BCS Membership Bursary

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for the bursary, you must

  • Identify as a woman or gender minority
  • Be from a Black heritage background
  • Be a UK resident
  • Be over the age of 18
  • Currently looking to or working in the field of digital or use technology in your daily role
  • Be a member of Coding Black Females
  • Not a BCS member

CBF x BCS Membership Programme

With the membership, you'll have access to the following

  • A full year of BCS Membership
  • Opportunities to be featured in major publications
  • Access to BCS Platform, Networks, Boards and Communities
  • CBF x BCS events (to be announced)

Frequently Asked Questions

To apply for the bursary, please complete the BCS x Coding Black Females Membership Bursary Application Form.
Coding Black Females will assess all applications and choose successful applicants. This will cover the cost of one year’s annual membership for the 150 successful applications. Successful applicants will be notified and will be given information on how to apply for their bursary membership by CBF. BCS will review each successful individual to provide them with the correct level of membership based on their experience and ability.
Bursaries will be given at the suitable level of Membership. Membership levels available are:
  • Student: £20
  • Associate: £90
  • Member: £146
  • Fellow: £199
Full details of subscription fees and criteria can be found on the BCS website: https://www.bcs.org/membership/become-a-member/
Membership of BCS, the professional body for IT, entitles you to use post-nominals such as MBCS, which are recognised throughout the industry. BCS is also committed to offering you mentoring and networking support to help you further your career. It will also provide opportunities to take part in policy and PR work which influences government, the IT sector and the media. There will also be regular opportunities to take part in webinars, roundtables, workshops and media activity to promote the organisation’s commitment to professionalism and diversity.
Applications will be open from 2nd November 2021, with the closing deadline being midnight on 17th December 2021.
Successful applicants will be notified by email, On or before 18th January 2022

You will be asked to provide the following information

About You
  • Name
  • Email Address
  • Age Range
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Location
Employment
  • Employment Status
  • Job Title
  • Company
  • Length of time in tech
  • LinkedIn Profile
Application
  • Please tell us why you would like to be considered for the bursary, highlighting briefly why BCS membership and support would benefit your professional development? (max 2500 characters)
  • Which features of the BCS Membership are you most interested in having access to, and how will they help you to progress your career? (max 2500 characters)
  • Details of previous BCS Membership
  • Details of Coding Black Females Membership

This information will be used by Coding Black Females to assess your eligibility for the bursary

As this is the first year that this bursary if being offered, it is difficult to estimate the number of applicants. General feedback will be provided to any unsuccessful applicants and more specific detail will depend on the number that have applied and the corresponding capacity of Coding Black Females

Helping future Coding Black Females

An important part of encouraging more black women into IT is seeing more people they can relate to and having role models they can aspire to be. BCS will be reaching out to the 150 successful applicants to help with promotional activity around diversity in IT if they are happy to do so.

Apply for a BCS Membership Bursary

Apply for a BCS Membership Bursary