Anne-Marie Imafidon

Dr. Imafidon is the youngest female event to pass A-level computing at age 11 and passed two GCSEs in primary school. She is also one of the youngest people to receive a Computer Science Masters from Oxford University at just 20 years old.[4] Imafidon was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Years Honours for services to young women and STEM sectors.[5] She holds honorary doctorates from Open University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Kent University, Bristol University, and Coventry University. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Sunderland and sits on the Council of Research England, and an Honorary Fellow at Keble College, Oxford.[6]

Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon was born and raised in London. Her parents emigrated from Edo State, Nigeria to London.[7] After being offered a British scholarship to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, she obtained her master's degree from Oxford University. After obtaining her master's degree, Dr. Imafidon worked for many prestigious companies, including Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard, and Deutsche Bank.[8]

Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon is the founder and CEO of Stemettes, a social initiative dedicated to inspiring the next generation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.[9] She started Stemettes in 2013 and has helped tens of thousands of girls realize their STEM potential. Imafidon has also launched Stemettes STEM resources app, which is used by thousands of high schoolers.[10] Hundreds of Stemettes events have been held across Europe. At these events, teenagers benefit from mentorship from professionals at firms like Salesforce and Deutsche Bank.[11]

Dr. Imafidon decided to start Stemettes after hearing a keynote speaker while attending the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in 2012.[12] She reflected on her own experience as a woman in STEM, being 1 of 3 girls in a class of 70 while studying Maths and Computer Science at Oxford University. After attending a “Spotlight on STEM” workshop, Dr. Imafidon learned that the lack of women and non-binary people in STEM was a real problem.[13] Eager to act, she decided to start Stemettes. Stemettes has exposed almost 50,000 young people across Europe to her vision of a more diverse and balanced science and tech community.[14] Imafidon also co-founded Outbox Incubator, which is the world's first tech incubate for teenage girls. The incubator provided seed funding, intensive mentorship, and support to talented young women aged 22 and under who have innovative business and technology ideas.[15]

Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon hosts the Women Tech Charge podcast for the Evening Standard, where she has conducted interviews with famous people in tech, such as Jack Dorsey, Rachel Riley, and Lewis Hamilton. She is also a trustee of the Institute for the Future of Work, who research and develop ways to improve work and working lives.[16] Imafidon is also currently working with media companies like BBC and 20th Century Fox to put more tech role models on screen, so young people have role models to look up to in everyday life.[17]

Dr. Imafidon continues to strive for more diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.