We are welcoming a Brighton local, Hellen Ward, to talk about "Bias in our products: The case for diversity in tech" at FFConf 2025.

We want to thank Hellen for taking the time to answer our questions so we can all get to know her a little bit more before 14th November.

About Hellen and their talk

• Title: Bias in our products: The case for diversity in tech
• About the talk: Bias isn't just a bug — it's a feature of who builds the product.
• Hellen's origin story: I studied drama, which inevitably led to a series of sparkling roles in admin. Somewhere between playing calendar Tetris and speed typing minutes, I thought: "What if I taught myself to code?" Somehow this became my new career and I haven't looked back.

The warm up questions

If your coding journey were a play, what would its title be?

'In Bits: while ( !ready ) { keepGoing() }'

What’s your secret superpower — calendar Tetris or speed typing under pressure?

Ha! These days the speed typing is the real superpower - it's much easier to think when your fingers aren't tripping you up.

Calendar Tetris? It’s something of a frustrating multiplayer game where the goal is to summon meeting rooms out of thin air or trade favours like Pokémon cards. 10/10 do not recommend - unless you enjoy playing with the space-time continuum.

How does your drama background sneak into your day-to-day life as a developer?

I used to be a scare actor, so I’m professionally trained in terrifying people - though these days it’s usually just my code that does that! I’ve also worked as an extra, which turns out to be excellent preparation for waiting patiently while builds deploy...

But seriously, studying drama taught me how to collaborate closely with others and adapt quickly when things don’t go to plan - which, as any developer knows, is most days.

About the work and the talk

What do you wish teams understood about inclusive design before they ship a single line of code?

That if you want to build products that will benefit a diverse range of people, you need to have diverse teams. Unconscious bias is a real problem that can lead you into some embarrassing pitfalls further down the line.

How would you love to see the conversation around diversity in tech evolve over the next five years?

The recent dismantling of DEI initiatives for the sake of it is truly scary and risks undoing a lot of the progress we've fought hard for over the last few decades.

Over the next five years, I’d love to see the tech industry not only protect existing rights and spaces but also take a long, honest look at how deep our diversity issues still run. That means addressing the systemic barriers that continue to shut people out.

For someone who wants to advocate for diversity and inclusion but feels powerless, what’s one small, tangible step they can take?

One of the most impactful things someone can do is be an active ally - especially if you’re someone with influence in a space where others are underrepresented.

Some of the people who helped me most along the way were those who recognised their privilege and used it to support me in my learning, make me feel welcome in their team and and take my perspective seriously.

You don’t need to have all the answers - just the willingness to listen, support, and speak up when it counts.

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Find out more about Hellen online at: hellenwellsward.com, LinkedIn

Join us in November to see Hellen's talk: 2025.ffconf.org