ALMOST a third of keynote speakers at a tech conference in Bournemouth will be women.

Silicon Beach, which takes place from September 18 to 19 at the Pavilion, addresses innovators from across the UK.

Organisers say Bournemouth and Poole are home to some of the most successful digital and advertising firms in the UK, many of them helmed by women.

The Silicon Beach conference includes a series of secondary events called Silicon+ – one of which, She Who Dares Wins, is aimed at engaging and inspiring women in digital, advertising and creative industries. It is being presented in partnership with SheSays, a global network hoping to address the gender imbalance in the industry.

Silicon Beach organiser Matt Desimer said: “It is estimated that women control 80 per cent of the purchasing power, yet only three per cent of creative directors are women, meaning that consciously or not, agencies continue to market almost exclusively to men.

“Silicon Beach attracts some of the UK’s most influential speakers from some of the most successful agencies.

“She Who Dares Wins is an event specifically aimed at encouraging, inspiring and also empowering more women to attain senior roles within the advertising, design and digital and creative industries.”

He added: “If you position Silicon Beach and Silicon Beach+ alongside the area having the world’s largest open device lab - WordCampUK, coming to Bournemouth this July, All About People happening in two weeks, Re:Develop taking place in August too, ThinkCreateDo, the two universities and a myriad of award-winning agencies - Bournemouth is emerging as a creative and digital hotspot to rival Brighton or Bristol.”