Entrepreneur ‘humiliated’ after London Tech Week turns her and baby away

An entrepreneur has told how she was left feeling “humiliated” after being turned away from London Tech Week, an annual corporate event, because she was with her baby daughter.

Davina Schonle was prevented from entering the event on Monday after travelling for three hours with her eight-month-old and had to cancel meetings with potential suppliers to her tech startup.

Schonle told TheBusinessDesk.com that as she went to the entrance with her daughter in her pram: “I was asked if I was a VIP. I was then told I wasn’t allowed in with a baby. I went to get my badge, but was then taken over to the organisers from Informa, who told me they weren’t insured. But they asked again if I was a VIP or speaker, and later another lady came over and twisted my badge around to see, clearly checking to see if I was a VIP.”

The incident has caused outrage and cast a shadow over the event, which was addressed by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, on the day Schonle was turned away. The tech sector has been trying to move away from accusations of sexism and perceptions that it regards women as second class.

Schonle said the experience had brought all her worst fears about being a woman in the sector into sharp focus. She is the founder and chief executive of Humanvantage AI, a startup developing a conversational role-play corporate training platform using AI technology.

In a now widely shared LinkedIn post, Schonle wrote: “This moment was more than inconvenient. It was a clear reminder that as a tech industry, we still have work to do when it comes to inclusion beyond buzzwords.

“Parents are part of this ecosystem. Caregivers are innovators, founders, investors, and leaders. If major events like London Tech Week can’t make space for, what message does that send about who belongs in tech? I don’t necessarily mean make it kid inclusive event in general, or do I? Doesn’t our future belong to the kids?”

London Tech Week, which is owned by the global events company Informa, said in a statement: “We’re aware that one of our attendees wasn’t allowed to enter with their child yesterday. As a business event, the environment hasn’t been designed to incorporate the particular needs, facilities and safeguards that under-16s require.

“We want everyone in the tech community to feel welcome at London Tech Week. We’ve reached out directly to the person involved to discuss what happened and use this experience to inform how we approach this at LTW in the future.”

Julia Hobsbawm, the businesswoman and commentator on entrepreneurship and work-life balance, responded to Schonle’s post on LinkedIn, saying: “Shocking to read this happened. The defensive quote from London Tech Week the worst kind of tin ear.”