Measures aimed at attracting and retaining girls and women in the tech sector have been launched by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The package aims to boost female participation in tech through supporting girls and women at every stage of their careers. It includes initiatives to attract more girls into considering tech as a future career, a £4m placement programme to help women in tech advance their careers and a pilot ‘returnship’ scheme supporting those re-entering jobs after a career break.
Secretary of state for science, innovation and technology Liz Kendall said: “I am very aware of the reality women face in tech. Women aren’t being given a fair shot – whether that’s getting into the sector, staying in it or returning after time away. If we don’t address these unfair biases and barriers now, we’ll still be having this conversation in 10 years’ time.”
Research published last year by community platform WeAreTechWomen found that the UK economy loses an estimated £2bn to £3.5bn a year because of women leaving the tech sector or not entering it.
A report from BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, found that it would take nearly 300 years to close the gender gap in tech without intervention.
According to DSIT, this package is targeted at changing these statistics. Kendall added: “These aren’t warm words – they’re real jobs, real placements and real routes back in through a door that has been too hard to open for too long.”
The £4m tech jobs programme will initially see at least 300 women gain a minimum of six-month placements in tech roles. To help bust the ‘CV gap’ barrier many returners face when trying to get back to work, the returnship programme will start with a pilot scheme in government. This will be targeted at helping female software developers who have been away from work for 18 months or more fill senior government tech roles within the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.
To help inspire girls into following a career in tech, DSIT is partnering with IBM to deliver the new TechFirst Girls Competition, due to launch later this year. Aimed at 12- and 13-year-old girls, the competition will see them use technologies such as AI and coding to think creatively and problem-solve to compete in challenges.
These measures build on the work the Women in Tech Taskforce is doing. Launched towards the end of last year by Kendall, the taskforce brings together female leaders from across industry, charities, academia and education to advise the government on boosting diversity in tech and driving economic growth.
The taskforce is now launching a call for evidence to examine how the government can better support women into the future around emerging technologies and AI, and the inherent biases built into these technologies, which continue to disproportionately impact women. For instance, findings show that AI tools used in recruitment have been found to favour male names nearly five times more than female names.
Anna Brailsford MBE, CEO of Code First Girls and Women in Tech Taskforce member, said: “The UK’s ambition to lead in technology will only be realised if more women can see a clear and supported pathway into the sector from non-tech backgrounds. At Code First Girls, we see every day how access to the right skills and support can transform lives, unlocking potential and more fulfilling careers.
“As a member of the Women in Tech Taskforce, I want to see individual success stories turn into systemic change, ensuring many more women can follow in their footsteps.”
