A new programme aims to tackle underrepresentation of women in tech and the financial cost of women leaving the sector, estimated at £2 – £3.5 billion annually.
The initiative is set to boost female representation in the tech sector and has been designed to benefit women at every stage of their careers; from students, to career changers.
The efforts will include at least 300 paid placements (for a minimum of 6 months), as well as a new TechFirst Girls Competition which is set to be delivered across the country.
Alongside industry experience, additional initiatives will prepare women for the workplace through coaching and interview preparation support.
This has been launched alongside a new returnship jobs pilot scheme which has been created to help people to re-enter the workplace after career breaks. This will be piloted by both the Home Office and Ministry of Justice initially, and will focus on female software developers who have been out of work for 18 months or more to care for children.
This particular proposal is set to help women overcome the challenge of having ‘CV gaps’ which often reduce their likelihood of securing a role over a candidate who has continually been in work.
Building a Stronger Pipeline of Women in Tech
Whilst creating opportunities for women in tech later in life is fantastic, there has to be early interventions made too to fix the talent gap; this comes through creating opportunities and representation for young girls.
IBM will partner with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to deliver the new TechFirst Girls competition. The competition will be open to 12 and 13-year old girls and create an opportunity for them to get exposure to exciting technology such as coding and AI.
Whilst the competition will create collaborative working and problem solving opportunities in the first instance, it is hoped it will have lasting impact, opening the girls’ eyes to what a future career in technology could offer.
Alongside this programme, the Women in Tech Taskforce has put out a call for evidence to understand the interventions needed to build an inclusive tech sector. This review will examine the support methods required to create opportunities for women in tech and give insight into how inherent bias in emerging technologies (such as AI) can be navigated to ensure women are not disproportionately affected.
With interventions from the classroom to the boardroom, this combination of initiatives aims to encourage more women to enter the tech sector, progress, stay and lead.
Secretary of State, Liz Kendall said: “Women aren’t being given a fair shot in tech – whether that’s getting into the sector, staying in it, or returning after time away bringing up their families. If we don’t address these issues now, we’ll still be having this conversation in decades’ time and that isn’t good enough.”
“We’re acting through a skills and jobs package to get more women into tech quickly. 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”.
“But we’re not just fixing today’s problem. Through the Women in Tech Taskforce, I want to make sure women aren’t just entering this sector – they’re shaping it. Co-creating the technologies, the culture, and the future of an industry that for too long has been built without them”.
Source: DIGIT