Gender Diversity In The Technology Sector

Uploaded on 2024-03-13 in NEWS-Cybersecurity News, JOBS-Careers, FREE TO VIEW

There is still a major gender gap when it comes to women working in technology in Britain and the tech sector is still playing catch-up when it comes to the fair representation of many different groups, including genders, ethnicities, and those of varying socio-economic backgrounds.

Only one-in-six of tech specialists in the UK are women, compared with 47% of the entire workforce, and fewer than one-in-ten of these women are in leadership positions. While 57% of occupations in the workforce are held by women, in the science, tech, engineering or maths industries, that figure stands at a very low and static 14%.

However, the tide is turning. Organisations are slowly starting to recognise the benefits of employing more women in the technology sector.

But now a high number of women are applying for computing degrees in 2024, which shows that some progress is being made to cut the gender diversity gap in UK tech, according to new research. In total, there were 18,880 applications from female students to study the subject at university this year, marking a 10% increase on the year previous.

Analysis of UCAS university applications by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, found there were 17,140 applications made, which the organisation said highlights the increased appetite among female students to pursue careers in the technology sector. "More and more young women understand that taking a computing degree can help them change the world, and that is shown by these UCAS application figures," said BCS president Gillian Arnold.

While male applicants still outnumber females in computer science by over 4.1 to 1, this year, the gap has closed slightly from the 4.4 to 1 ratio at the same stage in the application cycle in 2023, BCS found.

Overall, STEM subjects are increasing in popularity, with applications to study computing from all young people rising by 7% to a total of 99,710. Meanwhile, applications for mathematics courses were up by 11%, engineering rose by 10%, and physical sciences by 8%. More than one-in-five applications (21%) came from non-UK students, a slight decrease from the 23% recorded in 2023/24.

An interesting fact about women in tech is that the language used in a job ad as well as specific benefits aimed at women are both vital in making women to want to apply for a role.

A survey revealed that 63% of women said they’d look for a job which offered flexibility and working from home.
Having a flexible working policy and allowing hybrid working has become one of the most important factors for many candidates, not just women, since the COVID-19 pandemic which changed how we value our work/life balance.

One big barrier, according to industry body Tech Talent Charter, is the fact that women tend to shoulder more than their fair load of caring responsibilities, with 40% of women citing the problem as their main reason for leaving the tech industry.

Computing is now the seventh most popular subject for UK 18-year-old applicants, BCS found and this is the sixth consecutive year of growth for computing course applications amongst students of this age group. This year’s figure is 70% higher than in 2019, and 113% higher for women.

Image: christina@wocintechchat.com

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