Women at every stage of their careers are set to benefit from new government measures announced today, aimed at boosting female participation in tech.
Women remain significantly underrepresented in tech, and the cost is substantial with the economy losing an estimated £2 to £3.5 billion every year as women leave the sector - today’s package is targeted at changing this, News Cover reports, citing the UK government's official website.
The package includes paid tech placements and support for those returning after career breaks to re-enter tech jobs. As well as a new TechFirst Girls Competition to be delivered to thousands across the country later this year to get more girls considering a future in tech from their childhood.
The jobs programme will help 300 women advance their careers and unlock tech opportunities in SMEs through paid work placements, backed by a new £4 million TechFirst Women’s Programme.
The programme will provide women with coaching and interview prep support, and work with SMEs across the country to identify at least 300, minimum 6-month placements, in tech roles for local women. This will help women open new career opportunities, and help SMEs adopt and innovate with AI and tech in their operations.
This comes alongside a new returnship jobs pilot scheme that will support skilled software developers to re-enter the workforce into senior tech roles in government after time away. The returnship scheme will be piloted with Home Office and Ministry of Justice and will be open to any software developers who have been away from work for 18 months or more – such as women who have been caring for children.
This will help bust the ‘CV gap’ barrier many returners face when trying to get back to work – a reality for many women who have put their career on hold for their families.
Fixing the talent gap means starting long before the workplace and girls need to see themselves in tech before they ever reach their first job. This year IBM delivered the CyberFirst Girls Competition to over 10,000 students, and IBM have confirmed they will be partnering with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to deliver the new TechFirst Girls Competition, launching later this year.
This competition will see thousands of 12 and 13 year old girls compete, using technologies like AI and coding to think creatively and problem solve to compete in challenges and win. It provides girls insight into how tech can be used to tackle problems, and what a future career in tech might be like.
Building on this package, the Women in Tech Taskforce have today launched a Call for Evidence to examine how we 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. This will ensure the Taskforce continues to use real, lived experience to shape its work and future government action.
