Nearly 300 years to close the gender gap in tech without intervention, warns BCS

• December 20, 2023
• Andrew

It will take 283 years before women make up an equal share of the tech workforce if the current trend continues, the professional body for computing has warned.

The gender gap in IT must close far more quickly – not least to make sure emerging technologies like AI reflect society, according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

BCS’ annual Diversity Report found that between 2018 and 2021, the proportion of women tech workers rose from 16% to 20%. But this modest improvement stalled in 2022 with the percentage of all women in the sector remaining the same, according to BCS analysis of ONS data. Black women still account for just 0.7% of the tech specialists, rising from 0.3% in 2019.

Urgent action needed
Julia Adamson, MBE, MD for Education and Public Benefit at BCS, said: “More women and girls need the opportunity to take up great careers in a tech industry that’s shaping the world. A massive pool of talent and creativity is being overlooked when it could benefit employers and the economy. There has to be a radical rethink of how we get more women and girls into tech careers, and a more inclusive tech culture is ethically and morally the right thing to do.
“Having greater diversity means that what is produced is more relevant to, and representative of, society at large. This is crucial when it comes to, for instance, the use of AI in medicine or finance.
“The fact that 94% of girls and 79% of boys drop computing at age 14 is a huge alarm bell we must not ignore; the subject should have a broader digital curriculum that is relevant to all young people.”

Return to office trend impact
The current return to the office trend could be one reason why the rise in women in tech has ground to a halt, said Jo Stansfield, co-chair of BCS Women and an inclusivity expert: “I believe more women joined the tech workforce during the pandemic because of increased flexibility, such as working from home.

“This meant they could balance careers with other responsibilities, such as caring for children or elderly relatives – tasks which still fall disproportionately on women. What’s needed is the development of inclusive workplace policies and practices to retain our workforce and to keep building on it.”

She added that it is not only women who are reluctant about returning full-time to the office. Jo also included all people with caring responsibilities, disabled people and those who need flexibility to manage health-related needs. Read more