Nine-in-ten women leave the tech sector after ten years, taking vital skills and expertise to other sectors like finance and professional services.

That's according to new research from Akamai, which found that women are leaving tech roles at a pivotal point in their careers, prompting calls to offer better pay, career progression, and flexibility to buck the trend.

The survey of 1,500 women in the UK showed that 55% of women leave tech roles or tech companies after five years of being in the industry, with 87% departing within ten years.

They largely head to finance, education, professional services and healthcare, the report said.

"We lose women from cybersecurity at the exact moment their expertise becomes most valuable," said Zoe Mackenzie, President of Women in CyberSecurity UK. "This isn’t a pipeline problem; it’s a leadership one."

Why women leave tech

According to Akamai, more than a third left by choice and did not want to return to tech, while 31% said they left mostly by choice and now preferred their current situation.

The women polled said they departed the tech sector largely because they didn't feel a sense of belonging, cited by 52% of respondents.

Notably, a lack of gender diversity in company leadership was highlighted by 40% of women polled, suggesting drastic changes to corporate culture are needed to prevent continued attrition.

The poll was split into two sections: women who had left tech, and those who had left but then returned.

Four-in-ten women who had departed the sector said they would come back under the right conditions, notably flexible working arrangements, hybrid working, and improved work-life balance.

That echoes previous research that suggests half of women who left the tech sector did so due to conflicts with caring commitments, though it's worth noting hybrid working and other flexible arrangements are widely popular regardless of roles or gender.

Of those who had come back already, more than half said they were motivated by a higher salary, while four-in-ten said they needed better work-life balance and clear career progression.

"The findings provide a valuable picture of what mid‑career women are looking for in order to return to tech, and it’s encouraging to see that the majority could be persuaded to come back under the right conditions," said Hazel Little, the CEO of Career Returners.

"Progression pathways are crucial for retaining talent, but equally important is ensuring that women who want to return have clear, supported ways to re-enter the sector in the first place. When employers build both return pathways and progression pathways, they create an environment where women can come back, grow and stay."

Tech sector attrition

The Akamai report marks the latest in a string of studies pointing to a concerning trend of female attrition in the tech sector.

According to last year's Lovelace Report, between 40,000 and 60,000 women leave the sector each year. This level of attrition has a direct impact on economic growth, the study noted.

At current rates, the departure of women costs the UK tech sector an estimated £2 billion ($2.7bn) to £3.5 billion ($4.7bn) each year.

Other reports, meanwhile, suggest that women leave the tech sector at twice the rate of their male colleagues.

The gender diversity gap in tech leadership has become a recurring talking point for the sector. Akamai’s study specifically highlighted this issue as a key factor in why women leave the sector, and that tracks with figures on diversity rates in higher-level roles.

Between 20% to a quarter of the UK tech sector is made up of women, yet that isn’t reflected in leadership positions. Official government figures suggest women account for just 5% of leadership positions across the industry.

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The government has launched a new multi-million pound scheme to get more women into the tech industry.

The £4 million program, which will kick off later this year, aims to provide 300 women with coaching and support with interview preparation, as well as paid work placements of at least six months at SMBs across the country.

Meanwhile, a new “returnship” pilot scheme aims to help software developers re-enter the workforce via senior tech roles in government after time away.

Piloted with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, it 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.

"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," said technology secretary Liz Kendall.

"If we don’t address these issues now, we’ll still be having this conversation in decades’ time, and that isn’t good enough."

Encouraging careers in tech

Meanwhile, a new TechFirst Girls Competition will be rolled out to girls across the country later this year, with the aim of getting more girls to consider a future in tech.

Rolled out in partnership with IBM, the competition will see thousands of 12 and 13 year old girls compete in challenges related to AI and coding.

The projects build on the launch of the Women in Tech Taskforce in December, which brings together leading female tech figures with the aim of getting more women entering, progressing, staying, and leading in tech.

"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," said Kendall.

"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."

New proposals for career support

Separately, Kendall has proposed a new voluntary charter for the research community aimed at making it easier for women to build research careers.

This includes commitments to paid maternity leave for PhD students, more help to return to work, and more flexible working options.

The government will more than double its support for the Daphne Jackson Trust from £1.7 million to £4 million per year, boosting the number of fully-funded fellowships it offers women from 15 to 25.

Similarly, the Trust will launch up to 15 new Research Technical Professional Fellowships per year, a program for retraining and reskilling research technicians who are vital to UK science as they return to R&D.

"Women scientists and researchers are responsible for driving some of the most important breakthroughs that are improving lives for people right across the country. Yet too many see their career ambitions delayed or even halted by vital responsibilities like raising a family or caring for a loved one – trade-offs that should never have to be made," she said.

"The charter will set clear expectations on funders of research – they must act quickly and decisively to give more women the backing they need to resume their studies, whether through greater maternity support or flexible working."

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Efforts to reassure young women that a career in tech might be for them don't appear to be working as hoped, new research suggests.

While seven-in-ten told researchers from Walbrook Institute London that they had genuine interest in a tech career, 72% didn’t feel they had enough knowledge to study a degree in computer science or IT.

Half said they were scared of being over-challenged in STEM fields, with 42% thinking that subjects will be too difficult. Meanwhile, 38% don’t feel that other people believe in their capabilities.

There are also practical concerns, with 84% saying they want to support their family and be present in their lives. Six-in-ten said they were worried about the potentially demanding workload associated with STEM courses.

Meanwhile, 43% were concerned that the teaching sessions and workloads would mean they couldn’t take on a part-time job to fund their studies.

It's not that women don't want to do these courses, the study found. Indeed, 70% of respondents said they were interested in STEM courses and 85% valued the long-term career success they can lead to.

"The question isn't whether there is a problem with STEM education’s appeal to young women - we've known for years that there is one. The question is what will it actually take to finally fix it?" said Dr Glory Aigbedion, lecturer at Walbrook Institute London.

"The data shows that the majority are interested in the topics, they just need to know that these courses and careers can work for them."

Two-thirds of students said they knew someone working in STEM – but most of those role models were male. One-in-three didn’t know anyone at all in the field.

"While it’s good to see that most of the young women surveyed did know someone working in STEM, these results also show some invisible barriers," said Aigbedion.

"Schools, colleges, institutes and universities can offer all sorts of STEM courses, but that won't help overcome a lack of confidence in young women. We need teachers, mentors, family and friends to be creating early STEM awareness programs and talking more openly about the benefits it can bring and breaking these very obvious barriers down."

Last month, the government announced that it was spending £8.2 million to encourage and help girls to study advanced maths and progress into AI-related careers.

"Today’s brightest maths minds are tomorrow’s AI pioneers, and this government is opening the door for groups who have so far been left behind in the AI revolution," said education secretary Bridget Phillipson.

The funding, part of a revamped Advanced Maths Support Programme, will target around 7,500 pupils from 400 disadvantaged secondary schools. The program will include teacher training and student enrichment courses on the key maths concepts and skills needed for AI.

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• Women in tech think the industry has changed for the better, but there’s still more work to be done

Women Who Code, a non-profit set up to support women in the tech industry, has abruptly shut down citing the loss of “critical” funding.

The organization was started as a community group in 2011 by a small team of engineers in San Francisco. Within a decade it had developed into a network of more than 360,000 people aiming to make the industry become more diverse, inclusive and equitable.  With more than 1,000 volunteers leading local and online communities, it has members in 145 countries worldwide sharing knowledge and mentoring one another.

The decision to close follows a vote by the board of directors to dissolve the organization. 

"This decision has not been made lightly. It only comes after careful consideration of all options and is due to factors that have materially impacted our funding sources - funds that were critical to continuing our programming and delivering on our mission," the group said in a statement published on its blog. 

"We understand that this news will come as a disappointment to many, and we want to express our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who have been a part of our journey."

Women Who Code was registered as a non-profit organization in California in 2013 and in 2018 moved its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia. Over this time, it’s hosted more than 20,000 community-led events and awarded more than $3.5 million (£2.8 million) in scholarships, as well as holding developer conferences and technical summits in tech hubs around the world and sharing more than 14,000 job opportunities. 

The group says it plans to try and fulfill any remaining obligations to the best of its ability, but will not be able to continue offering any program services. It will also be canceling all upcoming events. 

"Despite our collective efforts, the challenges we face as an organization have become insurmountable. We are deeply saddened by the difficult decision to dissolve the entity, but we hope that this work carries on beyond our end," it says. 

"The collective efforts of tech company leaders and supporters are needed more than ever to welcome women into tech, keep them, and ensure they are given the opportunity to thrive."

The tech sector shows an even greater gender gap than most industries, with BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, recently warning that at present rates of improvement it could take nearly 300 years to eliminate. Between 2018 and 2021, the proportion of female tech workers in the UK increased only from 16% to 20%, and stalled the following year.

A large part of the reason, according to research from Tech Talent Charter, is women's greater caring responsibilities, with 40% of women leaving the industry saying that care responsibilities were a “decisive factor” in their decision.

However, many of the problems faced by women in the industry go over the head of their male colleagues, with a study from recruitment firm Nigel Frank International finding earlier this year that four-in-five men believed men and women were treated equally in their workplace, with only 6% disagreeing.

It’s common knowledge that the tech sector isn’t as diverse and inclusive as it can or should be. According to career advice site Women in Tech, only 26% of tech-related jobs are held by women, so what’s holding them back?

Five common obstacles facing women entering the industry were recently highlighted in the report “Breaking Barriers: Women in Tech Speak Out”, jointly published by Sage, Tech Returners, and Reframe Women in Tech.

The report suggests lack of awareness or contact with the industry, lack of female role models, low confidence, exclusionary hiring processes, and discrimination are all frequently encountered by those entering the industry.

Lack of awareness and industry contact

One common problem women report facing is having limited exposure to and awareness of the tech industry, which hinders their ability to explore opportunities and develop the right skills. This issue is often traced back as far as their school days, where access to technical learning heavily depends on location and educational policies.

Beckie Taylor, CEO of Tech Returners, believes there’s still very much a disconnect around the education system and industry. She recommends businesses engage with schools to discuss ways to bridge the gap and educate all pupils about the variety of opportunities open to them.

“There’s a Manchester consortium, with the likes of PwC and Microsoft, coming together to put on events for teachers to talk about the different roles in the tech industry, and the different pathways into careers in technology,” she gives as an example.

“Women in Tech North also holds online meet-ups with schools, where pupils can ask questions to the community about different types of roles and what it’s like to work in the industry.”

Not enough role models

Seeing people like them in aspirational and successful tech roles can empower more women to choose tech careers and help end the perception that technology’s a ‘man’s realm’. 

Businesses should do more to showcase their female talent – whether that’s via case studies or larger external campaigns and awards. “[It’s] really important that we have more prominent female leaders who are willing to talk about their successes and how they overcame challenges in their career,” says Nicola Martin, head of quality engineering at Adarga and chair of the software testing specialist group at BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.

Supporting women into these leadership roles is also key, which can be facilitated by providing more mentorship, training, and development opportunities. 

Confidence issues 

Multiple studies over recent years have repeatedly put the percentage of women working in tech roles who suffer from imposter syndrome at around 70-75%. 

According to the Breaking Barriers report, 84% of respondents didn’t apply for a tech role they were interested in. Of these,  80% said they didn’t believe they had the right experience, while 71% said they worried they didn’t have the right skills.

“Imposter syndrome often comes up at women in tech events, especially from those just coming into the sector, which is crazy, because they have great transferable skills,” says Martin. “It’s a big issue and I often suggest mentoring or coaching.”

Taylor says that confidence is a big issue for women looking to return from a career break, as many traditional hiring routes set aside CVs with gaps. This can knock returners back, making them question their relevance and whether they can balance their work and home commitments. 

Not only should businesses do more to change the narrative around career breaks and focus on their value in terms of transferable skills and experience gained, but also invest in confidence support for women at work.

This can be coaching, mentoring, access to counselling, or financing participation is programmes like the Confidence Collective – designed to develop and empower women to own their journey into the next stage of their career, and Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative.

Exclusionary hiring processes

Breaking Barriers found that many of the women surveyed had experienced intimidating and inflexible hiring processes that often prevent them from applying for tech roles. 

Much more can be done by businesses to adopt clear and inclusive language in job descriptions, reduce bias in the hiring process through anonymised CVs and promote flexible working policies, which are in much greater demand by all post-pandemic, not just working mothers. 

Many of the larger multinationals are already progressing in this area thanks to dedicated diversity and inclusion teams, but Taylor acknowledges that others haven’t got the time or money to work proactively on this. 

“SMBs, startups; they might not have the resources to dedicate to this,” she says. “I think the solution lies in best practice developed through a consortium of these larger companies developing best practice frameworks and toolkits that provide education and support to all organisations.” 

Discrimination

Discrimination goes beyond hiring however, and doesn’t just revolve around sexism – ageism, racism and homophobia are issues that affect the wider tech community and need to be stamped out. 

Implementing mandatory EDI training and policies can help, as can establishing a confidential reporting mechanism to address concerns. 

Small changes can make a big difference, says Dr Laura Norton, head of EDI at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). She recommends businesses get better at sharing their inclusive practices and processes. 

“Our recent Inclusive thinking campaign is all about individuals sharing their tips and insights on how they’ve embedded EDI within their work, organisation and the wider engineering and technology community, passing this on for others to learn from.”

Act now

There have been many reports on discrimination, exclusionary practices and processes over the years, but it’s important we act now. “Without diversity we won’t get the creativity, innovation and collaboration needed to solve complex problems and create innovative solutions,” says Norton. 

“These findings are concerning – we also need to make sure that the points raised, such as confidence, aren’t put back to women as their issue. This is about women feeling underrepresented for many years, and it’s a problem for all of us,” says Norton.

“We know that it’s not only women who are underrepresented in the sector – this also includes black and minoritized ethnicities, disabled people, socio-economic backgrounds and the LGBTQ+ community. To improve our world and shape our future we need to include diversity of talent and knowledge in all forms.”

A record number of people will begin computer science degrees this year, with more women taking computing than any other university subject group.

Analysis of this year’s exam results in the UK found that the number of students placed on undergraduate degrees in computing across the country has increased by 7% when compared to last year, with just over 24,900 students due to start courses – the largest percentage increase of any subject.

The figures, compiled by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, also revealed that computer science degrees have seen a 20% increase in accepted applications from women since 2019, which is also a higher increase than any other subject group listed by UCAS.

When it comes to A level entries, Computing has also shot up 41% across England, Northern Ireland and Wales in the last three years – the highest increase of any subject, BCS said.

“From autonomous vehicles, to media and communications, to banking and health care, we are in a digital society and computing skills are amongst the highest in demand,” commented Julia Adamson, Director of Education at BCS.

“So, it’s exciting that more young people have opted for advanced studies in computing at university - and particularly important to report a continued growth in the number of young women represented and achieving the highest grades.”

However, BCS has cautioned that the overall number of women that had accepted applications for computing, around 4,830, remains low when compared to men (20,080). This means that male students continue to outnumber women by 4.2:1 this year – only a slight improvement from 4.7:1 in 2019.

Despite this, female students continue to outperform their male counterparts at A level, with 38.8% achieving an A* or A, compared with 34.4% of men. That’s a considerable rise on both counts, with the comparative figures from 2019 showing that 18.7% of women and 17.4% of men hit those same grades that year.

Charlene Hunter MBE, CEO of Coding Black Females and member of the BCS board, commended the figures but warned against any potential complacency.

“It’s great to see young women choosing to take computer science in record numbers, but we can’t be complacent at all,” she said.

“In a world where big challenges like climate change and cyber security require highly skilled technologists, we need ever greater numbers of people from a diverse range of backgrounds to see computer science as an ethical, aspirational career choice.”

Diversity efforts across the UK’s tech industry were significantly derailed by the fallout of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research by Tech London Advocates (TLA).

Almost one in two (45%) of surveyed members of TLA and Global Tech Advocates cited the two events as key reasons why efforts have failed to improve representation within the tech sector, particularly within management.

The report found three quarters of London’s tech companies have almost no Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) representation on their senior leadership teams.

Gender representation also remains scarce, with nearly two thirds (62%) of respondents indicating that women in senior leadership teams remain in a minority.

The findings come only weeks after the Tech Talent Charter revealed that the number of women in UK-based technology roles increased only by 2% year-on-year, from 25% in 2020 to 27% in 2021.

It's feared that a lack of representation could cost the UK tech sector its world-leading position, according to one in two (51%) industry leaders surveyed by TLA.

According to founder Russ Shaw CBE, “the tech sector is still sorely lacking in diversity & inclusion, and that is simply wrong”.

“The data shows that after many years, the UK tech sector is still struggling to shift the needle when it comes to making this flourishing industry inclusive to all,” he said.

Shaw warned that tech leaders need to be more proactive on the issues of diversity and inclusion, adding that meaningful action is needed urgently:

“There is no time to waste here - the industry must take action before it is too late and the benefits which D&I can bring to the UK tech sector slip away. Fundamentally, technology should be inclusive and open to everyone. If we seize the opportunity now with practical steps and effective strategies, we can set the foundations for a future-facing sector that can keep growing and maturing, strengthened by the diversity of the talent which supports it,” he said.

The report findings come hours prior to TLA’s Tech for D&Iversity event that will feature addresses from DCMS secretary of state Nadine Dorries and London mayor Sadiq Khan.

The Australian government has allocated $6.7 million (£3.5 million) in additional funding to expand programmes that address the under-representation of women in STEM.

The government's Advancing Women in STEM Strategy was originally launched in 2019 at a time when women across the country made up only 28% of workers in STEM. This was later updated with the 2020 Action Plan, which aims to produce an Australian society that provides equal opportunity for people of all genders to work in STEM.

The latest funding will be divided over a handful of programmes, including $2 million over four years to extend the Superstars of STEM programme, delivered by Science and Technology Australia (STA). This is an initiative that boosts the profile of women in STEM by equipping them with advanced communication skills and opportunities in media, schools, and on stage.

The programme states it aims to grow a critical mass of celebrity women scientists to inspire future generations. The new funding will help it develop an additional 120 women into future leaders in the STEM sector and help boost their public profiles.

The Women in STEM ambassador has also been given $2.4 million over two years to ensure her work continues until 2025-26. The role was established in 2018 to advance gender equity in STEM in Australia, and is currently occupied by inaugural ambassador professor Lisa Harvey-Smith.

The ambassador works on a national scale to raise awareness of issues that can hold girls and women back from STEM study and work, and aims to increase their participation in the sector.

Lastly, an additional $2.3 million over four years will be used to expand the ambassador’s Future You programme. This helps 8-12 year olds envision a future for themselves in STEM by showcasing diverse role models and career pathways. The government said it has reached 3.1 million children, parents, and carers across the country since it launched in October 2020.

“Supporting girls and women with opportunities to excel in these areas is not only an important issue of equity, but it bolsters the pool of available STEM-skilled workers,” said Melissa Price, minister for Science and Technology.

The government highlighted that only 20% of girls reported being interested in STEM before 2018, but today upwards of 68% are interested in a STEM career.

One of its initiatives is producing a STEM Equity Monitor, which is published annually from 2020 to track system-level change to provide a consistent source of evidence.

For example, it found that in 2020, women’s participation in STEM occupations decreased to 13% from 14% in 2019. Previously this had increased by 3 percentage points between 2009 to 2019.

For comparison, women have comprised almost 50% of people in non-STEM occupations since 2009.

At this point, arguing for more diversity in tech is (or at least should be) like preaching to the converted. Multiple studies have shown the benefits of diverse technical teams, it remains an ever-present topic of conversation within the industry, and awareness of the need to increase diversity has never been higher.

Yet, even with all this attention, diversity across a variety of categories still remains a perennial problem, indicating greater awareness may not be having enough of an impact. So if we know there’s a problem, what’s stopping organisations from remedying it? We spoke to some of our expert panellists about why diversity in tech continues to be such a challenging issue to address, and what can be done to try and fix it.

It’s important to note the last few years have not been entirely without progress. Pressure from both campaign groups and industry bodies has led more companies to implement programmes aimed at boosting diversity and creating more inclusive working environments. As Studio Graphene founder and CEO Ritam Gandhi notes, however, these efforts aren’t yet universally adopted.

“I think the ones that are taking it seriously are either large organisations with top-down direction requiring managers to take it seriously, or smaller businesses and startups that have witnessed the benefits of a diverse team,” he says. “There are a number of smaller businesses in particular who don't prioritise diversity because it simply isn't a high enough priority – as they are battling for survival or growth, and that needs to come at any cost for them.

“I definitely think one of the big changes is the extent to which addressing the lack of diversity is being taken seriously by organisations and policymakers. For instance, I was impressed to see Web Summit giving a 90% discount on tickets for women in tech. One of the big realisations that everyone is coming to is that a ‘heterogeneous’ team can create better technology delivery outcomes to the table because everyone brings a different perspective to the table.”

The pace of change is slow, though, and the problem extends beyond entry-level development and helpdesk roles. According to our panellists, more effort is still needed to decrease gender and racial disparities at the higher levels of organisations.

Pipeline problems

“We are starting to see reports that show growth when it comes to things like the gender split in technology roles in the UK, but we're not seeing that same level of growth for more senior technology roles,” says Moonpig head of security Tash Norris. “This is even more true when you look at BAME representation at director-level and above in the technology sector.

“However, whilst the growth when it comes to greater diversity in tech isn't where it should be, I do think we're starting to see companies make more concrete commitments on their diversity and inclusion agendas. Diversity is so much more than gender and it's refreshing to start to see companies be more upfront about how they're creating more inclusive environments and contributing towards creating good 'pipelines' of talent, as well as nurturing existing talent.”

The question of how to shore up tech’s talent pipelines – the supply of candidates coming into roles for the first time – has been the subject of debate for some time. It’s widely regarded, though, as a critical step for long-term diversity improvements, particularly as it relates to women in technical roles.

“I agree with Tash about the need for diversity in senior roles, but that won't happen unless we are feeding the pipeline,” explains Natural History Museum CIO Alison Davis. “In my experience, when I’ve hired at senior roles, the candidates just aren't there, and this isn't just about how you write the job description.”

Davis’ experience is not unique; even when organisations actively want to bring a greater balance to their senior technical roles, they’re often stymied by a lack of available candidates. This is one of the principal reasons why improving the supply of diverse technical candidates has become such a priority.

“I think the biggest pipeline challenges lie in the deeper tech roles such as security and infrastructure,” adds Manila McLean, CIO of Newcastle Building Society. “I've witnessed over the past few years a move towards a better balance in software development, testing and IT services. In other digital and tech roles such as product design and UX, I'd say we have a really good balance across industry; certainly in the financial services sector organisations I’ve worked with.”

Looking at gender diversity in particular, one of the industry’s biggest goals has been to get more female students into STEM fields at an earlier age, and turning an interest in technical subjects into a fully-fledged career after university. The IT community, according to Davis, could help this effort by doing a better job of communicating that the industry includes a range of roles, from highly technical careers to ones that are much more people-focused, adding “it’s not all about coding!”.

“Alison referenced the importance of encouraging young women to choose STEM subjects,” Norris says, “and I agree this is absolutely part of the resolution to increasing our talent pipeline. At Moonpig we've recently partnered with two organisations, Stemettes and Cajigo to do exactly this. Investing time demystifying our sector and showing that it's a fulfilling (and interesting) career path can go a long way.”

“I agree,” McLean adds; “it starts with grass roots!”

Culture club

One of the key tasks for any company looking to create a diverse environment is to ensure that it’s a welcoming place for different kinds of people. This, however, can be fundamentally undermined by the culture of an organisation, Davis points out, and it’s about more than stamping out overt discrimination or bullying.

“Company culture has to affect diversity,” she explains. “It doesn't matter what you say, if there is an ethos that a company works in a certain way and that is counter to supporting inclusion, then you can have all the policies you like; it won't change. It doesn't have to be overt, but if for example, you’re expecting folks to travel all the time, that excludes people.”

“I do think institutional biases still play a role in promotion challenges,” Gandhi adds, “but perhaps less so ‘institutionally and more down to individual personalities. As individuals, we have personal experience in relation to who we've worked with and how things have worked out – this is controversial, but I do see individuals letting past experiences impact their present world decisions.”

A problematic company culture can manifest in other ways too, such as favouring more aggressive, confrontational management styles that are typically seen as masculine. Placing more emphasis on these kinds of styles can create an environment in which more empathetic personalities are viewed as less effective.

“I think that assertiveness is sometimes a mischaracterisation of being decisive,” says Norris. “Having the ability to be clear on, and committed to, a decision (whilst still being open to fair challenge and even maybe being wrong) is a great skill for a leader. Sometimes, being decisive is also demonstrated alongside assertiveness or even aggression and I believe it's misunderstandings around the skill that's actually being appreciated that can cause challenges around diverse hiring, progression and maintaining diverse talent.”

“Not that long ago, I was told by a fellow CIO with whom I was working on a project that he didn't really trust me to be capable,” Davis reveals, “because he hadn't seen me throwing my weight around, and he thought you had to do that to be a CIO – never mind that I'd been a successful one for a significant number of years.”

McLean suggests one of the reasons why technical roles in areas like UX and product design have a better gender balance than deeper tech areas, like infrastructure or security, may be because these areas tend to use less ‘masculine’ terminology. She also argues in order to improve overall diversity, companies might need to adopt a more interventionist approach.

“I‘ve been reflecting on things like gender quotas and a programmatic approach to achieving proof points in diversity and inclusion, and while I would prefer the culture to drive behaviours and outcomes, I do think in order to see a shift we need that ‘programme and quota’ element until it almost becomes a moot point. I’ve seen initiatives like the Women in Finance Charter, which requires organisations to commit to achieving a better gender balance across financial services, having successes in those organisations that have committed to it.”

Movers and shakers

This approach has gained favour in some circles, but it can be controversial. Some argue this kind of affirmative action can actually be damaging for equality, as it potentially implies someone may have got a job on the basis of box-ticking diversity initiatives, rather than their skills. Others, however, maintain this outcome can be avoided by employing quotas in a thoughtful and considered manner, which is what Norris’ boss – Moonpig CTO and fellow IT Pro Panellist Peter Donlon – has done.

“I initially struggled with quotas,” she admits. “I'd personally hate to think the main reason I got a role (or for anyone at the company to think that) is because I'm female. However, it can drive good behaviours; our CTO has previously said he won't 'click go' on hiring a role until he's seen a diverse candidate pool. This approach has really resounded with me. It's really ensured a lot of us to think about whether we're doing enough to attract (and seek out) diverse talent.”

A good HR team can really make a difference in this aspect. By emphasising the importance of building a diverse talent pool, IT leaders can work together with talent acquisition teams to ensure that a wide enough net is being cast in order to seek out a broad and diverse selection of candidates, while still hiring somebody suited to the job.

“I feel lucky to work with a really talented recruitment team who know how important it is to our team, and our CTO, to see a diverse candidate pool,” Norris says, “which means more than just gender diversity.”

“When I open a new role, our recruitment team will do things like challenge my job description, which I really dig – such as what skills are truly must-have, whether a degree is really needed, et cetera. We do need to ensure that whilst our recruitment teams have tough KPIs around hiring, that we're also making space (and creating a culture) where they feel okay to challenge what we're asking for and how we're asking for it.”

This is also a key part of the conversation McLean’s team has with HR departments and recruitment agencies when filling technical roles, noting that looking for candidates outside of traditional pipelines is one short-term measure she’s considering to boost diversity. McLean’s considering ways to attract candidates who are hoping to reskill and transition into a technical role, “almost like apprenticeships for mid-career candidates”.

“Yes, we have had a lot of success with internal hires,” agrees Davis. “One of our recent developers has moved over from our fundraising team, where she was doing some local data analysis to support operations. Project managers are easy to move around and can then move into technical areas if they want, and we have also had folks move into the service desk.”

“We have real challenges with recruitment because of the comparatively low salaries, which is why internal development is a good route for us. We're also looking at being more creative with apprenticeships, which we hope will open up roles to wider communities.”

Norris has firmly embraced internal recruitment and cross-skilling, but beyond its capacity for improving diversity, she pointed out that bringing in staff from different areas of the business (or different industries altogether) can introduce significant advantages from a problem-solving perspective.

“I'm a big fan of career-switchers! I have an ex-lawyer in my team and an ex-marketing executive joining soon. They have entirely different skill sets and perspectives to the rest of the team and continue to increase our effectiveness as a unit. Their strength areas are ones not often found in traditional cyber security applicants and so they've been able to join and upskill some team members whilst also learning the tech side themselves. I think there's still some way to go for companies to recognise and embrace the value added by mid-level career switchers (and not offer them entry-level salaries).”

Fostering true diversity is a challenge, and despite the industry’s stated willingness to improve matters, factors such as a lack of diverse applicants for technical positions and a need for cultural change have proved to be barriers to companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts.

There are ways to remedy this, however. Improving the pipeline by making technical roles more attractive to people from diverse groups is one strategy, as is mandating diverse candidate pools at the hiring stages and removing unnecessary qualification requirements. Whatever the approach, one thing is certain: the road to a genuinely diverse tech workforce is still very long indeed.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has co-founded a national US initiative with nonprofit NPower to foster more opportunities for women of color in tech.

The initiative, called Command Shift, brings together several companies to try and bridge tech's diversity gap by opening up more opportunities for women of color in the industry. NPower, a nonprofit that helps veterans and young adults from underserved communities find careers in tech, hopes to broaden recruitment practices with Command Shift to target women of color trained in technology but haven't yet attended college.

NPower said very little data is available on the employment of people in this group in the tech industry. It will work with labor market analytics company Burning Glass to research opportunities in tech companies for this demographic and encourage pay equity for women of color. It will also offer free IT certification training, it added.

AWS joins Citi Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, Guardian Life, Netscout, Vodafone Americas Foundation, Tata Consultancy Services, World Wide Technology, and others in co-founding the program.

AWS has appointed its head of global inclusion and DEI LaDavia Drane to the board. This is the second large diversity collaboration that it announced this month, as AWS also joined the Dream Collective to launch SheDares, an interactive learning program for women who want to change careers or return to the workforce.

AWS has battled recent allegations of gender and race discrimination after corporate employee Charlotte Newman sued the company and two of its executives for allegedly violating the Equality Pay Act. Newman, who was formerly economic policy advisor to Senator Cory Booker, had been a senior manager at the company since 2017. She also accused managers at AWS of sexual assault.

Amazon's latest diversity figures showed that 67.9% of its US workforce was non-white, while 50.5% was female. Those figures fell to 53% and 31.4% respectively when looking at corporate employees. Among people managers, 43.6% of US employees were non-white, while 29% were female. Just 29.3% of senior leaders were people of color, while 22.8% were women. The figures didn't break out representation in computing-related jobs.

The Dream Collective and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have launched SheDares, an interactive learning program for women seeking to change careers or return to the workforce.

The no-cost learning platform caters to “early- to mid-career professional women who might not have previously considered a role in the tech industry,” said AWS.

The SheDares initiative was inspired by research that revealed barriers to women contemplating a career in technology. These barriers included not knowing where to begin, perceptions of a steep learning curve, and a lack of visible female role models.

SheDares helps ease the transition with expert advice on how to break into the technology sector, worksheets on how to apply new learnings, a career skills quiz, and fireside chats with women who have successfully transitioned from non-tech to tech.

Four self-paced 45-minute modules offer participants the chance to improve their understanding of transferable skills and jumpstart their careers.

“In my experience, many skills are transferable to tech, such as creative thinking, problem solving, analytical thinking, and attention to detail,” said Melanie Botha, head of training and certification, at AWS.

“The Dream Collective and AWS will supplement the self-paced training with additional live panel events held throughout the year. These panels expose women to conversations with senior technology leaders who have pivoted their careers, including speakers from both AWS and industry partners.”

A participant can choose from three pathways after training: Build Skills, Ready to Pivot, and Explore a Little More. AWS has carefully curated each pathway to elevate the learning experience.

For instance, the Build Skills pathway outlines practical recommendations for deeper learning and includes cloud training courses designed by AWS experts. After completing the course, participants may also take the AWS certification exam.

The Ready to Pivot pathway is ideal for women seeking job opportunities at AWS, including its customers and partners in Australia. Also on this path are details on targeted job placement programs, such as AWS re/Start and AWS Tech U, an accelerated workforce development program.

Explore a Little More, as the name suggests, is for participants who wish to learn more. This pathway points participants to upcoming AWS events, including workshops on innovation, webinars on cloud computing, and more.

This article first appeared in The Business Briefing. To subscribe, click here.

Women can be found heading or taking senior roles in tech firms, but there isn’t gender parity in terms of numbers or profile. We’ve been bemoaning the relatively small number of women working in tech – including working at the top of the tech tree – for as long as there has been a tree, but it’s still a stark reality. What’s going on, and how do we get to that magic 50:50 ratio that would signal parity?

A look at the numbers

Research released on this year’s International Women’s Day (8 March) by developer recruitment platform CodinGame revealed something astonishing. Having analysed the 137 businesses identified by Deloitte’s 50 fastest growing tech startups 2020 and The Sunday Times’ Tech Track 100, (presumably eliminating duplicates across the two lists) CodinGame found that only seven had a female founder or co-founder (5.48%), and of the 251 founders or co-founders only 11 were women (4%).

When IT Pro asked Aude Barral, female co-founder of CodinGame what she thought of that, she talked about factors including stereotyping and unconscious bias which contribute to issues raising startup funds, as well as a lack of role models, saying: “If you never set a goal or imagine yourself in a particular role, it's much less likely that you will achieve that role.”

Bias, imposter syndrome and confidence

For those women with technical qualifications, unconscious bias can kick in as they go through the recruitment process, Keeley Crockett, IEEE member and professor in computational intelligence at Manchester Metropolitan University, says. “Women who graduate in fields such as computer science, can suffer from unconscious bias during the recruitment process, which means they find it difficult to get their first tech position. They then lose confidence and look to other industries,” she explains.

She also said that those looking for venture capital support can encounter bias, saying: “Women are also significantly less likely to secure venture capital than men – this rejection can cause women to have less confidence.”

Amanda Brock, CEO at OpenUK, a not-for-profit that represents open source software, hardware and open data companies in the UK, speaks of a ‘confidence gap’, particularly in terms of ‘imposter syndrome’ where people can feel they’ve got where they are because of luck, not ability. She says of imposter syndrome: “It’s a concept that I am all too familiar with, and one that held me back until it was explained to me. Once I recognised that particular dragon it was possible to work out my tactics in slaying it.”

For Brock this isn’t a gender issue – it’s an everyone issue. She tells The Business Briefing that it’s important to create a culture where everyone can feel they belong, and this means addressing a whole range of factors around inclusion. She says: “I recently heard it explained as diversity meaning you were invited to the dance, inclusion meaning you were able to dance and belonging was when you could choose the music”

We are much more aware of all these issues than we have ever been before, and with awareness come understanding. “The fact these conversations are happening is a major step forward. I was in my 40s before someone asked if that was why I was being self-effacing and diminishing my achievements,” Brock adds.

Owning the future

Keeley Crockett, like Barral, emphasises the need for role models and is clear about the importance of making connections into education. “Young women need role models such as influential women in tech, women who have led their own startups and women inventors,” she says. “This can be achieved by building stronger relationships between businesses and schools, colleges and universities.”

When it comes to founding startups that might find themselves in the Deloitte, Sunday Times or other ‘high flyer’ lists, there is some sage advice to be had. For Barrall, it’s important for would-be founders to realise they don’t need to be a technician. She tells The Business Briefing: “Many people point to the fact that women don't launch tech startups because they haven’t got the necessary programming skills, but that's simply not true. You can totally find a CTO to build your product with you.”

Brock, meanwhile, focuses on confidence, saying: “Failure is an inevitability of success. If we don’t fail, we don’t learn. We need to get much less British about that and be willing to both do it and admit it.” Crockett advises seeking out potential sources of support and funding that are less likely to be under the influence of unconscious bias. “Pitch innovative ideas that showcase the benefit of diverse and inclusive teams, be confident in those ideas and look for funding particularly targeted at women entrepreneurs such as The UK’s Women in Innovation Awards, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology awards and Girl Geeks,” she concludes.

Ask any tech company, and they’ll tell you that diversity is a major priority for them. Nevertheless, when it comes to technical teams, there are still many women who find themselves becoming the first female employee to join a division full of men.

This week, we’re speaking to Cloudera senior solutions engineer Ana Gillan about her experience as the first woman in Europe to join one of the company’s technical teams. We discuss what it’s like to be a trailblazer, the importance of self-confidence, and why ping-pong tables and free beer may actually be hurting your company’s diversity efforts.

Footnotes

• Seven ways to retain your female tech talent
• 10 best free coding boot camps
• How to confidently change careers to IT
• Taking the road less travelled to a career in IT
• What are your tech skills worth?
• How to get into the tech industry
• IT Pro Panel: The truth about talent
• Is remote working killing company culture?
• How do we fix security's toxic culture?
• Why you should prioritise employee experience
• The IT Pro Podcast: Why the tech skills gap doesn’t exist
• Mind over matter: Why work is more than work
• What is Hadoop?
• How to leverage Hadoop in the analytic data pipeline
• Five steps to big data project success
• The 8 best data science boot camps
• How to become a data scientist
• Culture Club: Creating a firm employees love
• Data scientist jobs: Where does the big data talent gap lie?
• Why do you need a good data team?
• IT hiring shows resilience in face of rising unemployment
• What should I be looking for when hiring a developer?
• The softer skills CIOs will need to adopt for the future
• How to become a T-shaped employee
• UK gov backs female entrepreneurs with £50k cash injection

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On International Women’s Day last year, I argued – perhaps provocatively – that it was time to get rid of women in tech, at least as a concept.

My argument was that if women in tech are to be treated equally then they need to be thought of equally, much like the police rank Women Police Constable, which was dropped in 2018 in favour of Police Constable being used across the board, irrespective of gender.

Increasingly, though, I think I was wrong. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learnt this year, it’s that there’s still a mountain to climb for women working in the tech industry.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to think of women leaders in tech. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, is of course a standout and has frequently spoken and written about the challenges women face in business in general, not just the tech industry.

In the past, I would have pointed also to Meg Whitman and Ginny Rometty, the CEOs of HPE and IBM respectively. But with Whitman retiring in 2018 and Rometty following suit in 2020, and both being replaced by men, the number of role models has dwindled sharply.

That’s not to say there are no women in tech and all hope is lost – we’ve spoken to a number of women on the IT Pro Podcast who are doing some really interesting work, including trying to bridge the data gap, penetration testing, and digitising the Natural History Museum’s extensive collection. But as for leading lights, they are few and far between

Prejudice that goes deeper

Of course one of the biggest stories of the past 12 months when it comes to women in tech – or, rather, the treatment of women in tech – is Google’s firing of ethical AI expert Timnit Gebru in December 2020.

The treatment of Gebru hits on a less talked about and less well understood issue within the tech space, intersectionality. Gebru was a double minority at Google; she is a woman and she is also black. Indeed, some of her key research into AI ethics has focused on how bad facial recognition software is at recognising darker-skinned women, and at an AI conference with over 8,000 attendees led her to co-found Black in AI.

Her firing stemmed from an email she wrote (published in full by Platformer) to an internal group for women and allies, expressing her frustration with the way that women and minorities are treated within the organisation. She points to the fact that while one colleague had taken it upon himself to hire more women into his team, there was no incentive to do so. She also accused the company of “silencing” the black researchers who had attended an all-hands meeting that was characterised by “an emotional show of exasperation”.

Her experience made headlines thanks to her status within the AI and tech industry and the profile of her now former workplace. But it’s far from unique – indeed, getting women into STEM careers increasingly isn’t a problem, but retention once they arrive in a still male dominated workplace with a culture that often works against them is another question entirely.

For once, this is something the many, many emails in my inbox offering comment for International Women’s Day are actually addressing. Yes, we should celebrate the improvements that have already been made, but recognising there’s more to be done – and that real change demands more than pretty words and empty pledges – is what we should all be focussing on now.

Aberystwyth University boasts the most gender diverse computer sciences teaching staff in the country with women representing a third of academics, although this may not be enough to encourage younger women into the field.

The Welsh university is followed by the University of St Andrews, where 33.1% of its computer sciences staff are women, and King’s College London (KCL), where women represent 31.9% of its academics.

This is according to an analysis of the 25 top computer science departments in the UK, with researchers from CrowdStrike also finding a correlation between gender diversity and quality of the computer sciences department. Of the departments with the highest gender diversity, 40% were in the top ten.

“It’s encouraging to see universities in the UK increasing female role models in the Computer Sciences to inspire the next generation and help to address the growing skills gap in technology disciplines,” said CrowdStrike’s chief human resources officer, JC Herrera.

“Alongside the initiatives being delivered in higher education to improve female representation in STEM, the private sector must play a pivotal role too by partnering with trailblazing organisations and charities, as well as offering scholarships and innovative apprenticeship schemes. If we want to continue driving our industry forward, we must address these inequities.”

The analysis was inspired by recent research that showed women are 52% more likely to consider a career in a STEM subject if inspired by a female role model. This lack of gender diversity in the teaching staff at institutions, therefore, is fuelling a vicious cycle that discourages women.

Female students are less likely to study computer sciences at a higher level or pursue a career in the field unless they can identify with a role model. This means fewer academics in the field corresponds with a reduced likelihood that female students will pursue computer science-related careers and, in turn, inspire others to follow suit.

Despite the slight encouragement these figures represent, a paltry 13% of students studying computer science-related courses in the UK are women, according to UCAS figures. Research from late 2019 also found the proportion of women in tech roles was flatlining.

By contrast, there are encouraging signs in secondary education where figures last year showed more female students in the UK had chosen to take the Computing A-level than ever before. Overall entries for the course rose by 12% this year, with BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT finding roughly 21,000 had enrolled through UCAS.

While women still only comprised a fractional 15% of overall entries, more than a third of women, 34%, achieved an A or A* versus 26% of men.

Our working lives were turned upside down in 2020 – in some cases, irrevocably. However, research shows that women are under additional stress during the pandemic, particularly within the confines of lockdown. A study this summer by King’s College London and Ipsos MORI suggests that women still bear the brunt of childcare duties during lockdown.

Women also reportedly feel more stress and anxiety than men during the lockdown, with US research indicating that the gender gap in mental health has widened significantly during the pandemic.

“Longer term, I think the mental health impact on women should not be ignored, particularly in those homes where women bear the brunt of the burden of home and school care,” Margaret Adam, AVP European tech ecosystems services, SMB/start-up and partnering ecosystems at IDC, tells IT Pro.

Women in the IT industry are no exception to this. “The IT industry is fast-moving and fast-changing, and this brings its own levels of stress, that combined with emotional and household care and duties can be overwhelming and, I believe, will take a toll,” she says.

How the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated underlying issues for women in business was one of the topics discussed at a recent women in technology event that coincided with the launch of Samsung Pioneers. This initiative, the company says, is a platform to champion women in tech and aims to bring together brands, industry and non-profits to share advice, guidance and advocate for change.

“In recent times, it’s been really challenging for us all. We know first-hand how we’re all struggling to meet this new normal,” professor Sally Eaves, senior policy advisor at Forbes Technology Council, said at the event.

Tess Smillie, VP of people at Samsung UK, Ireland & Europe HQ, said it was important for women to seek out others for support and offer their support in return. “There is so much value and power in shared experiences and learning through others. It can be as basic as having someone to talk with or to listen,” she said.

Existing and potential challenges facing women

The impact of COVID-19 on women in tech is unavoidably linked to discussion of progress made in gender equality, how to tackle unconscious bias, and the existing and potential challenges facing women in the industry.

When asked to share advice to help empower women within the tech industry, Jacqueline De Rojas, president of TechUK, noted that the greatest threat to diversity is “the belief that someone else will fix it”.

“It is therefore incumbent upon us to play our part – the smallest of actions, kindness and encouragement or piece of advice from those who’ve ‘gone before’ can make the biggest of differences,” she said.

“Collaborate with other women in tech, aim to become a job creator rather than a job seeker, mentor the next generation when you can and get involved in your local community to give insight on how accessible the world of tech can be,” added Hadeel Ayoub, founder and CTO of assistive technology company, BrightSign.

IDC’s Adam tells IT Pro it's important to be transparent about the challenges women are facing during the pandemic. “Try not to do it all, but to experiment with ways of working that enable you to stay on top of both home, family and work commitments,” she says.

“This is a chance for the industry to reset expectations on what is feasible. It’s likely that many companies will have headcount freezes and, in some cases, redundancies so the workload is likely to increase. It’s vital to try to find a way of working that doesn’t lead to burnout.”

Technology is part of the solution

On the flip side, one of the biggest takeaways from the event was that technology is also part of the solution, in that it allows both a remote and flexible approach to working.

“Women have been shouting about about flexible working for decades,” said Tanya Weller, director of Samsung Showcase, KX, at Samsung Electronics. “The pandemic has forced those small and medium businesses that perhaps have struggled – whether it’s been a trust issue or a technology setup issue – [to say] ‘we have to do this, there’s no other option’.”

Ultimately, said De Rojas, women need to champion and support one another in the current crisis, and into the future – and technology will continue to play a part in that.

“We’ve done a great job of embracing technology, and it has been fabulous for social connection. And I certainly have really leant on the sisterhood in tech when I just needed to reach out and have a chat. Or just things that you would normally have done with a human have been certainly enabled by technology. I would say that I’m a tech optimist, but frankly, I don’t know how we would have got through the pandemic without it.”

Tips for everyone to avoid burnout

• Prioritise your mental health and try to carve out time for self-care
• With video conferencing, calls can now be recorded. Instead of trying to attend every call, ask if you can listen back if required
• Try to keep some distance between work and home life, even if it’s as simple as short walk or run before or after work
• Keep calls to shorter durations, blocking time in calendar for work or personal time
• Be disciplined about the hours of work to ensure resiliency in the ‘next normal’ of work

Trend Micro has extended its partnership with Girls in Tech in a bid to address the gender gap in the cyber security industry.

According to global non-profit organization Girls in Tech, females made up less than 20% of new hires in the tech industry over the last 20 years.

Trend Micro, which established its own program in 2018 called Close the Gap that provides financial assistance, scholarship opportunities, and fundraisers to help women and other minorities in the tech industry, this week announced an extension of its partnership with the non-profit.

The partnership is intended to create an educated, qualified talent pool of women who are ready to help fix the shortage of cyber security personnel globally.

As a part of this effort, Trend Micro is creating a new Cyber Security Fundamentals course specifically for Girls in Tech. This course will be designed with today’s market needs in mind and will include cyber security essentials and an introduction to malware analysis and network security threats, among other things.

Eva Chen, co-founder and CEO of Trend Micro said: “I’m delighted to be teaming with Girls in Tech to further advance our efforts. Especially in light of recent events, I believe we must celebrate and encourage diversity at every turn today. It’s what makes us human.”

Students can now register for the free Cyber Security Fundamentals course. The virtual training will take four hours per week running from August 31 to September 25.

With tech industries booming in 2020, the fight for more women in tech and cyber security has been a hot topic.

When it comes to gender gaps, most people are familiar with the problem of recruiting women into technology, science, engineering and manufacturing roles, to say nothing of pay disparity and lack of representation at senior management levels.

A less well known problem, however, is the gender data gap. Biased data sets fed into artificial intelligence and machine learning systems can disadvantage women in areas ranging from recruitment to healthcare and even financial services. It’s also a problem at the other end of the funnel, with organisations losing out on potential talent, customers and risking red faces if the imbalance in the data sets used to make these decisions is made public.

This week, we’re joined by Constanza Di Gennaro, COO of BioBeats to discuss what the gender data gap is, its impact and what we can do to close it.

We also discuss Google’s new deal to provide cloud services to the UK government, Zoom’s growing revenue streams and continued security concerns, and plans to protect UK startups from takeovers by foreign companies.

Footnotes

News

• UK government to protect tech firms from foreign takeovers
• Google Cloud signs deal with the UK government
• Zoom capitalises on high demand with 169% revenue surge
• Zoom will offer stronger encryption for paid accounts

In-depth

• Female software devs 'earn more than men until promotion', report finds
• Can data beat the gender pay gap?
• The IT Pro Podcast: Can AI ever be ethical?
• How to spot – if not fix – algorithmic bias
• AI framework to prevent sexist and racist algorithms
• IBM to snuff out AI bias with updated Watson OpenScale
• Can you trust AI?
• Automating the end of discrimination
• UK police warn of bias in AI tools

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What springs to mind when you hear the phrase “women in tech”? Maybe it’s a sassy young coder or quirky analyst from a TV show. Maybe it’s lunches and breakout sessions at tech conferences to network and discuss the problems of gender diversity (or lack thereof) and discrimination. Maybe it’s government initiatives to encourage girls and young women to pursue training and careers in STEM. At a push, maybe it’s a high-profile woman in the tech industry, like Sheryl Sandberg.

Even if it’s not one of the examples I”ve just listed, it’s probably fairly easy to come up with one archetype or another.

Now what if I ask you to think about a ‘man in tech’? While your mind might possibly flick to the ‘nerd’ stereotype, other than that it’s likely just a man, perhaps bearded and fairly casually dressed.

This is the fickle problem of ‘women in tech’ pitches and initiatives. By designating tech workers who identify as female as ‘women in tech’, we’re in danger of reinforcing the idea that this is not the norm – a woman in tech is a rare species, a delicate flower that must be protected, something unusual and irregular. A fish out of water, perhaps.

Drop the W

Of course, the tech industry isn’t the only one where women have had to fight for recognition. It was only in 2018 that women were able to fill roles in all areas of the British Armed Forces, including close combat, for example.

But when it comes to women in tech, I think a better example to look at is women in the police service.

Many readers will remember a time when police officers in the UK were divided into two categories: police officers and women police officers. This gave us PCs and WPCs, DCs and WDCs, and so on.

While women may not have had quite the same role as men when they were first allowed to join the police force in 1915, by the mid-to-late 20th Century they certainly did. In acknowledgement of that (perhaps belatedly), the “W” was dropped in 1999, with all police officers being just that – police officers – irrespective of their gender.

That’s not to say that any differences or difficulties go unacknowledged and undealt with; The British Association for Women in Policing continues to exist and advocate for the needs and concerns of women working in the police service. But at a base level, removing the “W” from police ranks recognises there’s nothing fundamentally strange or different about a woman being a police officer.

This should be the case for women in the tech industry as well. “Female coders”, “geek girls”, “women in tech” should go the same way as the WPC – they are just coders, geeks, techies.

Striking a balance

Moving from a campaign for access and recognition to one of integration and inclusivity doesn’t mean we must never talk about issues affecting women in the tech industry ever again, though. In the same way that the British Association for Women in Policing continues to exist as an advocacy organisation even if women police have disappeared as a category, so we should continue to advocate for the voices and experiences of women in the tech industry.

But treating “women in tech” as some kind of special class does nothing more than reinforce the idea that a woman with a computer is an oddity, and further increase the ‘otherness’ felt by many women in a field that is often still hostile.

Women employed in the technology industry earn 18% less than their male counterparts, a report by PwC has found, suggesting more work needs to be done to address the gender pay gap.

According to this year’s Women in Work Index, women make up 23% of the boards in technology, media and communications (TMT) in the G7 countries - the highest proportion was in France, at 38%.

The UK ranked 5th in the Women in Technology Index for the G7, and was followed by Italy and Japan. The former has the lowest female share of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) graduates, while the latter had the lowest female share of technology employment and share of women on boards in TMT in the G7.

Overall, women comprise 30% of the tech industry, while only one in five of ICT graduates are female.

The report outlined some of the challenges faced by women in the technology sector, such as gender biases, often stemming from the lack of female role models, which could also be attributed to women not having “the same access to core, creative technical roles as men”. Instead, female tech employees were “more often clustered into execution and project management roles”.

On the other hand, women were less susceptible than men to lose their jobs due to automation. However, that is mostly attributed to the fact that women are more often employed in the sectors such as health and social care, which are less automatable than male-dominated sectors, such as transport and manufacturing.

Researchers at PwC also found that women tended to lack the necessary technical knowledge, such as STEM-related skills and numeracy, “despite no gender differences in ability for learning these skills”, suggesting that the reason behind this might be cultural. They added that companies should be “promote opportunities for women and improve female representation in tech” by promoting inclusivity in the workplace, recruiting more female employees, and helping train the next generation of women in tech.

“That's one of the reasons why the Sky [Women in Tech] Scholarship happened,” said Rachel Clancy, a recipient of the 2019 scholarship. “They were trying to figure out as many avenues as possible to combat that gender imbalance.”

Clancy agrees that the technology sector is male-dominated, that is why she focuses on working with other women when developing her game, Get Closer. The Sky Women in Technology Scholarship was launched in September 2017 and provides its scholars with £25,000 to develop their ideas.

“There are too few women working in technology,” said Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive at Sky. “This is a problem that needs resolving, and we’re fully committed to finding that resolution.”

It’s no secret the IT industry is heavily male-dominated, with women traditionally struggling to achieve representation for reasons ranging from implicit bias to discouragement from taking up STEM subjects at school.

While there are plenty of success stories, important to recognise as we approach International Women’s Day, there are also tales that speak to toxic work cultures, workplace discrimination, and women being overlooked for opportunities.

The last few years have heard a crescendo in the commotion on ‘women in tech’, although it’s hardly translated into concrete improvements. For instance, progress has stalled for the Tech Talent Charter (TTC), an organisation dedicated to raising gender balance in the UK. Women held just 24% of technical roles among TTC signatories last year, a 2% dip against figures from 2018.

The picture isn’t unified across the entire tech landscape, however. The exciting frontier of cloud computing is challenging the narrative, Ingram Micro Cloud’s Microsoft business manager Violetta Yordanova tells IT Pro, with the sector’s rapid expansion opening up new opportunities and roles for women to fill.

“As cloud is a relatively new technology, my experience of being a ‘woman in tech’ may not be typical, as the cloud industry is extremely diverse,” Yordanova says. “In fact, my team has an equal gender split with a real mix of personalities, cultures and strengths from people who grew up with this technology.”

Her experiences are reflected by those of F5 Networks’ principal threat evangelist with the office of the CTO, Lori MacVittie, who feels the cloud industry is more welcoming because there’s less of an ‘establishment’.

“Whether it’s coincidental or not, the rise of cloud was accompanied by a significant drive to recognise and support women ‘in cloud’,” MacVittie explains. “The culture of the cloud industry is very welcoming and cloud as a technology is often credited as democratising the resources needed for women to take their place as entrepreneurs.”

Startups tend to be more progressive because technology has allowed women to more effectively drive their ideas to fruition, she adds. There’s been an explosion of women-led cloud startups, partially fuelled by a rise of flexible working practices.

“The adoption of cloud-based solutions in the workplace has also meant that it’s easier to balance work and life, because the tools you need to work are always accessible from anywhere – even home,” she continues. “I see that accessibility as broadening corporate acceptance of remote work when it’s necessary and alleviates stress on women who struggle with work-life balance.”

While many, including MacVittie and Yordanova, recognise differences, for senior software engineer with Red Hat, Rebecca Simmonds, these are few and far between, despite the fact the growing cloud segment is fed with plenty of resources, she tells IT Pro.

“At Red Hat, we have equal opportunities for all of the different sectors in the company, not just cloud. So my experience as I have moved around different companies is that as long as you are willing to work hard then there are similar opportunities in any of the tech sectors,” Simmonds says.

Despite these opportunities, the challenges that women face persist, albeit differing from person-to-person. For Simmonds, as she moved from a startup to a Java EE company, and then to Red Hat, she has felt pressured into always needing to demonstrate her expertise.

“Proving myself and making a great impression when meeting people has been the biggest challenge I had to tackle,” she says. “Women in the tech sector are still stigmatised, and I constantly feel pressured to demonstrate my knowledge. The good thing is that it’s really motivated me to work harder, push my limits, and fight the stereotypes in the industry.”

It’s similar to the experiences of F5 Networks’ MacVittie, meanwhile, who hasn’t come across many roadblocks based on her gender, although there are aspects of workplace relationships with men that have proven frustrating.

“Throughout my career I have experienced male colleagues who wouldn’t take direction from a woman, and also men at conferences who are completely taken aback when they realise I know what I am talking about,” she says. “My question is, what made you assume I didn’t? It’s frustrating but something I try to move past quickly – you can’t let people like that bring you down!”

She also sees wrestling with career progression a major challenge, especially as women become more established in their roles and industries. There are, she adds, fewer options to progress the more established one becomes, with women having to be more strategic about their personal development to ensure they have the skills needed to advance.

“The challenge, in early stages, is to establish yourself in your field of expertise and figure out how to build a reputation that will help you later when you start planning more strategically. Choosing a company that best suits your priorities for your career and life is an important factor in balancing both. If your priority is family, you don’t want to work for a company that doesn’t respect that. If your priority is your career, you want to make sure there are opportunities to [progress] where you work.”

This represents only half of the equation, however, argues head of EMEA and VP of global customer experience with Dropbox, Adrienne Gormley. Effective management plays a critical role in personal development, and women must be empowered to feel at ease with the demands of their work and home lives.

“I really believe that it’s part of being an effective manager today to help others balance their life at home with work, and to model setting boundaries for your team,” she says. “We can bring empathy for the pressures of home life into the workplace, underlining that we understand the demands on individuals, whether as parents, or carers looking after a relative or other commitments. Looking at how we can make the workplace easier for people is deeply important to me: how we can help alleviate the pressure of trying to do it all.”

Gormley’s biggest piece of advice is for women to set their boundaries early on in their careers, and take an active role in their futures. Moreover, if something isn’t working, take a risk and speak up, or ultimately make a move.

“Different people will be there for you, but they come and go, ultimately it’s your journey. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you can really be empowered to make choices and changes, and your actions will help shape the workplace at large.

The number of women in STEM jobs has risen by 350,000 to one million in the last ten years, but this represents a modest rise as an overall proportion in roles that range from engineering to IT.

Women comprise 24% of the core STEM workforce in 2019, but occupy just 16% of all UK tech roles - a figure that has remained constant since 2009, according to the WISE campaign for promoting women in STEM.

Based on an extrapolation of data obtained from the government's annual population survey, the proportion of women in core STEM is expected to reach just 29% by 2030. This, according to WISE, is one percentage point shy of the 'critical mass' at which women can begin to effect real change in traditionally male-dominated sectors.

Despite celebrating a million women now in STEM roles, WISE also learned the figure has dropped as a proportion between 2018 and 2019. This is reflected across different role types as either a fall in participation or stagnation, with only management roles seeing a healthy rise in the proportion of female occupancy since 2018.

"Overall, the drop in the past year in the percentage of core-STEM roles filled by women is a concern, and the pace of change will need to increase in the coming years to get the trend moving in a positive direction again," analysis by WISE found.

"There is a particular need to get women into tech roles and keep them there -- the data shows that women are missing out in the growth of a workforce which currently includes over one million people."

There are 180,600 female IT professionals currently in work compared with 181,500 in 2018, which represents a slight decrease after several years of sustained growth. The drop in the percentage of female IT staff can also be explained by a sharp rise in the number of men in tech roles between 2018 and 2019 of 60,000.

Moreover, of the 300,000 more people working in tech jobs in the last decade, just 55,000 are occupied by women. The proportion of women in tech in the UK has been stuck at 16%, therefore, with WISE suggesting more work needs to be done to promote workplace diversity.

The figures are alarming at a time when more sound is being made about women in tech than ever before. There are not only more independent organisations putting more effort into promoting women in tech roles, but individual firms have claimed to be putting more onus on raising the level of female participation.

The Tech Talent Charter, for example, has produced a set of analyses outlining how well different companies across different sectors and sizes are doing on this front. Its latest report found that micro-organisations were the most successful in achieving a 50:50 gender balance, and found that large organisations had much to learn from their approach.

WISE analysis chimes with research published earlier this year that found almost half of women feel workplace diversity is not a priority for their company.

One of the biggest barriers to more women in tech, a different piece of research gleaned, was male attitudes having a negative effect. Almost double the amount of women versus men, for example, answered that they didn't feel respected at work.

Diversity is a persistent problem within the tech sector, and a lack of diversity leads to less-capable IT teams and lower-quality end results, as well as contributing to a less welcoming atmosphere for minority candidates.

In the latest episode of the IT Pro Podcast, Adam and Jane are joined by CW Jobs director Dominic Harvey to discuss how organisations can improve diversity and plug their skills gaps by upskilling existing employees from other areas of the business.

We also discuss whether or not the DDoS Labour was hit with counts as a hack, the future of Docker after the Mirantis acquisition, and why the Motorola Razr is the original status symbol.

Footnotes

News

• Labour Party targeted by ‘large scale’ cyber attack
• Apple sales boss claims children using a Chromebook will 'not succeed'
• Mirantis snaps up Docker's enterprise platform
• Motorola gives the iconic Razr a stunning 2019 redesign

Feature

• Male attitudes the biggest barrier to women in technology
• Amazon reveals funding scheme to get more women into tech
• Diversity not a company priority claim nearly half of women in tech
• Young women likely to have the coding skills employers want
• Why diversity in AI is critical to building a fairer society
• AI Industry "overwhelmingly" white and male
• Tech Talent Charter: Micro-organisations leading the way for gender diversity
• Why women are better at coding than men

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Oracle has been accused of underpaying its female and minority employees by over $400 million over a four-year period, adding to the allegations of rampant exploitation and discrimination at the company.

The news comes as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the Silicon Valley giant by the United States Department of Labor. The suit was initially filed in January 2017, and was sparked by an investigation into Oracle after it was awarded government contracts worth in excess of $100 million annually.

According to a new motion, Oracle's preference when recruiting was to hire Asian engineers with student visas. Due to the nature of these visas, the complaint says, these employees were "dependent upon Oracle for sponsorship" in order to stay in the country - allowing Oracle to underpay them, secure in the knowledge that they couldn't look for another job.

From 2013 to 2016, the US government claimed that Oracle's college recruitment program hired around 450 Asian employees, which made up 90% of the program's total capacity. Just six black people were hired by the program during the same time-frame.

In addition to this, Oracle also allegedly underpays its female, black and Asian staff compared to white men. The company sets starting salaries based on how much a new hire previously earned at their old job - a practise which is widely known to perpetuate wage discrimination by ensuring that unfair salaries are carried over to a new company. The motion also alleges that Oracle purposefully steers non-white, non-male employees into lower-paid roles, with some women making up to 20% less money for the same work in 2016.

The new allegations echo a class-action suit submitted just days ago, which seeks to represent more than 4,000 female employees which Oracle has supposedly underpaid by an average of $13,000 per year. That suit alleges that Oracle was aware of the issues, but failed to correct them.

"Oracle's suppression of pay for its non-White, non-male employees is so extreme that it persists and gets worse over long careers; female, Black, and Asian employees with years of experience are paid as much as 25% less than their peers," a new document filed yesterday in relation to the Department of Labor's case said. "Oracle's compensation practices cause an increasing pay gap as those employees devote more of their lives to Oracle."

The suit focuses on staff based at Oracle's California headquarters, in roles such as support, IT and product development. The department estimated that Oracle had underpaid its black, female and Asian staff by a collective total of $401 million, but noted that because it had continued underpaying them after the end of the period for which the department had records, the actual total is likely much higher. In fact, the department said that Oracle has either withheld or destroyed information which the company thought would look "unfavorable to Oracle".

Oracle could face stiff penalties if it loses the case; as well as having to repay lost wages to its affected employees, hire new staff to address the imbalance and alter its hiring practices to ensure this doesn't happen in future, the department is campaigning for Oracle's government contracts to be cancelled and for the company to be banned from future government contracts until it corrects its allegedly discriminatory practices.

As with the previous claims of discrimination on Monday, an Oracle spokesperson declined to comment on the new allegations.

HPE CEO Antonio Neri has restated his intent to continue improving diversity within the company, emphasising the importance of creating a strong pipeline to bring diverse staff into the organisation at all levels.

Speaking at HPE Discover, the company's annual conference in Las Vegas, Neri told IT Pro that the company was still committed to the ongoing process of building a more diverse workforce.

"We went through six and a half years of transformation, which changed our demographics quite a bit," he said, "but this is a journey. You can't just reverse it overnight... This is something that we have to work on all the time."

Neri highlighted the number of female staff members that work within Hewlett Packard Labs, the company's technical research division, as well as women like vice-president of AI, Beena Ammanath, and Susan Benzel, the senior engineering programme manager behind the memory-driven computing project known as The Machine.

"For someone who used to work in an Italian company with only one man and 75 women, it's not a problem for me," he joked, adding "you have to make an effort, and we have to hold our people accountable to it."

While HPE has committed to making progress, it would appear that - in the UK, at least - it still has room to improve. According to the company's latest gender pay gap report (which companies in the UK are legally required to release) its workforce is more than three-quarters male, and the ratio of men to women in HPE UK's top pay quartile is around seven to one.

The workforce stats are similar to Google's latest diversity report, published last week, which shows little progress in the four years since it started revealing such statistics.

At HPE Discover Europe 2017, outgoing CEO Meg Whitman acknowledged that the company had not done enough for diversity during her tenure, saying "we all have got to do a better job of hiring a diverse group of individuals in early careers out of college and graduate school".

In addition to gender diversity, Neri also indicated that he wants to focus on making HPE more racially diverse. "Diversity comes in different forms," he said; "one form is obviously hiring females in the executive branch, but also ethnicity." As an example, he pointed out the hiring last year of Archana 'Archie' Deskus as the company's global CIO.

He stated that while diversity is used as a metric by the company, HPE also makes a point of having diversity candidates as a specific part of the pipeline whenever it's hiring for a new position. "It's not just about executives; it's also career technical path," he said.

Like HPE, its sister company HP Inc has also signed up to a UK initiative to improve diversity in tech workforces, called the Tech Talent Charter, which wants to commit 500 companies to publishing diversity stats by 2019.

The PC and printer business's UK MD, George Brasher, recently outlined some of the measures it's taking to improve diversity in its business in an interview with IT Pro, such as return to work programmes for women who've taken maternity leave, and having a woman on every vacancy shortlist.

Picture: Bigstock

Girls now comprise less than a tenth of Computer Science students in the UK, with 0.4% of female pupils choosing to study it at A-Level.

In comparison, nearly 5% of boys studied it at that level, according to the Department for Education's report on take-up of academic subjects in 2017.

This disparity is similar for other STEM subjects, like maths, where the ratio of girls studying it drops to 18.1% compared to 33% of males.

Though girls made up more than half of A-level students in 2017, boys formed 56% of tech-level students - equivalent to A-levels - and 57.9% of tech certificate students.

Professor Robert Stevens, head of the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, wrote on the university website: "Computer Science is a good choice for anyone who wants the means to give vent to their curiosity, imagination and creativity."

Women comprise 24% of the Computer Science staff at Manchester, which Stevens called "unusually high" for a UK university - but not high enough, saying: "I'd like this number to be even higher; for Computer Science in the UK we do well in terms of numbers of women, but I want to do much better."

The university's page on career prospects reports that the number of graduates with Computer Science skills is dropping worldwide, but that the demand and potential earning capacity for graduates are high.

Microsoft faced nearly 240 complaints of discrimination and harassment from women in technical roles between 2010 and 2016, it has been revealed.

A court filing made public on Monday as part of a 2015 lawsuit also alleges that the company systematically denied pay rises or promotions to women, all accusations that Microsoft denies.

Of the 238 complaints referenced in the filing, 118 related to gender discrimination specifically. Microsoft, however, only upheld one of them following internal investigations.

The plaintiffs' lawyers, who are attempting to proceed with a class action lawsuit that could cover more than 8,000 women, called the number of complaints "shocking", and "lacklustre" in the filing, first revealed by Reuters.

Microsoft has countered the claims by saying those taking legal action have been unable to cite a single example of a pay or promotion problem that its investigations team should have acted on but didn't.

Redmond told IT Pro "We want employees to speak up if they have concerns and we strive to make it easy for them to do so. We take all employee concerns seriously and have a fair and robust system in place to investigate employee concerns and take appropriate action when necessary."

The filing is part of a number of documents being exchanged ahead of an upcoming trial, first submitted by Microsoft for the lawsuit's discovery process in October 2017. The filing was kept secret until now as Microsoft argued making the number of complaints and their outcomes public could deter other women from coming forward to report incidents of discrimination or harassment in the future.

However, that scenario was "far too remote a competitive or business harm" to justify keeping the documents sealed, a court official found, which led to the document being made publicly available this week.

A date for the trial is yet to be set and the presiding judge is yet to rule whether or not the case can be turned into a class action.

Main image credit: Bigstock

Earlier this year, EasyJet's chief executive Johan Lundgren announced he cut his pay to match his predecessor Carolyn McCall. It's a commendable move and one that went some way to setting an example that other companies can follow. But while this should be celebrated, actions like this alone will not be enough to close the gender pay gap.

For that, we need to look at the root cause: the lack of women in senior positions.

In tech roles there simply aren't as many women as there are men a quick scan through the diversity breakdown of top tech firms will show you that. Yet even the women who do take up these roles tend to get the short straw when it comes to chances for career advancement. In fact, the Women, Work and the State of Wage Inequality report, launched in April last year, highlighted that 53% of the time, companies only interview male candidates for a given role.

It's not just a lack of opportunities once they're employed, either. A US survey called Elephant in the Valley found 75% of women have been asked about family life, marital status or children in an interview, highlighting further bias in the interview process simply because some women want to start a family. And those returning from maternity leave can expect to be financially worse off, too, earning a third less than men, according to an IFS report.

Until we solve these issues, the gender pay gap won't be going anywhere.

Unconscious bias

Unconscious bias is one of the underlying reasons for this imbalance in hiring and compensation. Try as we might, prejudice will work its way into our minds and influence our choices; as humans we can't help it.

In business this affects the hiring process, in particular at the interview stage, which can work against us when trying to create a balanced workforce with equal pay; research has found that unconscious bias can profoundly influence recruitment and selection decisions. As part of a recent experiment, researchers asked people to rate two identical CVs, one with a male and one with a female name. The participants, made up of an equal amount of males and females, both rated the male candidate as significantly more competent than the identical female one, and they also suggested a higher salary for the male applicant.

One way around unconscious bias is to hire new employees and set their pay based on data rather than human judgement. This means every decision on pay is made using data. Data doesn't lie, and it can't be biased. It doesn't take into account the fact the employee might be female -- it simply looks at their skills and experience. The benefits of doing this are huge, not only for the individual employees but businesses and the wider economy.

According to research by McKinsey, companies with more gender or racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians. They also rank higher on indicators of organisational cooperation and health, and report higher profitability and returns on equity.

More than that, $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 "if every country matched the progress towards gender parity of its fastest-improving neighbour," according to another McKinsey study. These claims were further bolstered by a London Stock Exchange report that revealed 1,279 women-led companies have contributed a total of 25.9 billion in revenue to the UK economy.

I'm hopeful we'll close the gender pay gap eventually, but it won't happen overnight and will require collective industry action for parity to be achieved. At Hired, we ensure we not only champion this level of transparency in hiring and pay, but that we too publically share our wage and diversity figures.

It's important that we all work together to close the pay gap. For now, making these small but significant changes will help us move towards that ultimate goal.

Gordon Smith is head of UK at Hired

This article originally appeared on Alphr

"We have to make it weird for people to walk in a room where everyone's not in the room. If you look around a room and everyone looks like you, get out of that room. Or change that room. Whether you go to a restaurant, whether you go to your kid's school, whether you go to work if you look around, and everyone's not in the room, change that room."

These were the simple, yet remarkable, words uttered by Hollywood star Natalie Portman during an interview with BuzzFeed post her calling out of the all-male nominees during the award she announced at the Golden Globes back in January.

On International Women's Day (IWD), I just wanted to once again shine the spotlight on what was said by but one influential, successful and powerful woman.

It's not just limited to Tinsel Town. It's a sentiment that bears true in all walks of life and none more so than business. Companies have so much more to gain by being inclusive rather than divisive and by embracing diversity rather than opting for carbon copy employees.

It's true that the number of women now working (either full or part-time) has increased in recent years. However, what hasn't quite moved with the times is the gender pay gap. Indeed, a 2017 World Economic Forum report focused on this issue suggested parity is at least two centuries away.

The IWD website talks about the "global movement of advocacy, activism and support". But this doesn't mean it's the exclusive preserve of women. In fact, I strongly believe that it's incredibly important that we recognise EVERYONE who is working hard to lead the charge for real change.

Take Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff as just one example. Two of his employees (Leyla Seka and Cindy Robbins) came to him and asked him to review pay across the organisation. He did so, discovered the findings showed great disparity and set about putting that right. To the tune of $6 million.

"Our higher purpose is to drive the Age of Equality," said Benioff.

The cloud giant also has a chief equality officer in former Microsoft executive Tony Prophet, who states: "Inequality, in all its forms - gender, LGBTQ, racial, or otherwise is an issue that every company must address for their own benefit and to create a better world. We believe businesses need to focus on closing the Equality gap with the same energy put into creating new products and markets."

It's understandable that it's no mean feat for other businesses to follow suit, particularly those on the smaller end of the scale. It will cost them money; it will take time. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.

This brings us back to Portman. She spoke at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference in 2017 about the importance of equal pay, not because someone is someone's daughter/wife/girlfriend, but because we are all people. And people deserve to be treated equally.

We're only in the third month of 2018 and it feels like we've already achieved quite a lot at least in terms of hitting people head-on with the issues and the fact no longer is it OK to just accept that's the way it is. This year, International Women's Day is all about pressing for change. And while we're making good progress, we're on a journey, not at the destination.

So, my message to whoever is reading this right now is to value everybody. Your organisation has more to offer customers, partners and shareholders with a diverse workforce than without. And you as an individual and an employee have more to gain as a result too. But don't let the main difference your company brings to the table be the numbers people see on their pay cheques for doing the same work. That's far from sufficient progress.

Main image credit: Shutterstock

Trainline had teamed up with Code First: Girls to pledge to help 20,000 women learn to code by 2020.

With International Women's Day on Thursday, the two organisations are launching a free programme looking to get many more women into STEM roles. According to the UK Office of National Statistics' most recent figures, only 3.9% of tech and telco professionals in the UK were female programmers and software developers and Trainline, a travel app company, said the partnership comes at a critical time for women in the UK tech industry.

As well as financial support, Trainline will help deliver the training programme by providing in-house specialists as mentors. It will also open up the programme for women at Trainline who would like to learn how to code.

The diversity drive aims to raise 1.5 million - 500,000 each year for three years to upskill 20,000 women in the UK in coding.

Clare Gilmartin, CEO of Trainline, said that tackling gender imbalance and championing talent is "at the absolute core" of the company's culture. "An increase in female programmers, developers and engineers will have profound benefits to the UK's tech economy, its businesses and its customers," she added.

Amali de Alwis, CEO of Code First: Girls, said that she looked forward to supporting Trainline with "building and tapping into a talent pool of incredible women looking to develop their careers in tech, as well as to help women understand what tech oriented careers are available to them".

As part of a growing focus on how to improve gender representation in the tech industry, a Women in Technology World Series roundtable in London discussion recently examined the role that men can play in advocating gender equality in the workplace.

Head of culture and inclusion at M&C Saatchi Group, Sereena Abbassi, said that there needs to be a real emphasis on creating working environments in which men feel that they can take up shared paternity leave. "The primary caregiver in a family should be a gender-neutral role. The onus can't just be on women; we need to start working in tandem with men in order to create greater gender equality," she said.

A shift in attitudes has been felt across almost every industry when it comes to gender equality in the workplace, and tech isn't immune, as 2018 sees female employees finally speaking up about the problems that have plagued them for decades. The idea that things need to change is now an inarguable fact, but how they do so is still very much up for debate.

From now on, and especially in the years during which these necessary changes take root, women will value transparency of pay, of hiring decisions and of how complaints are dealt with above anything else.

For many, the lack of accountability is a huge problem across the tech industry, with many companies failing to listen to their female employees as a result of having no clear rules or regulations that state they must foster and nurture diversity, not just pay it lip service.

Organisations such as the Tech Talent Charter, which established a series of pledges that aim to encourage greater diversity within the technology industry, are helping to fight back.

"Words are not enough, we need meaningful actions to drive change," George Brasher, managing director for HP UK and Ireland, and one of the founding signatories of the charter, tells IT Pro. "We have to work together as an industry to address the dire diversity imbalance within UK tech and we have to be accountable, setting ourselves goals and measurable targets."

Tara O'Sullivan, chief creative officer at Skillsoft, adds: "Let's face it, tech consists mainly of white males. People tend to hire people they recognise and identify with. This unconscious bias can foster negative attitudes and lead to damaging stereotypical behaviours.

"Men themselves have a very important role to play in narrowing the tech gender gap. Invariably they are in the seat of the interviewer and they need to be encouraged, trained and in some cases forced to create diverse teams. They need training in conscious and unconscious bias and need to be educated about the benefits of diversity -- both helping people change the way they think, and calling out unfair behaviour."

What's your number?

According to a study by Hired, women in tech are paid 9% less on average than their male counterparts, which is equivalent to 5,000 a year. What's more, this figure is higher than for the USA (8%), Canada (7%) and Australia (5%), making the UK one of the most unfair places for women in tech to work.

As bad as the figures are for women in general, though, minority women are even more likely to be underpaid and passed over for promotions unfairly. The racial gap for black women in Silicon Valley, for example, was 5.35x the gender gap in 2014, according to a report by Ascend Leadership.

But behind-the-scenes decisions such as hiring and pay are just part of the issue, with the treatment of staff now also coming under a harsh spotlight as more and more horror stories emerge.

Former Kleiner Perkins employee Ellen Pao was one of now many women to speak out against the treatment she was subjected to, detailing events in her book Reset. Uber whistleblower Susan Fowler has also written about the dismissal she received when reporting misconduct at the company, but these two women are just the tip of the iceberg.

To tackle sexual harassment at work, Gartner's HR practice leader Brian Knopp believes a less passive approach is needed.

"Forward-thinking employers need to shift to an active listening approach," he said. "Rather than waiting for an incident to be reported and then responding, businesses should ensure that the appropriate training schemes are in place to educate employees on what constitutes sexual harassment."

He continues: "Issues such as pay transparency can be addressed by placing fairness at the heart of workplace culture. This is a concept that needs to be applied to all facets of the business, from recruiting and promotion to employee benefits, ensuring there is no room for bias or abuse. Change needs to be driven from the top, with business leaders tangibly and visibly demonstrating their commitment to the cultural value of fairness and equal treatment of all employees."

Where is change most likely to happen?

Interestingly, the pay discrepancy found by the Hired survey was highest in mid-sized companies with between 201-1000 employees. For these SMBs, the pay gap is almost double the 9% average at 17%. The study puts this down to a lack of regulation compared to large enterprise firms.

Amy Crimmens, head of community engagement at digital consultancy Red Badger, believes change will need to take root in startups first, which might not have the same systemic problems as those more established businesses (though gender can still be a barrier when attempting to gather funding).

She tells IT Pro: "If we want things to be more equal and diverse in the future, then startups have to play a key role... If you start with a commitment to diversity, then you're more likely to maintain it, whereas companies that grow without these principles are less likely to be able to change their ways once they're established."

Crimmens also believes a 'clean slate' approach can push things forward when looking at starting salaries, rather than basing decisions on those of previous companies.

"When we hire, we don't ask people what they're currently on but we ask what they are looking for," she continues. "If they want to share that information with us, it's up to them but it's not a question that they are asked to answer. This is designed to stop low pay perpetuating itself and carrying over from previous companies that may have had a gender pay gap."

Women still make up just 17% of the tech workforce, though, and in order to attract more female workers into companies desperate to fill their skills gaps, the industry must do better to be upfront, active and transparent at every level of the business.

The time for passivity and buzzwords is over, and women are thankfully demanding more.

The annual Women in Tech Employer Awards has opened for nominations, inviting businesses to put themselves forward in six categories that celebrate how businesses are trying to tip the balance in technology recruitment.

Those available for nominations include Female Tech Employer of the Year, Female Graduate Employer of the Year, Women in Tech Network of the Year, Recruitment Campaign of the Year, Public Sector Female Tech Employer of the Year and Recruitment Agency of the Year.

Businesses wishing to nominate themselves will need to prove they are pushing the boundaries to close the gender gap in the UK's IT and technology sector by recruiting more females and encouraging those who wouldn't normally consider a career in STEM subjects to apply for roles.

"We're incredibly excited to launch the Women in Tech Employers Awards this year," Charlotte Attwood, head of Women in Tech said. "While there is still a long way to go to close the gender gap in the UK technology sector, there are a number of companies who are leading the way in encouraging women to enter the industry."

Women in Tech not only wants to show the industry that women are more than capable of working in the tech sector, but by recruiting more females into such roles, businesses can fill skills gaps in their organisation.

"This work is essential to ensure that the UK does not lag behind it's competitors in the tech sector. We are proud to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary and much-needed work that these companies are doing with the Women in Tech Employers Awards."

The awards will be judged by Debbie Forster, CEO of Tech Talent Charter and Attwood, with more judges due to be announced in the coming weeks.

WeAreTech has announced the winners of its TechWomen50 Awards, praising 50 women in technology for their contribution to technology, as well as three separate awards for individual, company and network winner.

2017's TechWomen50 included software engineers, developers, security engineers, students and college lecturers at both large and small organisations.

The TechWomen50 Awards also recognise the individuals and businesses that are going that extra mile to foster female talent in the tech sector. The Champion Award was given to Hayley Sudbury of Werkin, who is campaigning for more women of all backgrounds to get into technology.

"I am cognizant of the inherent bias in AI built by homogeneous groups and as a result I am committed to design technology with gender, and a social conscience in mind," she said. "As a female LGBT founder of a technology company this is something I take seriously within my own company and lobbying others (including dialogue with the Government Equalities Office and UN Women)."

FDM won the Company Award, while BCSWomen was awarded, Network Winner. The latter was set up by Dr. Sue Black OBE in 2001 to help women get hands-on with coding, promote technology awareness and offer personal skill seminars, workshops and mentoring.

"Go @bcswomen #TechWomen50 @bcs #womenintech #wearetechwomen," Dr Sue Black wrote on the social network.

Individual winner, Helen Cavill also tweeted, saying what an honour it was being recognised as one of the most influential women in technology: "Thank you @WATC_WeAreTech for awarding me a place amongst the fabulous #TechWomen50 with so many other inspirational #WomenInTech role models!"

"Over the course of my career, I have seen some truly talented and inspirational women who have been recognised by a multitude of awards. However, there is not one awards series that focuses on the next generation of female talent as a whole, or those who support these individuals," Kayleigh Bateman, head of WeAreTechWomen said.

"Our hope is that by recognising not just our shortlist of 100, but also those that champion women in tech too, we can encourage more organisations to follow their lead."

The extent of IT's diversity issues has been laid bare by BCS, the chartered institute for IT, in a report detailing the lack of gender and ethnic variety in tech and the corresponding low pay some minorities earn.

Just 17% of IT specialists in 2016 were women, BCS's Diversity in IT 2017 report, published last week, found. The percentage of women in IT roles didn't rise above 20% in any UK region, according to the report's analysis of ONS Quarterly Labour Force Survey data.

Only 10% of women in tech worked as IT directors, the organisation's analysis found, with the percentage falling to 9% for IT engineering roles. The highest proportion of female workers, at 25%, was found in tech project and programme manager roles.

Women earned on average 11% less than their male counterparts in tech roles over 2016, the report found, taking home 660 a week compared to 780.

Prospects for ethnic minorities and older workers looked little better, with the report finding that disabled IT workers made up 8% of IT roles, compared to 12% of UK jobs overall.

Non-white workers filled 17% of IT positions, compared to 12% overall, but while they filled almost one-third of IT roles in London, that fell to 8% in Yorkshire/Humberside.

Non-white IT workers were more than twice as likely to be in part-time employment compared to white employees, but had higher wages than white IT staff, at an average 850 per week.

Disabled IT workers earned 660 per week, compared to the 780 average for non-disabled IT workers.

Dr Sue Black OBE, who founded BCSWomen at the turn of the century, said: "You could say that this report paints a dismal picture in terms of diversity and women in tech, we are nowhere near 50/50 male to female in the industry.

"But I believe that we are at a tipping point of a revolution in technology and also in awareness of the importance of diversity. I've seen massive change over the last few years in attitudes towards diversity in tech.

"From being asked when setting up BCSWomen in 2001: 'Why are you ghettoising yourself?' I now regularly get asked: 'How can we encourage more women to work in our tech department?'"

The report didn't make any recommendations, but admitted that "whatever actions that have been taken so far to instigate change, simply aren't having the marked and imperative change that we need".

It said that minorities must make the case for change to the men running most organisations, from recruiting to recognising and promoting non-white, non-male staff.

"Whichever way we look at it, these figures make for sobering and depressing reading," wrote Deloitte's public sector lead and vice-chair, Rebecca George OBE, whi is also the VP of BCS's organisation and employers board.

She added: "BCS is calling for each and every one of us to make a simple pledge to take one action to make that difference.

"Treating everyone with respect and improving diversity in our sector is surely a key element of making IT good for society. In 2017 it seems incredible that this is still an issue to be tackled, but it is, and that's why everyone has to realise that they have a responsibility in changing this - for the better."

Almost 100 companies have now signed the Tech Talent Charter, committing to improving diversity within tech through implementing inclusive hiring practices, releasing diversity reports and more.

The Tech Talent Charter, which was first launched two years ago, comprises a series of pledges designed to encourage more diversity within the tech industry, with a particular focus on the gender imbalance.

The Charter is backed by a board of directors and a steering committee made up of representatives from the various businesses and organisations that have pledged to uphold its values and principles. Ninety companies have now signed the Charter, including Nationwide, HPE, HP Inc. and Monster.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has also recently signed, and has awarded the organisation a grant to help scale up and expand its efforts. Matt Hancock, the government's minister of state for Digital, spoke of the Charter's importance at an event today celebrating the news.

"I believe very strongly that you can't catch all the fish if you only fish in half the pool," he said. "And making sure that we allow everybody to have the opportunity to fill those jobs that are increasingly available; it's only if we do that that we will expand opportunity across the country and also do the job of filling the skills needs of the tech industry."

"A vastly disproportionate number of people going into the tech industry are men. And sorting that is, yes, about changing the education system, but it's also about changing the culture and opening up, inviting in. Because diversity may be about opening the door, but true inclusivity is about welcoming people into the room. And that's where we've got to get to, and that's where the tech industry has to get to."

TechUK president Jacqueline de Rojas pointed out that a larger and more diverse pool of talent will help address the country's growing skills gap - a looming challenge that many industry experts have been warning about.

She also said that while increased diversity is and should be its own reward, various signatory members were also keen to point out that being more inclusive has concrete business benefits associated with it.

"Productivity on its own is a reason why we should; one woman on the board of a business can reduce the risk of bankruptcy by 20%, just as an example. Gender-balanced teams are 60% more likely to be more productive. Saleswomen are more productive - they reach their targets more often than men."

While the Tech Talent Charter was established around two years ago, its directors and signatories emphasised that this is just the beginning of its journey, and that much more work is still to be done.

Tech Talent Charter CEO Debbie Forster told IT Pro that her aim is to get 500 organisations signed up to the charter by this time next year. "It's been amazing. When we said that we would reach a hundred by Christmas, I really gulped. That really felt like a crazy bet when we were, five months ago, 19 members."

In particular, Forster and the other directors are aiming to encourage many more SMEs and startups to get involved with the Charter. As TechUK's de Rojas argued, SMEs are the backbone of the British economy, and Charter director Sinead Bunting said that getting them engaged with the Charter's mission early on can have a huge impact.

"If we're able to influence that huge tranche [of SMEs], that is where we'll really make the difference," she told IT Pro. "At the very start, the culture of a company is really formed... if you can get in there right at the start of the startup, then you can really start to effect change from the grassroots up."

One of the common questions around improving diversity is where companies should start, and the general consensus among the signatories and directors that IT Pro spoke to was that the initial step is showing willing. De Rojas, for example, advised appointing a dedicated person whose job it is to engage with the Charter and other matters of diversity.

"The first step is to get hiring right," said Tech London Advocates founder Russ Shaw. "Founders should consider blind hiring, where education and names are omitted from candidates' CVs, and look beyond their immediate network to source candidates."

However, some signatories also pointed out that there are approaches that don't work. HPE's EMEA vice president of HR, Jane Keith, said that forced quotas and promoting staff preferentially based on their gender was an offensive concept, while Global's director of technology David Henderson found that when his company implemented blind hiring, they just ended up using tools like LinkedIn to reverse-engineer who the application was from.

The main takeaway from talking to the individuals and organisations involved in the Tech Talent Charter was that while the backing of government bodies like DCMS is a welcome vote of confidence, the private sector needs to pull together to address its systemic gender diversity and inclusivity problems.

The cavalry's not coming, so my advice is every company - large or small - should sign up, because it matters," de Rojas told IT Pro. "Every company that cares about technology talent should be on that list, and the reason they should be on the list is because technology talent is the currency of the future."

Techies at the likes of Amazon, IBM and the Minister of Justice have made the shortlist for the TechWomen50 2017 awards, released today.

Celebrating the impact of women in tech paving the way for future generations, the TechWomen50 shortlist features female scrum masters, software developers, java coders and more.

WeAreTechWomen, the organisation behind the awards, whittled down the 100 shortlisted women from 500 nominations across the UK and Northern Ireland.

Baroness Joanna Shields OBE, the prime minister's special representative on internet safety, said: "Platforms such as the TechWomen50 Awards are so important to continue the tech industry's mission for gender parity.

"These awards shine a light on up and coming emerging talent for the IT sector to see, hire and retain value."

Shortlisted women include Carol Morris, cloud business engagement lead at Barclays, Diane Reddell, junior software developer at the Department for Work and Pensions, and Dionne Condor-Farrell, senior developer at Transport for London.

Kayleigh Bateman, head of WeAreTechWomen, said: "Over the course of my career, I have seen some truly talented and inspirational women who have been recognised by a multitude of awards.

"However, there is not one awards series that focuses on the next generation of female talent as a whole, or those who support those individuals. Our hope is that by recognising not just our shortlist of 100, but also those that champion women in tech too, we can encourage more organisations to follow their lead."

The TechWomen50 Awards, which are sponsored by Worldpay, SAP, Verizon and others, and partnered by IT Pro, are now open to a public vote here, with the finalists to be announced on 11 December.

Uber's head of HR has never met with the engineer whose blog post raised the curtain on allegations of sexism and harassment at the ride-hailing firm.

Liane Hornsey, who joined Uber a month before Susan Fowler detailed various allegations of widespread chauvinism and systemic sexism at the company, admitted she hasn't met with Fowler to discuss the issues since in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

She said: "I have said, very publicly, "Thank you" to her because she raised some stuff that did lead to change. I don't know whether there would be any benefit in meeting her. I'm seriously working for my employees today; she's an ex-employee."

Fowler responded on Twitter to remark: "She really, really doesn't like me."

Hornsey, who joined Uber in January after Fowler left in December 2016, said Fowler's blog post "was very difficult for this company", and resulted in HR carrying out 200 "listening sessions", and a personal promise from her to answer every employee email within 48 hours.

Uber charged a former attorney general with leading an external review into Uber's practices, and accepted 47 recommendations his report made in June - the implementation of most of these is Hornsey's responsibility.

She said: "I truly believe we're making progress on all of them, with the exception of a couple that we've held off on." One is hiring a chief diversity officer, which she wants new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to weigh in on, and another is reviewing Uber's cultural values, which also requires his input.

But Fowler, who had dismissed the external review as "optics" at the time, also criticised Hornsey's comments around having difficulty finding female engineers to interview for roles (another recommendation), after the HR chief said Uber had found and made contact with 1,800 of them.

"Did ya'll know that there are only 1800 women engineers? Uber has identified them all," Fowler remarked sarcastically.

Hornsey also said diversity is a priority for Uber's new CEO, who has already contrasted with former boss Travis Kalanick's style by admitting "we've got things wrong" in response to TfL's refusal to renew the ride-hailing firm's licence to operate in London last month.

Minorities continue to be passed over at Silicon Valley tech firms, with no major improvement in upward mobility for people of colour between 2007 and 2015.

That's according to a report by Ascend Leadership, an Asian professional network, that examines the leadership pipeline from entry-level professional to managers or executives by looking at how many of any group are in the former group versus the better paid, more powerful second. Ascend dubs this ratio its Executive Parity Index (EPI).

While the analysis showed white women made enough progress during the period to close the gap between the number of women in professional jobs versus executive roles, Ascend's calculations showed the number of minorities in lower-ranked jobs outstripped those promoted into more powerful positions. As the report noted: "Race remained a more significant factor than gender in impacting the glass ceiling."

"When we used the Executive Parity Index to compare the numbers of minorities as executives to their numbers in the workforce, it was clear that that efforts to promote more Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics have made no meaningful impact to the minority glass ceiling," said Buck Gee, a former vice president and general manager at Cisco Systems who is an Ascend executive advisor and a study co-author. "That said, we saw progress made by white women, so we know tech companies can change. Now it's time to do the same for minority men and women."

For example, the report revealed that while Asian people made up the largest number of professional workers that weren't white, they were the least likely to be promoted to managerial or executive roles.

That's contrary to the belief that Asian people are benefiting from Silicon Valley tech companies, with high profile executives like Sundar Pichai at Google and Satya Nadella at Microsoft. "The widely-held notion of Asian executive success is largely an illusion," the report said.

And while there was good news that Hispanic executives climbed by a quarter, they still made up less than 3.5% of Silicon Valley execs. The gap between Black professionals and Black managers/executives also shrunk, but that reflects "a significant loss of Black professionals rather than a material gain in the number of black executives".

And while white women have started to move into management and executive roles, the gap isn't shrinking for minority women. "In general, although minority women faced both racial and gender gaps, [the data] illustrates that race, not gender, was increasingly the more important factor in limiting minority women in the pipeline," the report noted. "The data show that for black women, the racial gap was 5.35x the gender gap in 2014; for Asian women, the racial gap was 2.91x the gender gap in 2015; and for Hispanic women, the racial gap was 1.59x the gender gap in 2015."

The figures aren't a surprise, and numbers from two leading companies suggest there remains very few Black and Hispanic professional workers employed at a professional level. Google's own diversity figures reveal its overall US employee base is 56% White, 35% Asian, 4% Hispanic and 2% Black. Its leadership is 68% White and 27% Asian.

At Facebook, across its US staff, 49% are White while 40% are Asian; across senior leadership, 71% are White while 21% are Asian. Hispanic and Black people feature in the low single digits in both.

The figures are particularly low for female minorities at all levels of work in Silicon Valley. "Minority women continue to bump against a double-paned glass ceiling," noted study co-author and Ascend executive advisor Denise Peck. "The data shows that a general focus on developing women leaders has not addressed the distinct challenges for Asian, Black, or Hispanic women."

She added: "This has been an unspoken truth in the minority community, and we hope that our report opens a long overdue dialogue. We encourage all companies to take a hard look at their minority pipeline and ask how they can do better."

While the results aren't encouraging, the authors believe improvements are possible. "As former technology executives, we still share the Silicon Valley 'can-do' optimism and believe that, with the proper data to identify the region's challenges, its business leaders will find a way to more effectively attract, retain, and promote a more diverse workforce consistent with its cultural core," the study noted.

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick appointed two new directors to the company's board last week.

The decision was seen as a way to take advance action against a move by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who wants to restructure the board to gain more control, according to Reuters.

Kalanick appointed former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain to the positions.

In a statement obtained by Reuters he said: "I am appointing these seats now in light of a recent board proposal to dramatically restructure the board and significantly alter the company's voting rights. It is therefore essential that the full board be in place for proper deliberation to occur, especially with such experienced board members as Ursula and John." He did not specify which proposals he is against.

Uber told IT Pro it viewed the new appointments as a "complete surprise".

"That is precisely why we are working to put in place world-class governance to ensure that we are building a company every employee and shareholder can be proud of," the company said in a statement.

In June 2016, Uber's board of directors was increased from eight members to 11, giving Kalanick the authority to choose the three empty seats. When he resigned as Uber's CEO in June 2017 he appointed himself to one of the seats, and has now finally filled the other two.

A Reuters source said Kalanick's move came ahead of Khosrowshahi's plan to restructure the company's board, which will be voted on tomorrow, to give the new CEO control of four board seats as well as his own. He wants to transfer one of the two positions controlled by Kalanick to SoftBank, the private fund that is considering investing in Uber.

Khosrowshahi could then give the other seat to a person he chooses as well as three others which currently exist, according to the source. The plan also calls for a third of directors to be elected each year.

Neither Uber nor Kalanick has responded to request for comment.

Benchmark Capital, one of Uber's biggest investors, sued Kalanick for fraud in August. The venture capital firm was upset as it claimed it would not have agreed to give Kalanick the extra seats in June 2016 if it was aware of his "gross mismanagement and other misconduct at Uber". Kalanick faced numerous scandals when he was CEO of Uber, including claims of systemic sexism and harassment in the workplace.

Uber CEO Khosrowshahi is set to meet Transport for London's (TfL) transport commissioner Mike Brown this week in order to talk about why Uber's private hire operator licence was not renewed. Uber was told it will no longer be able to operate in London last month and had 21 days to appeal TfL's decision.

TfL said Uber was not fit to hold a private operator licence as it "is not fit and proper". TfL added that the company demonstrated a lack of corporate responsibility, which includes Uber's failure to report serious criminal offences and its approach to medical certificates.

14/08/2017:Uber investors 'ask Benchmark to step down from board'

Three Uber investors have reportedly asked venture capital firm Benchmark Capital to step down from the ride-hailing company's board of directors, a day after the VC confirmed it's suing founder Travis Kalanick for fraud.

Benchmark's fraud lawsuit would see former CEO Kalanick ousted from Uber's board, and consequently a group of shareholders emailed other Uber investors and its board of directors, arguing that Benchmark should divest enough shares to no longer have board appointment rights, according toAxios.

The investors are Shervin Pishevar from Sherpa Capital, Ron Burkle of Yucaipa Cos and Adam Leber from Maverick, the publication reports.

In an email, obtained by Axios, they write: "We do not feel it was either prudent or necessary from the standpoint of shareholder value, to hold the company hostage to a public relations disaster by demanding Mr. Kalanick's resignation, along with other concessions, on a few hours' notice and within weeks of a personal tragedy, under threat of public scandal."

The investors fear that the lawsuit will cost the company "public goodwill" and impede the search for a new CEO. They point out Benchmark's investment of $27 million is worth $8.4 billion today and ask them to consider the employees of the company "who worked so hard to create such unprecedented value".

They requested: "...that Benchmark remove its representative from the Company's Board and move promptly to divest itself of enough shares in the Company so as to cease to have Board appointment rights. We have investors ready to acquire these shares as soon as we receive communication from Benchmark that they are willing to withdraw their lawsuit and sell a minimum of 75% of their holdings."

The investors also asked for the board to vote on the matter at the board meeting last Friday and said that if any other shareholders wanted to join their petition they were more than welcome.

A statement was sent out by Uber co-founder and chairman Garett Camp on behalf of all directors on Friday which said: "The Board of Directors is disappointed that a disagreement between shareholders has resulted in litigation. The Board has urged both parties to resolve the matter cooperatively and quickly, and the Board is taking steps to facilitate that process.

"At a time when thousands of employees around the world are working hard to serve our drivers and riders and continue to innovate, our priority remains to select Uber's new CEO as quickly as possible. We are fortunate to have several outstanding candidates who share our belief in Uber's great future."

Benchmark is suing Kalanick for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. It is reportedly not happy that Kalanick increased Uber's board from eight members to 11 while giving the former CEO the power to choose who fills those seats. The venture capital firm claimed it would never have agreed to the decision if it had known of the "gross mismanagement and other misconduct at Uber".

11/08/2017: Travis Kalanick sued for fraud in bid to oust him from Uber's board

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is being sued by Benchmark Capital, one of the company's biggest investors, for fraud in a move that looks to oust him from the ride-sharing company's board.

The venture capital firm owns 13% of the ride-hailing company and is suing Kalanick, who owns 10%, for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty as well as fraud, according to Axios.

In its lawsuit, Benchmark claims that Kalanick tried to increase his power over Uber for his own "selfish ends". Benchmark is not happy with a decision from June 2016 where Uber's board was increased from eight members to 11, which gave Kalanick the authority to choose who takes the empty seats. Kalanick later naming himself as a board member once he resigned as CEO, whke a further two seats remained empty.

This move upset Benchmark, which the venture capital firm claimed it would not have agreed to giving Kalanick the extra seats if it was aware of his "gross mismanagement and other misconduct at Uber".

Benchmark said that by withholding that information, which includes everything from pervasive gender discrimination at the company to an Uber employee allegedly taking trade secrets from a competitor, it annuls Benchmark's vote to increase the size of the board.

It said: "Kalanick's overarching objective is to pack Uber's Board with loyal allies in an effort to insulate his prior conduct from scrutiny and clear the path for his eventual return as CEO--all to the detriment of Uber's stockholders, employees, driver-partners, and customers."

The VC firm was also one of the five major investors which demanded Kalanick's resignation back in June.If successful, Benchmark will kick Uber off its board of directors.

Benchmark is seeking to overturn the June 2016 vote which would mean the three extra board seats would be eliminated. This would remove Kalanick from Uber's board of directors. Benchmark has also asked for a preliminary injunction against Kalanick's continued involvement in the Uber board which would prevent him from being included in the ongoing CEO search.

A spokesperson for Uber told IT Pro that it is not commenting on this.

In June 2017, Kalanick officially resigned as CEO of Uber after bowing to mounting pressure from investors over his leadership of the company. He faced numerous scandals over recent months, which included claims of systemic sexism and harassment in the workplace. Benchmark was one of five major investors who demanded the he would resign.

He was Uber CEO since he co-founded the company in 2009 and helped it to grow to the company it is today, valued at nearly $70 billion. The company also has an ongoing intellectual property lawsuit with Waymo, Google's self driving car unit.

23/06/2017: Uber staffers petition to get ex CEO Travis Kalanick rehired

Some Uber employees miss Travis Kalanick, so much so that they have set up a petition begging for the former CEO to return.

According to an Axios report, a thousand Uber staffers have signed a joint letter to the board of directors, calling for the return of Kalanick, who left following a series of controversies (see below).

The report said the petition was circulated among Uber employees, with roughly 10% signing it in the first 12 hours.

"As the folks who've actually worked alongside Travis for years to help create Uber from nothing, we are extremely disappointed by the short-sightedness and pure self-interest demonstrated by those who are supposed to protect the long-term interests of our company," the letter reads.

"Yes, Travis is flawed, as we all are. But his passion, vision, and dedication to Uber are simply unmatched," it continued. "We would not be here today without him, and believe he can evolve into the leader we need. He is critical to our future success."

Business Insider also has a collection of quotes from staffers praising Kalanick for "inspiring an entire generation of entrepreneurs," his dedication and hard work, and his listening skills as well as his propensity to take selfies.

Not all agree, of course. Susan Fowler, a former Uber staffer who wrote a blog post last year revealing sexual harassment issues at the company, noted that seeing former colleagues defend the company was "sickening".

"My first sickening experience was seeing a bunch of my old teammates doing that Uber graffiti thing," she said in a Twitter thread. "Things got worse from there."

21/06/2017: Uber's Travis Kalanick resigns as CEO

Uber's long-embattled CEO, Travis Kalanick, finally bowed to mounting pressure from investors over his leadership by resigning from the company.

Kalanick, who was forced to take a leave of absence last week, faced criticism after numerous scandals emerged over recent months, including claims of systemic sexism and harassment in the workplace.

Five major Uber investors, including venture capital firm Benchmark, demanded on Tuesday that the CEO resign immediately, according to theNew York Times.

"I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors' request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight," said Kalanick, in a statement published by the New York Times.

Kalanick has been Uber's CEO since he co-founded the company in 2009, helping to turn it into one of the most disruptive and influential transportation companies in the world, valued at nearly $70 billion.

But Uber has faced one problem after another over the past few months. The firm was subjected to both internal and external workplace reviews after former employee Susan Fowler claimed she had been the victim of sexual harassment, adding that her complaints were dismissed by the firm.

Uber has also been plagued with legal woes, including an intellectual property lawsuit from Google's self-driving car unit Waymo that has yet to be resolved, and the US Department of Justice launched an investigation in May after the discovery of the software 'Greyball', a tool that helped Uber drivers avoid authorities trying to clamp down on the service.

The ride-hailing firm has since committed to tidying up its practices, firing more than 20 employees as a result of the investigations and committing to workplace culture changes. Following that commitment, Kalanick took an indefinite leave of absence, however investors clearly felt this wasn't enough to reform the company.

Bill Gurley, who is a partner at Benchmark and also sits on Uber's board, was one of the earliest supporters of Kalanick, and paid tribute to his work in a tweet on Tuesday evening.

Kalanick's resignation comes at a time when Uber's future remains uncertain, as it could still face significant legal fallout from its case with Waymo. It is reported that the former CEO will remain on Uber's board of directors, and will likely retain some influence in the company as its majority shareholder.

14/06/2017: Uber's Travis Kalanick steps back from CEO role

Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick, is to take a leave of absence following a damning review of management practices at the firm and the death of his mother.

Kalanick wrote to staff to explain his decision, which came after his mother died in a boating accident recently, while his father remains in a critical condition.

But his stepping back also coincides with the release of recommendations from a review into Uber's culture and management practices prompted by accusations of endemic sexism by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, published in a blog post in February.

Recodepublished Kalanick's email in full, with the message reading: "Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team.

"The ultimate responsibility, for where we've gotten and how we've gotten here rests on my shoulders. There is of course much to be proud of but there is much to improve. For Uber 2.0 to succeed there is nothing more important than dedicating my time to building out the leadership team. But if we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve."

When Kalanick does eventually return, it will be in a diminished role after the company pledged to follow the recommendations of the review, conducted by former Attorney General Eric Holder's law firm, Covinton & Burling. In its report, the firm said there should be a review and reallocation of Kalanick's duties.

"The board should evaluate the extent to which some of the responsibilities that Mr Kalanick has historically possessed should be shared or given outright to other members of senior management. The search for a Chief Operating Officer should address this concern to some extent," the report said.

It also called for "key metrics" to be established to hold senior leaders to account during performance reviews, as well as increasing the profile of Uber's head of diversity, Bernard Coleman, renaming his role 'chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Covington urged Uber to add more independent seats to the board, and to create an oversight committee for ethics and culture, as well as making diversity and inclusion a factor in senior employees' compensation.

"Uber should ensure it has appropriatetools, including complaint tracking software, to keep better track of complaints,personnel records, and employee data," the report added, after Fowler alleged that her HR complaints about a superior were mishandled.

She reacted to the report on Twitter, saying: "They'll never apologize. I've gotten nothing but aggressive hostility from them. It's all optics."

The company has also seen another high-profile resignation this week, after leaked audio from a meeting of Uber's board to investigate the claims of sexism showed one of the male board members making a sexist joke.

Referring to the recent appointment of another woman, Wan Ling Martello, board member Arianna Huffington can be heard saying: "There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board."

Fellow board member David Bonderman responded: "Actually what it shows is it's much likely to be more talking."

Bonderman resigned around 12 hours after the audio was leaked, due to the "inappropriate" comment.

The full audio can be heard atYahoo News.

12/06/2017: Uber board agrees to sexism review culture changes

Uber's executive board has unanimously agreed to implement all the recommendations suggested by an external investigation, launched after allegations of systemic sexism and malpractice.

The recommendations are to be kept secret until they are formally shared with employees tomorrow, so it is unclear exactly what Uber board members agreed to on Sunday.

The Holder Report, overseen by former Attorney General Eric Holder, is the culmination of an investigation launched in February following allegations by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler. In a scathing blog post, Fowler alleged that she had been the victim of repeated sexual harassment, and that Uber had refused to remove the man in question due to his strong performance record.

"The Uber board met today with Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran," said an Uber board spokesperson. "The board unanimously voted to adopt all the recommendations of the Holder Report. The recommendations will be released to the employees on Tuesday."

A separate internal investigation, which looked at 215 cases of sexual harassment, bullying and unprofessional behaviour, resulted in the firing of 20 employees last week, including senior executives.

Holder's report, which is partly based on those 215 cases, is likely to include reforms to Uber's workplace culture, but may even suggest personnel changes. It is currently unclear whether Travis Kalanick is secure in his position as CEO, and the board may consider asking him to take a leave of absence, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal today.

The report also claims that Emil Michael, Uber's long-serving chief business officer is contemplating leaving the company as a result of the report. Recode reports that this is not accurate, but that the executive is under pressure from the board to resign.Uber has declined to comment to several publications about Michael's future.

07/06/2017: Uber has fired 20 employees after an internal review prompted by accusations of endemic sexism at the ride-hailing firm.

The widespread investigation, the findings of which were delayed more than a month, examined sexual harassment, bullying, unprofessional behaviour and more, with Uber revealing the terminations at a staff meeting in its San Francisco headquarters, according to aNew York Timesreport yesterday.

An anonymous employee told the publication that the firings are because of an internal investigation that occurred in the last few months, and that some of those who were fired were senior executives, although the company did not name those it sacked.

An Uber spokesperson told IT Pro: "All reported incidents to date have been investigated, and where they were corroborated we have taken swift, decisive action.

"We have been doing this consistently and with rigour for the past few months and will continue to do so as issues are raised. This is not a one time activity".

Uber investigated a total of 215 claims, which included discrimination, sexual harassment, unprofessional behaviour, bullying, harassment, retaliation and physical security. The majority of the claims were raised by team members located in San Francisco, although claims were raised in offices all over the world.

The spokesperson added: "Contrary to some reports, the 215 claims were not all related to sexual harassment, nor were the 20 terminations. They fell into one of the categories listed above."

Former Uber engineer Susan Fowler accused her previous employer of various sexism allegations in a blog post in February, which prompted a separate, external, review of the ride-hailing firm's culture, the results of which were expected towards the end of May, but are now expected to land next week.

Fowler accuseda more senior member of staff of propositioning her for sex and, when she asked a director what needed to be done about the dwindling number of women in the organisation, he allegedly said "that the women of Uber just needed to step up and be better engineers".

21/04/2017:Uber delays sexism report until next month

Uber's board of directors has granted an extension for a review investigating sexual harassment claims.

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Tammy Albarrn are leading the review into Uber's corporate culture, sparked by accusations of sexism from former employee, engineer Susan Fowler.

The board said in a statement that it had extended the review to "leave no stone unturned" and now expected a report by the end of May, after Holder failed to get the required interviews with executives key to the investigation.

The report had previously been expected by the end of this month.

"When Eric Holder and Tammy Albarrn began their review, we told them that they would have all the support and time necessary to conduct an intensive, thorough review of Uber's workplace and culture," board member Arianna Huffington said in a written statement.

"Eric and Tammy have asked us for more time to complete their assessment, which includes information received from hundreds of employees through interviews and anonymous online focus groups and reflects the global scale of the company's operations."

23/02/2017:Uber tells fleeing users it is "deeply hurting"

Amid growing backlash against practices at Uber, the company has attempted to smooth over relations with users by writing to those trying to abandon the service.

Uber has had a turbulent month, which began with accusations that the company took advantage of airport strikes during protests against President Donald Trump's travel ban on Muslim-majority countries. Now the resulting #DeleteUber campaign has been bolstered by a former Uber engineer's allegations of sexual harassment and systemic discrimination within the company.

Susan Fowler alleged that her manager propositioned her, and that HR fobbed off her reports of sexism. Uber CEO TravisKalanick described the content of the claims as "abhorrent" and has ordered a full review of Uber's diversity and culture in light of Fowler's claims.

Now, those deleting their Uber accounts receive a formal message outlining the company's desire to change, also reminding them they cannot recover their accounts once they are deleted.

"Everyone at Uber is deeply hurting after reading Susan Fowler's blog post," the letter states, which has since been shared on Twitter. "We believe in creating a workplace where a deep sense of justice underpins everything we do and it's everyone's number one priority to create change in the coming months and years."

The message appears to be a last ditch attempt to change the minds of those seeking to ditch Uber, but makes no attempt to force users to stay with the service.

Uber recently committed to a full internal review of Fowler's allegations, which claim she faced discrimination and sexual harassment from a senior manager, an employee who Uber apparently refused to reprimand because of his "stellar performance reviews".

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Uber board member Arianna Huffington will oversee Uber's investigation into the claims, and Uber has also promised to deliver its first diversity report in the coming months.

Uber has stated to IT Pro that messages were only sent to a small number of US customers, and that the letter has since been removed.

21/02/2017:Uber hires ex-Attorney General to probe sexism claims

Uber has enlisted the help of a former US Attorney General to investigate claims of sexism made against the company by a former employee.

Eric Holder, who held the office under President Barack Obama, will conduct a review of the complaints made by Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer who alleged she had been the victim of sexual harassment by her manager, amid a string of accusations painting a picture of widespread sexism at the taxi app firm.

Claims range from female engineers being denied leather jackets because there weren't enough engineers to justify the spend, to her request to move teams being denied because a manager wanted to keep women on his team.

Holder, who Airbnb hired last year to help create new anti-discrimination policies for its online room sharing platform, will be joined by Tammy Albarran, his partner at Covington & Burling law firm, according to an internal staff memo by Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, seen by Reuters.

"Every Uber employee should be proud of the culture we have and what we will build together over time," said Kalanick in the memo. "It is my number one priority that we come through this a better organisation, where we live our values and fight for and support those who experience injustice."

Uber board member Arianna Huffington, chief human resources officer Liane Hornsey, and associate general counsel Angela Padilla will also help with the investigation, which will additionally assess diversity and culture at Uber.

Kalanick also revealed to staff that Uber will release its first diversity report within the next few months. The memo highlighted that 15.1% of employees at Uber are women, compared to the 18% at Google, 17% at Facebook, and 10% at Twitter.

In her blog post revealing the allegations, Fowler maintains that when she left Uber in December 2016, just 3% of 150 engineers in her division were female.

Kalanick has called the content of the allegations "abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in".

20/02/2017:Ex-Uber engineer accuses firm of systemic sexism

Uber has been accused of systemic sexism by a former employee, who alleged that sexual harassment claims were repeatedly buried by the company's human resources department.

The claims were made by ex-Uber engineer Susan Fowler, who worked in the company's site reliability engineering department from November 2015 to December 2016. She published a blog post on Sunday detailing a laundry list of troubling accusations against the company.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick described the content of the claims as "abhorrent" and has ordered an urgent investigation.

One of Fowler's main claims centres around her first manager, who allegedly propositioned Fowler on her first day of working on his team. According to Fowler, when she reported him to HR for sexual harassment, she was told that it was his first offence.

That, combined with the fact that he "had stellar performance reviews from his superiors", meant that no action was taken against him, Fowler said. Instead, Fowler was forced to either switch to a team that she was less suited to or to stay on the team and accept that the manager in question would likely give her a poor performance review.

"One HR rep even explicitly told me that it wouldn't be retaliation if I received a negative review later because I had been 'given an option'. I tried to escalate the situation but got nowhere with either HR or with my own management chain," she wrote.

However, after talking with female colleagues, Fowler said she discovered that multiple women had lodged HR complaints against this manager, all of whom were told that he'd never had any incidents in the past.

"It became obvious that both HR and management had been lying about this being 'his first offense', and it certainly wasn't his last," she wrote. "The situation was escalated as far up the chain as it could be escalated, and still nothing was done."

This was far from the only example of workplace sexism detailed by Fowler. For instance, after promising leather jackets for all employees in the division, Uber reportedly informed female staff that they would not be receiving any because "there were not enough women in the organization to justify placing an order".

Eventually, the situation got so bad that Fowler decided to transfer to a different engineering organisation within Uber, but despite saying she met all the relevant criteria and having a "perfect performance score", she found her transfer blocked.

Senior managers within the company said that her transfer was denied due to "undocumented performance problems", but Fowler claims the real reason is that having a female engineer on the team made her manager look good.

In order to keep her on the team, she said, one of her performance reviews was retroactively downgraded - which meant that she was also no longer eligible for an Uber-sponsored position on a Stanford computer science program she was enrolled in.

After keeping extensive records of sexist incidents and filing numerous reports with the company's HR department, Fowler claims she was summoned to a meeting. "The HR rep began the meeting by asking me if I had noticed that I was the common theme in all of the reports I had been making, and that if I had ever considered that I might be the problem," Fowler wrote.

Uber's HR representative also allegedly said that "certain people of certain genders and ethnic backgrounds were better suited for some jobs than others, so [she] shouldn't be surprised by the gender ratios in engineering".

"Our meeting ended with her berating me about keeping email records of things, and [telling] me it was unprofessional to report things via email to HR," said Fowler.

Following this meeting, Fowler claims that her manager threatened to fire her if she continued reporting incidents of sexism to HR. She said that nothing was done about this threat, despite saying she then told HR and Uber's CTO, who apparently admitted that it was illegal. She claims the lack of action was once again due to the manager in question being "a high performer".

She added: "When I joined Uber, the organization [division] I was part of was over 25% women," she said. "By the time I was trying to transfer... this number had dropped down to less than 6%." On her last day, she said 3% of more than 150 engineers in her division were women.

Multiple women in Silicon Valley and beyond have taken to Twitter and the comments section of Fowler's blog to show their support and to share similar stories.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has expressed his horror at the accusations, and promised a complete investigation into the issue. "I have just read Susan Fowler's blog," he said in a statement sent toIT Pro. "What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in."

"It's the first time this has come to my attention so I have instructed Liane Hornsey our new Chief Human Resources Officer to conduct an urgent investigation into these allegations. We seek to make Uber a just workplace FOR EVERYONE and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber - and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired."

Amy Douthwaite, senior associate at Kemp Little Employment, told IT Prothe claims undermine schemes aimed at bringing more women into tech, saying: "Women are notoriously under-represented in the tech sector in the UK, leading to a number of recent initiatives to encourage more women into the sector; these sorts of headlines are unlikely to help change this."

She added: "As these allegations have been so public, this may lead to employees in the UK coming forward with similar complaints, which could in turn lead to grievances and Employment Tribunal claims if they are not resolved. Of course, any allegation has to be substantiated to be upheld, but evidence of the mistreatment of other employees could be used to support arguments of an ingrained cultural problem at Uber in claims by other similarly affected employees."

Google, which has been in the hot seat already this year when it was sued for compensation data, finds itself with another lawsuit dealing with employee compensation, or rather the lack of compensation and opportunities provided for the women it employes.

Former employees at Google recently filed a lawsuit against the company on the basis of gender inequality and discrimination. The plaintiffs, Kelly Ellis, Holly Pease, and Kelli Wisuri suggest that Google systematically keeps women in lower compensation levels than men with equal or lesser skills and education even though they do similar work.

Due to the extensive records that Google is required to keep regarding pay, job classifications, and other employment records, the plaintiffs hold that although it currently does nothing to fix the situation, the company should be well aware the discrimination occurring.

For example, Ellis, who had four years of previous experience, was hired as a software engineer at a Level 3 job position, a level at which Google typically hires recent college graduates. Meanwhile, a man who was hired at a similar time with similar experience, was hired at a Level 4 position.

Pease, who had worked for the company for several years, was kept on the lower "non-technical" ladder which holds less opportunity for promotions and less compensation than the "technical" ladder despite her multiple leadership positions and experience at managing those on the "technical ladder".

Wisurui, who worked in sales, claims to have done similar work to male counterparts in the Sales ladder; however, she was kept in the lower Sales Enablement ladder without the same opportunities for advancement and pay. All three of the plaintiffs resigned from Google based on their treatment based on their gender.

These claims alone provide evidence of the sexism happening in the workplace, but there is other evidence that suggest that their accusations hold truth as well. Around September 2015, OFCCP, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, completed a statistical regression analysis of the company's compensations data for about 21,000 employees at Google's Mountain View office. The analysis revealed a difference of 6-7 standard deviations between pay for men and women in almost every job classification in 2015; that is quite a large difference of pay simply based on gender.

While all this evidence is hard to dispute, Google is definitely trying to do so. According to a statement made to The Register by Google's senior manager of corporate communications, Gina Scigliano, the levels in which employees are placed and the promotional opportunities offered are determined through extensive committees and checks to ensure that everything is decided fairly.

While this case may or may not prevail, the exposure of major companies preventing women from having equal opportunities as men, especially in the tech world, proves how far we still have to go to achieve gender equality.

I have something that gives me an inherent advantage in the world of technology, and sadly it's nothing to do with aptitude. It's that handy Y chromosome which gives me a whole series of invisible advantages from being higher on the pay scale to being given unfair deference in meetings. A gentleman may indeed make his own luck, but his biological roll of the dice should certainly be credited with an assist.

The key word there, of course, is "invisible". Although my beard and 6ft 4in frame may make my gender instantly apparent, there are plenty who believe that the playing field is entirely equal for men and women. To those people, here's an interesting case study to chew over, concerning Witchsy an online marketplace for art that doesn't fit in with Etsy's saccharine flavour of whimsy.

As explained to Fast Company, the company founders Penelope Gazin and Kate Dwyer discovered that the men they found themselves dealing with as they tried to get their business off the ground were pretty trying: terse and condescending, one developer even tried to stealthily delete code from the website when Gazin turned him down for a date.

This is when Gazin and Dwyer decided to hire a man: Keith Mann to be precise. Only Keith was purely fictional: an imaginary CEO hidden behind a wall of email text to placate their sexist business partners. "It was like night and day," explained Dwyer. "It would take me days to get a response, but Keith could not only get a response and a status update, but also be asked if he wanted anything else or if there was anything else that Keith needed help with."

"I think we could have gotten pretty bent out of shape about that," Dwyer continued. "Wow, are people really going to talk to this imaginary man with more respect than us? But we were like, you know what, this is clearly just part of this world that we're in right now. We want this and want to make this happen."

And they have. In its first year, Witchsy has turned over around $200,000 worth of art, giving content creators 80% of every transaction. The result is the Keith Mann has stepped down from the day-to-day fake running of the business to spend more time, no doubt, on the fake golf course.

The phenomenon of men being taken more seriously than women in business especially technology is not a new one. Indeed, a 2006 study discovered that women are more likely to moderate the way they write emails so as to be seen as friendly, rather than awkward. This fascinatingly depressing Twitter Moment demonstrates what happens when men and women accidentally swap email signatures.

Uber is, to put it mildly, a company with image problems. At the risk of making a horrendously unwieldy sentence, over the past few years the company has almost been banned from the iPhone, been accused of stealing driverless technology, made their drivers listen to anti-union propaganda, used software to dodge city officials, had its CEO caught on video shouting at one of his drivers and had to own up to his systemic problems with sexism. And breathe.

That's actually only just scratching the surface. Under the weight of this much scandal, it was unsurprising that CEO Travis Kalanick ended up stepping down earlier this year.

Those left behind have been moving fast to pick up the pieces, trying to rebuild the company's reputation among those who appreciate the convenience of an Uber but would prefer to keep their hands clean. Of all the accusations, it's the sexism charge that stuck the most, which perhaps unfairly leaves the timing of Uber's latest charitable donation looking more like a thinly veiled PR move than a genuine desire to help.

The company has pledged $1.2 million as a grant to Girls Who Code a non-profit organisation with the laudable aim of reducing the horrendous gender pay gap in the technology sector. New chief brand officer Bozoma Saint John who recently made Apple events much less fun by leaving will be joining Girls Who Code's board of directors as part of the partnership.

"I've said it quite a bit, but I believe in representation and that it matters," Saint John told TechCrunch. "And there's no better time than right now to talk about women in tech and women in these very specific ladders. We obviously want more leadership and want more women in tech, so we need to make sure the pipeline is strong."

It's a genuinely good cause, and a generous offer, but the company's recent history leaves the gesture feeling more than a little empty. And Uber will be more than a little irked to see that Susan J Fowler the former Uber engineer whose explosive blog post exposed the company's sexism issues was among those undermining its effectiveness at restoring Uber's image.

It comes back to that old philosophical quandary: if someone does the right thing for the wrong reasons, should you be happy? That depends on who you ask: for Uber's shareholders, the answer right now is "probably not".

Google reportedly called-off a company-wide meeting planned for yesterday to discuss a former employee's controversial gender-diversity memo, due to employees fearing that they'd face online harassment.

CEO Sundar Pichai cancelled the meeting at the eleventh hour after hearing concerns from workers that speaking up at the meeting would make them targets of online abuse, according to the Financial Times (paywalled).

The meeting was scheduled to take place at Google's Silicon Valley campus, with a recording of it being made available to the search giant's 60,000 workers, aimed at addressing the furore caused by ex-staffer James Damore's memo and his subsequent dismissal for propagating gender stereotypes that Google does not agree with.

However, ahead of the planned meeting, the names and pictures of a number of Google workers were posted online by alt-right agent Milo Yiannopoulos, which prompted concerns by workers that they will become targets of public abuse if they ask a question in the meeting.

"Googlers are writing in, concerned about their safety and worried they may be outed' publicly for asking a question in the Town Hall," siad Pichai in an email to Google staff, according to the FT, explaining the cancellation of the meeting.

Damore is reported to have a cohort of fellow Google workers who support his view that women are not genetically predisposed to careers in technology. But these workers also allegedly expressed concerns that they will face harassment should the make they speak out in favour of Damore's views and against his sacking.

To address the issue, Pichai and Google will explore other methods to discuss the topic of diversity and Damore's dismissal with workers, the publication reported.

08/08/2017: Google fires engineer for his anti-diversity memo

Google yesterday dismissed an employee responsible for writing a 10-page anti-workplace diversity memo, which claimed that women are not biologically suited to tech roles.

James Damore, an engineer at Google who authored the report that criticised the tech giant's efforts to create a diverse workplace, saying its efforts are "misguided", was fired by the search giant on the ground that he was "perpetrating gender stereotypes" according to an email he sent to Bloomberg.

After the manifesto found its way into the public eye, Damore faced a hefty amount of criticism from many people due to his anti-diversity stance, yet he also garnered support from alt-right groups who have been heralding him as a voice that flies in the face of political correctness.

Google itself did not support Damore's lengthy memo, with chief executive Sundar Pichai saying it violated Google's Code of Conduct and contributed to the advancing of gender stereotypes, though he stopped short of saying whether Google would dismiss Damore.

"The line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace," Pichai wrote in an email circulated around Google in response to Damore's pseudo-manifesto. "To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK."

Danielle Brown, Google's vice president for diversity, integrity and governance, further highlighted that Google did not condone or harbour Damore's diversity views, distancing itself from the memo as the furore around it grew.

"We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company," said Brown. "We'll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul."

The lack of gender and racial diversity within the technology industry is a long-term issue, with the sector traditionally viewed as a bastion of educated caucasian men, something that Google and other have been attempting to turn around, but the search company had been handed a double-edged sword with Damore.

Google often champions itself as a company that embraces alternative views and thinking, with Brown noting the company is open to hosting "difficult political views".

However, as the discourse around Damore's memo grew, Google appeared to find itself in a challenging position whereby it had to show some action against Damore's polarising opinion.

"Part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws," said Brown before Damore was dismissed, signalling that the engineer had perhaps stepped beyond the bounds of discourse and into the realms of disruption.

The firing occurred while Google is embroiled in a legal dispute with the US Department of Labor over whether it pays female staff a fair wage.

07/08/17: Google employee's internal memo rails against diversity

A male Google employee's 10-page document objecting to his company's diversity policies has been published in full online, somewhat thwarting the company's efforts to become a completely diverse and welcoming organisation to everyone, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, faith, race or any other factor.

Motherboard first reported on the existence of the document last week, but now Gizmodo has managed to access the entire contents of the file, which is reportedly a male Google employee's thoughts about the tech giant's policies on recruiting and treatment of female employees.

Titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," the employee claims that women are under-represented in the tech industry because they are biologically different to men. He also said people question the idea that pay inequality is directly related to sexism and efforts by Google to enroll female members of staff in education programmes are "misguided".

"I value diversity and inclusion, am not denying that sexism exists, and don't endorse using stereotypes," the memo states. "When addressing the gap in representation in the population, we need to look at population level differences in distributions. If we can't have an honest discussion about this, then we can never truly solve the problem.

"Psychological safety is built on mutual respect and acceptance, but unfortunately our culture of shaming and misrepresentation is disrespectful and unaccepting of anyone outside its echo chamber."

Motherboard has now received a response from Danielle Brown, Google's vice president of diversity, integrity and governance, who was brought onboard to manage investigations that the company isn't paying female employees a fair wage.

"Part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws," she said in response to the memo.

She also made it clear that Google does not agree with the views of this particular employee, and that his opinions are not supported, nor encouraged.

500 Canada, a venture capital fund associated with the 500 Startups brand, has reportedly decided to kill its operations, after potential funders refused to give it money.

A letter sent to portfolio founders states that the fund's managing partners have decided to terminate its investment period, as reported by BetaKit. IT Pro has asked 500 Canada for confirmation of the report.

The letter claims the fund was about to raise $25 million from Canadian limited partnerships (LP) but 500 Startups founderDave McClure's recent sexism scandaland revelations, and his subsequent resignation, has put off the fund's potential investors.

The target LPs reportedly told 500 Canada's managing partners that they would not make an investment if McClure controlled the fund in any way or received economic benefit from the 500 Canada fund. McClure is a member of the fund's investment committee and on the board of directors too. 500 Startups decided to set up the Canada arm in March 2016, and by January this year was halfway to hitting a $30 million fundraising goal.

But one BetaKit source said investments were stopped as long as "$1 of profit still went to McClure".500 Startups receives some of the Canadian fund's profits, and though LPs' stances pushed 500 Canada to try to renegotiate McClure's involvement and this deal with 500 Startups, they were unable to reach an agreement, so a decision was made to terminate the fund.

500 Canada will not be able to make any follow-on investments to companies in its portfolio, BetaKit said,but will continue to support their future fundraising efforts.

An anonymous Canadian founder told the publication: "It sucks for 38 Canadian startups," adding: "Each of them have 500k+ cheques to worry about on their next raises. That being said, this is a perfect time for Canadian VCs to prop up our ecosystem. If I were them, I would have 38 more meetings to book in the next 30 days, before those opportunities get lost to the US."

McClure resigned in July following accusations he made sexual advances towards women involved in the startup scene. In a public post, he called himself a creep and apologised to everyone involved. He thanked those who had spoken out about his inappropriate advances for stopping him from going any further.

Picture od Dave McClure courtesy ofAdam Tinworth

05/07/2017:500 Startups founder quits, saying: "I'm a creep"

The CEO and co-founder of 500 Startups has quit, following accusations he made sexual advances towards many of the women involved in the startup scene.

Dave McClure wrote his resignation in a public post, accepting he "probably deserve[s] to be called a creep" because of his actions, and apologised to everyone involved.

McClure's inappropriate behaviour towards Sarah Kunst was exposed in the New York Times last week as part of a wider story about sexual harassment in the tech startups sector.

"I made advances towards multiple women in work-related situations, where it was clearly inappropriate," McClure wrote in his apology. "I put people in compromising and inappropriate situations, and I selfishly took advantage of those situations where I should have known better. My behavior was inexcusable and wrong."

He said he hasstarted steps to treat his behaviour and poor judgement, attending counselling sessions and handing over the day-to-day running of the company to its co-founder, Christine Tsai.

McClure also thanked those who spoke out about his inappropriate advances for stopping him from going any further, despite them putting their personal and professional reputations at risk.

The team at 500 Startups later promised to make changes after finding out about McClure's actions."The change I want to see is a startup environment where everyone, regardless of gender and background feels welcome and safe. Where sexual harassment or discrimination will not impede great talent from producing great impact," Tsai, the company's new CEO, explained in a blog post.

Google must hand over its salary information to the US Department of Labor (DoL) to aid its ongoing investigation into whether the tech giant is paying female staff a fair wage, a judge orderedon Friday.

The firm must hand over a snapshot of salary data for 8,000 staff in 2014. Additionally, it must also provide contact information for these employees, with whom the DoL can potentially conduct interviews.

Judge Steve Berlin partly sided with Google, though, saying that it does not have to hand over all the data requested - the DoL had asked for wage information for 25,000 employees dating back 15 years. Berlin said that this request was "over-broad, intrusive on employee privacy, unduly burdensome, and insufficiently focused on obtaining the relevant information".

Google's VP of people operations, Eileen Naughton,said in a blog postthat she was pleased with the decision and, assuming the decision is final, that Google will "comply with the remainder of the order, and provide the much more limited data set of information the judge approved, including the contact information for a smaller sample of up to 8,000 employees".

Google has denied claims of gender pay discrimination made by the DoL, who said the company underpays its female workers. As Google is a contractor for the federal government, it can be compelled to hand over records of employee information, salary history and other data in accordance with compliance laws.

Despite this, the DoL claimed that Google had constantly failed to release the data, which forced the department to issue a lawsuit against the company in January 2017. Google claimed to be "surprised" after US allegations that a pay gap existed at the company.

The search giant stated in May that it was too hard and expensive to get together the information needed to prove it's addressing the gender pay gap. The tech company said it would take 500 hours and $100,000 to compile, though the DoL said Google could easily absorb this cost.

Silicon Valley has been a hotbed for allegations of discrimination and sexism recently, with companies like Uber and Oracle making headlines. The CEO and co-founder of 500 Startups quit at the beginning of July, following accusations that he made sexual advances towards many of the women involved in the startup scene. Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick, also resigned in June afteracting late to address claims of systemic sexism and harassment in the workplace.

31/05/2017:Google: It would take us 500 hours to supply gender wage data

Google thinks it's too hard and too expensive to get together the information it needs to prove it's addressing the gender pay gap, according to the Guardian,following accusations by the US Department of Labor (DoL) that it's underpaying women.

Google has told US courts it won't be providing the pay records of its employees, saying it would take 500 hours and $100,000 to compile.

"This is obviously a very time-consuming and burdensome project," Lisa Barnett Sween, one of Google's attorneys, told the court. She added the company had already spent 2,300 hours, which has cost the company nearly $500,000 (390,000) to collate some of the records and partially comply with the requests.

However, the DoL's attorney, Ian Eliasoph, viewed this as a weak excuse as to why the tech giant wouldn't be able to come up with the documents.

"Google would be able to absorb the cost as easy as a dry kitchen sponge could absorb a single drop of water," he said, as quoted by the Guardian. He also brushed off Google's claims that providing the information was irrelevant to the government's audits of the company's working practices. "This claim requires putting one's head in the sand with respect to 30 years of law on pay discrimination," he said.

However, Barnett Sween countered that even asking for such information was unfair and should be under investigation by higher authorities. The company has apparently bowed down to the DoL's requests so far and having to bring on a third party to carry out the audit was unnecessary and too costly.

"Our courts must act to check this abuse of power," she added, suggesting Google thought it was unlawful of the government department to ask for it to provide such information.

22/05/2017:Google 'tried to halt gender pay case and ban reporters'

Google has tried to dismiss court proceedings into the tech giant's gender pay gap and attempted to restrict reporting on the case,according tothe Guardian.

The publication revealed details of the investigation following an interview with the US Department of Labor last month. It now reports that Google believes that interview violated ethics laws, and filed a motion for dismissal. According to the newspaper, the judge rejected that motion on the grounds of free speech. Google also reportedly tried to ban press from a hearing, but was unsuccessful at keeping reporters out.

Google's alleged complaint stems from Department of Labor solicitor Janet Herold telling the newspaper that it has "compelling evidence" of "significant discrimination" at Google, while the case is still ongoing, suggesting the department had already made up its mind about the pay issue and was no longer actually investigating.Attorneys are not supposed to make public statements that could "materially prejudice" proceedings.

The case hinges on an audit of Google's gender pay gap. The company has handed "hundreds of thousands" of files to the Department of Labor regarding its compensation of female employees, but the government claims it didn't provide the right details, including salary history and contact details.

Google hasn't yet replied to IT Pro'srequest for comment, but has previously disagreed with the salary differential claims, saying its own audits have shown no gender pay gap remains at the company.

11/04/2017:Google "surprised" at gender pay gap claims

Google released a statement today claiming surprise after US government allegations that a pay gap exists at the company.

The US Department of Labor claimed yesterday that Google systematically discriminates against female staff, during a court case demanding Google gives up salary data for its employees.

Eileen Naughton, VP of people operations at Google, responded to say the company has supplied "hundreds of thousands" of documents to the department, and that the accusations are baseless.

"We were quite surprised when a representative of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor accused us of not compensating women fairly," she said. "We were taken aback by this assertion, which came without any supporting data or methodology. The OFCCP representative claimed to have reached this conclusion even as the OFCCP is seeking thousands of employee records, including contact details of our employees, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of documents we've already produced in response to 18 different document requests."

Naughton said Google had shared its "top-level analysis" about the gender pay gap in 2016. She claimed that the annual analysis "is extremely scientific and robust" and that the methodology is available to other businesses.

Each year Google suggests an amount for every employee's new compensation based on "role, job level, job location as well as current and recent performance ratings" and the analysts who calculate the suggested amount "do not have access to employees' gender data".

Naughton explained: "Our pay equity model then looks at employees in the same job categories, and analyzes their compensation to confirm that the adjusted amount shows no statistically significant differences between men's and women's compensation."

Naughton said that "our analysis gives us confidence that there is no gender pay gap at Google" and she added that Google hopes to work with the OFCCP to resolve the issue.

10/04/2017:Google denies claims of gender pay discrimination

Google systematically discriminates against female staff, according to the US Department of Labor (DoL).

The department said it has found that the company underpays its female workers, according to a Guardian report, in violation of federal laws. Google denies the claims.

"The investigation is not complete," regional solicitor for the DoL Janet Herold told the Guardian,"but at this point the department has received compelling evidence of very significant discrimination against women in the most common positions at Google headquarters."

"The government's analysis at this point indicates that discrimination against women in Google is quite extreme, even in this industry," she added.

Regional director Janette Wipper testified in a San Francisco court last Friday that the department had discovered "systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce", according to the Guardian.

Wipper claimed that a snapshot of salaries from 2015 showed evidence of disparities and that the government needed access to further payroll data, as well as confidential employee interviews, in order to successfully pinpoint the cause of the issue.

"We vehemently disagree with Ms. Wipper's claim," a Google spokesperson told IT Pro. "Every year, we do a comprehensive and robust analysis of pay across genders and we have found no gender pay gap. Other than making an unfounded statement which we heard for the first time in court, the DoL hasn't provided any data, or shared its methodology."

Google supplies services to the federal government as a contractor, meaning that it can be compelled by the government to hand over records of employee information, salary history and other data in accordance with compliance laws.

However, the DoL claims that Google has consistently failed to release the data, forcing the department to issue a lawsuit against the company in January. A company spokesperson told Reuters that the requests were "overbroad in scope, or reveal confidential data".

Google could face some serious consequences if the suit does not go its way; the DoL has asked the court to cancel all the company's existing federal contracts and bar it from future government business if it does not comply with the department's requests.

These accusations are the latest reference to Silicon Valley's systemic discrimination problem. Tech companies like Uber have found themselves in hot water in recent months over allegations that they are allowing sexist behaviour to run rampant throughout their organisations.

TalkTalk's CEO hopes one day she's no longer described as a "woman in tech" because women will one day stop being a minority in the industry.

In a column in the Telegraph to mark International Women in Engineering Day, the new CEO of the ISP Tristia Harrison said she found it "strange" that people believe "technology is not a sector that appeals to women," describing her own career at Carphone Warehouse and then helping to launch TalkTalk as "exciting and dynamic".

However, she noted that 27% of those in the digital industries are women, with even fewer in engineering roles or in leadership positions. The number of women in technology has been falling, reports suggest.

"Being a 'woman in tech' is something I'm incredibly proud of but I look forward to a time where it is no longer a label I wear, because women are no longer in the minority," she noted.

Harrison's call to arms comes as the British Computing Society reported a "worrying" drop in the numbers of students taking Computing GCSEs, as a shortage of skilled tech workers threatens the industry.

While Harrison suggested one reason women aren't joining tech is because it's believed it lacks appeal, her column comes as sexual harassment is being highlighted across the industry, with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stepping down following allegations of "bro culture" and systemic sexism at the company, and the founder of a venture-capital fund accused of inappropriate behaviour.

To help redress the balance, Harrison called for more "inspirational education" to help students see the creative side of technology, better visibility of women in the sector to encourage the next generation, and improved employee recruitment and retention. "The wonder of technology means that you can work anywhere," she wrote. "Flexible working is ingrained in our culture at TalkTalk and I think more companies should embrace this to allow women (and men) the flexibility to work alongside their families."

She also called for more investment into bursaries and scholarships, and for more funding for fibre infrastructure though how that will specifically help women rather than ISPs like TalkTalk wasn't made clear.

Technology's gender gap starts at school and widens as girls grow up, according to new research shining a light on the issues plaguing women in tech, against a backdrop of claims of Silicon Valley sexism.

IT and tech roles appeal to just 27% of female students, while tech careers are the first choice of just 3% of the 1,102 women currently taking A-levels or doing a university degree, according to accountancy firm PwC.

In contrast, 62% of the 1,074 men PwC surveyed said they would consider a career in tech, with 15% making the industry their first job priority, found the report, called Women in tech: Time to close the gender gap.

But nearly two-thirds of the female respondents told PwC they were put off the tech sector because they have received too little information about what it's like, while a quarter said tech is too male-dominated.

While 33% of male respondents said someone has suggested they enter tech, just 16% of women said the same. Only 19% of all students said such a recommendation has happened at school.

Sheridan Ash, women in technology leader at PwC, said: "It's worrying that such a low number of young females aren't considering technology as a career option and this is largely because no one is putting it forward as an option to them.It's hard for girls to aspire to what they can't see - we need to shout louder about the great women already working in technology and work harder to promote more women to senior and visible positions."

PwC's survey found that women cared more about the impact of their work than salaries or work/life balance. Ash said: "Highlighting the role technology plays in solving the world's important problems could be the differentiator that sparks wider female interest in the sector. I have seen first hand the positive real-life impact technology can have on a wide-range of areas."

The accountancy firm said girls need more interaction with technology subjects (under STEM) before they choose their GCSEs.

The report added: "More interaction with technology companies at school level will benefit both females and males and help to grow the pipeline of technology talent that we need in the UK. The key is to ensure that technology is presented to girls as a potential career choice by people in positions of influence: today it's hardly even mentioned to them as a possibility."

Other recommendations included a need to provide "alternative routes", like apprenticeships, into the tech sector for women who haven't necessarily studied STEM subjects, and to highlight more women tech role models, after 83% of women couldn't name anybody who had inspired them to pursue a technology career.

Tech companies in general should provide a better working environment for women too, PwC said, amid accusations that the technology sector is biased against women.

Uber is conducting an investigation into a former employee's claims that systemic sexism exists at the ride-hailing firm - Susan Fowler said, amid other accusations,that during her time as an engineer she was propositioned by a manager,and that HR refused to seriously discipline the man because of his strong performance record.

Meanwhile a former Tesla engineer has filed a lawsuit claiming Elon Musk's car firm is mired in a culture of "pervasive harrassment", allegations Tesla said it has investigated and found to be unsubstantiated.

The tech industry may have a reputation as being male-dominated, but that hasn't stopped one little girl from setting her sights on a job with one of the most prestigious tech firms in the world.

Seven-year-old Chloe Bridgewater from Hereford was so inspired by her dad's description of Google's famously eccentric offices that she decided to apply for a job there. She wrote a letter to the company's CEO, Sundar Pichai, or "google boss", as she called him.

"My dad said I can sit on bean bags and go down slides and ride go karts in a job in Google," Bridgewater explained in her letter. "I like computers too," she added, "and have a tablet I play games on."

She has already started dabbling in basic programming concepts, too. "My dad gave me a game where I have to move a robot up and down squares," she wrote; "he said it will be good for me to learn about computers."

"My dad told me if I carry on being good and learning then one day I will be able to have a job at google," she added.

Her career ambitions don't end there, however: "I also want to work in a chocolate factory and do swimming in the olympics," she wrote.

Surprisingly, her letter actually got a response from the CEO himself. Pichai wrote back to Chloe, advising her to continue her studies, and to apply for a job once she leaves education.

The vast majority of Northern techies are men, according to an annual digital skill audit that reveals the North's technology sector gender divide is increasing.

Contrary to industry hopes of getting more women into IT, Manchester Digital's audit of 250 digital and technology businesses this week revealed that more than 70% of digital technology workers in the North are now men, up from 60% last year. Less than one in three staff members in the industry are women.

The divide only becomes more pronounced when looking at technical roles, where men make up almost 90% of the workforce; last year, this figure was 70%. Not only that, but more than half of all businesses said that their tech teams were exclusively male.

The audit found evidence not only of an increasing gender gap, but further confirmation of the skills gap as well. Northern businesses have struggled to fill developer positions for the fourth year in a row, and one third of businesses have reported difficulties in hiring devs. This has resulted in development jobs being among the most commonly outsourced.

"The results of our annual skills audit once again reflect a thriving industry, but one that is seriously hampered by the ability to recruit at the necessary volume," said Manchester Digital managing director Katie Gallagher. "The sector's widening gender gap is a key concern for us, and something we will continue to address through our own initiatives and by working with relevant groups who champion minorities and diversity in the sector."

She added: "We believe the will is there [to address this], but government policy and lack of investment still hinder the implementation and scaling up of the solutions that will really deliver change."

Manchester Digital's audit follows a report from a non-partisan think tank, the Social Market Foundation, that concluded more women must study STEM subjects in order to fill a predicted skills gap of 142,000 job roles by 2023.

More women in tech are needed to fill a growing number of jobs in science, technology, engineering and research in the UK, according to a new study.

The 'Jobs of the Future' report by non-partisan think tank, the Social Market Foundation, and EDF Energy predicted that a surge in digital innovation and rapid infrastructure growth will result in 142,000 new STEM job vacancies by 2023.

The data comes from the Social Market Foundation's analysis of government data and examination of trends in the growth of science, research, engineering and technology jobs.

However, the report also warns that there will be a significant shortage in the number of skilled applicants ready to fill the roles, including a 40% shortfall in engineering.

The need for more girls entering the STEM workplace is therefore "essential to the success of the UK industrial strategy", the report argued, saying women currently represent less than a quarter of the workforce in four out of five most in-demand industries.

Demand for research, science and engineering roles will remain high, according to the report, as the government maintains a commitment to infrastructure investment. But the biggest surge is likely to come from areas such as retail, PR firms, and financial services, which will see an increased demand for STEM-based skills over the six-year period.

Today's report highlights "a big opportunity for today's girls and a challenge for the UK's industrial strategy", according to Nida Broughton, chief economist at the Social Market Foundation. "It's essential we invest in the skills and training so that the UK can meet this demand - and encouraging more women to consider science will be critical to our success."

Almost 22% of these 142,000 roles will be entirely new types of jobs, most of which will be in specialised construction (63%) and retail and head offices (36%). Specific roles are likely to include computer coders, intelligence consultants, robotics engineers, and data scientists.

The report found that the number of women working in STEM roles in 2016 was just 462,000, and they were significantly underrepresented in many of the roles likely to see higher job openings in the future. For example, women were found to make up only 10% of the entire architectural workforce, and only 16% in computer services such as programming and coding.

In response to the findings, EDF Energy said it would be increasing its number of female apprentices to 30% by 2018.

"As one of the fastest growing industries in the world, it offers a huge amount of opportunities for people from all backgrounds, education and cultures and is increasingly attracting strong, inspiring female leaders," said Dayne Turbitt, senior VP of the UK at Dell EMC.

"We need to tackle the stereotypes associated with the IT industry from a young age, even before girls are choosing their GCSE and A-Level subjects. It is the responsibility of both men and women leaders to inspire young individuals and help them to understand the exciting opportunities that a career in IT holds," added Turbitt.