Diversity in the tech industry

The UK's innovative and fast-growing technology sector has overcome a number of challenges, yet ensuring diversity in the tech workforce is key to its long-term success

With the UK tech industry now worth £820billion and employing more than two million workers (CompTIA, 2023), you'd think the future would be bright. However, there continues to be a lack of diversity in technology roles, especially regarding gender in leadership positions.

Julia Bateson, head of degrees and apprenticeships at TechSkills, explains how digital tech is relevant to all sectors of the economy and society.

'It's therefore crucial that the tech industry involves a diverse workforce that represents global tech users,' says Julia. 'This involves bringing different insights to understand an intuitive user experience, designing innovative software and systems, improving our online security, and creating outstanding products.'

Why does inclusion matter from a business perspective?

Global management consultants McKinsey & Company explored the connection between a company's business success and its approach to diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I). They found that organisations ensuring greater diversity in their workforce were more likely to perform better in terms of long-term profitability.

Gemma Edgar, digital marketing manager at Diversity in Tech, agrees that a diverse workforce drives innovation.

'Businesses across the world have seen financial gain as well as improved employee satisfaction and retention as a result of improving their diversity metrics,' explains Gemma.

'It's critical for companies to invest in creating robust and effective D&I strategies to ensure that every aspect of their hiring, policies, training and culture are inclusive and supportive of all employees regardless of age, gender, background or race.'

What is the gender gap in technology?

'The tech industry has historically been dominated by men, and while the number of females entering the sector is improving, there's still so much more to be done to reach gender equity,' says Gemma.

Tech Talent Charter's report on diversity and inclusion at over 700 organisations has highlighted the current gender imbalance. It revealed that less than a third of tech workers were women or non-binary.

While the results from this survey sample of 230,000 UK tech employees is considerably higher than the government's tech industry estimate of 17%, it's still staggering considering that half (49%) of UK workers are women.

This is compounded by Tech Nation's findings that less than a quarter (22%) of tech directors are women, and the proportion of female directors in the video game industry is less than an eighth (13%).

Despite more recent interventions aimed at shedding light on and tackling this gender gap in tech leadership roles, the proportion of men and women reaching director level since 2000 has remained almost the same.

Gemma believes that one of the most common reasons for the disparity between male and female representation in the tech industry is the lack of education in young girls around STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.

'Many young girls still believe maths, science, and technology are subjects for boys, and until we change these perceptions, a gender gap is still likely to be an issue,' she adds.

Read more about this issue on Diversity In Tech's sister site, Women In Tech.

With funding from the Government Equalities Office, the Gender & Behavioural Insights (GABI) research programme has recommended several evidence-based interventions that can positively affect gender equality.

These include:

• ensuring shortlists contain more than one woman
• using blind CV screening and recruitment methods
• resolving the gender pay gap
• encouraging role models
• mentoring and reverse mentoring.

A number of leading employers have already taken action:

• PwC's Her Tech Talent programme provides work experience and job opportunities for female students in Year 12 and university students and graduates.
• Cisco's educational Women Rock-IT programme allows women to develop their skills through a series of free, online, exploratory courses.
• The Home Office's DDaT Women in Tech Programme aims to tackle the barriers women face when looking to progress in this industry. The training and development on offer enable them to develop the skills and behaviours to achieve their potential.

Is the tech industry inclusive when it comes to sexual orientation?

A study by The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) found that almost a third of young LGBTQ+ people avoided careers in STEM subjects due to fears of discrimination.

As businesses look to make their working environments places where everyone feels comfortable, policies should include provisions for safeguarding LGBTQ+ workers.

The following tech companies have been praised for having diverse workforces and supporting the LGBTQ+ community:

• Amazon
• Fujitzu
• Google
• Hewlett Packard (HP)
• Microsoft.

For example, HP was the first company to start an employee resource group for LGBT+ employees. In addition, Amazon scored highly on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, ranking it among the 'Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality'.

This included scoring measures attributed to workforce protection levels, inclusive benefits, supporting an inclusive culture and adopting corporate social responsibility measures to include people of all sexual orientations.

What about ethnic diversity in tech?

The 2024 survey by Tech Talent Charter found that people from ethnic minority groups make up a larger share of the technology workforce (25%) than they do across the wider UK workforce (12%).

Despite these findings, less than a sixth (14%) of senior tech leaders are from ethnic minority groups.

This is against the backdrop of highly international leadership in the tech sector. Indeed, Tech Nation revealed that nearly a fifth (18%) of tech directors are non-British in nationality, compared to less than an eighth (13%) in other industries.

Professional services company KPMG runs a Black Heritage Talent Insight Programme, which offers Black students an insight into the business. This initiative enables them to grow their networks, develop key skills and be considered for graduate roles.

Undergraduates with a Black heritage background can also apply to oil and gas company BP's Future Leaders Discovery Week. This paid opportunity, which involves professional skills workshops, networking, and learning from business leaders, can lead to a fast-track interview for entry into next year's internship programme.

Are there social mobility issues in the tech industry?

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT analysed social mobility in the IT sector through its Moving On Up report. The study found that the IT profession does present opportunities for social mobility.

Through the research, the organisation revealed that young people from less advantaged backgrounds find IT career paths more accessible than in other long-established professions such as law and medicine.

There are more entry routes into IT, and achieving the necessary qualifications and skills is far cheaper than in these other vocations.

Indeed, three-quarters (75%) of IT professionals experienced upward social mobility compared to their parents' social class, with four-fifths (80%) of IT project/programme managers experiencing a higher social mobility grade than their parents.

Business and tech consultancy firm FDM Group has proposed measures to improve social mobility across the industry:

• hiring people for their skills and experience rather than their educational background
• investing in upskilling programmes to make organisations more enticing
• supporting young talent through mentorship and job shadowing
• creating an inclusive environment that provides accessibility for all backgrounds
• partnering with a talent solutions provider to help support the company's goals.

Is there a disability employment gap in tech?

While a fifth (19%) of the UK working population has a disability, a report by BCS reveals that when it comes to IT specialists, this only amounts to a tenth (11%) of workers.

The BCS Diversity Report 2023: Disability shows that an additional 88,000 IT specialists with disabilities would be needed to be representative of workplace norms.

Another BCS report on The Experience of Neurodiverse and Disabled People in IT reveals that despite an increase in the number of people reporting disabilities in the tech sector, it's clear there's still a disability employment gap to fill.

To combat this, the government has committed to increasing the number of disabled people in work to 1.2 million by 2027. Proposed measures include redesigning current schemes such as Disability Confident and Access to Work to make them less time-consuming for disabled applicants.

Other issues highlighted include ensuring recruitment processes are more accessible to disabled people and giving them the option of flexible working. It's also hoped that employers will provide specialist assistive technology and software that can help create a more inclusive work environment.

Removing these barriers to employment will encourage more disabled people into tech.

Major companies such as Microsoft are also adopting clear disability hiring practices, such as running Ability Hiring events and providing interview accommodations. The company also runs a neurodiversity programme for neurodiverse individuals. Read about neurodiversity in the workplace.

Find out more

• Explore tech graduate schemes.
• Read more about diversity in the workplace.
• Discover opportunities for women in engineering.