The British Computer Society highlights significant delays in achieving gender equality in the tech industry.
- BCS projects gender parity in tech may take up to 300 years at the current rate of progress.
- Women are vastly underrepresented, occupying less than a quarter of the IT workforce despite constituting 51% of the UK’s working-age population.
- The technology sector’s unemployment rates reveal notable disparities between male and female workers, with women experiencing higher unemployment.
- Challenges persist for women of colour, with ‘tech bro culture’ undermining diversity efforts, though measures like flexible work and blind recruitment offer hope.
The British Computer Society (BCS) has expressed concerns over the pace of progress in achieving gender and diversity balance within the technology sector. Julia Adamson, BCS’s Managing Director for Public Benefit, indicated that discussions around equal opportunities for women and ethnic minorities remain unchanged over the years.
BCS’s analysis paints a stark picture of gender imbalance in technology. It predicts that, if current trends continue, it may take up to 300 years to achieve gender equality. Adamson remarked, “If we carry on at the rate, we’ll all be dead and buried by then,” highlighting the urgency needed in addressing this issue.
The recent BCS report reveals that although women make up 51% of the UK’s working-age population, their representation within the IT workforce is significantly lower, at less than 25%. Moreover, female tech workers face a higher unemployment rate of 2.5% compared to 1.8% for their male counterparts, though both are lower than the national unemployment rate for women across all sectors, which stands at 3.8%.
The underrepresentation and higher unemployment rates of women in tech reflect deeper systemic issues. Adamson noted the ongoing challenges, stating, “Women have got more roots in [tech] and we are seeing more women in the profession, and that’s great but it’s not quick enough.”
Charlene Hunter, CEO of Coding Black Females, emphasised the additional hurdles faced by women of colour, particularly black women, in the tech industry. She critiqued the prevailing ‘tech bro culture’ as a barrier to inclusion. Hunter explained that while diversity is officially acknowledged, recruitment based on ‘cultural fit’ often perpetuates exclusionary environments. Measures such as flexible working and blind recruitment are highlighted as positive steps towards addressing these challenges.
The British Computer Society underscores a pressing need for accelerated efforts towards gender and diversity equality in technology.
