UK urged to address 500,000 women missing from IT sector
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — The British Computer Society (BCS), the Chartered Institute for IT, urged the UK government to take immediate action to address the significant gender gap in the IT sector.
In a letter to Peter Kyle, the newly appointed technology secretary, BCS Chief Executive Rashik Parmar highlighted the alarming statistic that over 500,000 women are ‘missing’ from the UK’s IT workforce.
Comprehensive strategy needed for digital literacy, inclusion
Parmar emphasized the need for a comprehensive strategy to attract more women into the IT sector.
“To secure the future, we need to prioritize digital literacy in schools and make tech careers appeal to a far broader group of people,” he wrote.
He expressed his concern about the current gender disparity, noting that if gender representation in IT were equal to the workforce norm, there would be an additional 527,000 IT specialists in the UK.
BCS analysis of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed that the proportion of women in IT has remained stagnant over the decades.
In 1981, 19% of the IT workforce was female, a figure that slightly increased to 19.2% in 2011 and peaked at 20.9% in 1991. As of 2022, only 22% of the 1.9 million IT specialists in the UK were women aged 50 or above.
This underrepresentation extends to other demographics as well. If disability representation matched the workforce norm, an estimated 88,000 more IT specialists would be needed.
BCS manifesto and recommendations
The BCS letter also called for the implementation of its manifesto, which includes several key recommendations to improve diversity and standards in the IT sector. These include:
- Supporting chartered status for IT professionals to ensure accountability and competence.
- Introducing a mandatory cybersecurity code.
- Requiring company boards to include a member accountable for cybersecurity.
- Encouraging organizations to publish their ethical policies for AI use, supported by independent audits and transparent governance.
“By setting the highest standards for those who direct and develop IT in public sector areas like health and across the civil service, the UK can be an example to the world,” Parmar stated.
Urgent need for government support
Parmar’s letter underscores the urgency of government intervention to close the gender gap in IT. He warned that based on current trends, achieving gender parity in the IT workforce could take up to 280 years.
“That’s why I ask you to support Chartered status for technology professionals, setting the same expectations of competence and ethics as regulated fields like accountancy and medicine,” he urged.
The BCS continues to advocate for policies that promote diversity, digital literacy, and ethical practices in the IT sector, aiming to make the UK a global leader in technology and innovation.
