Event round-up | Advancing Women at Work: Global Perspectives - techUK Women in Tech Breakfast
On Wednesday 15 April, techUK hosted a Women in Tech Group breakfast event on advancing women at work, bringing together perspectives from government, industry, academia and policy. Discussions explored women’s participation in the workforce, barriers to progression, practical employer action, and the strategies being used internationally to support women’s participation, progression and pay equity.
We were pleased to be joined by:
Chair:Nimmi Patel, Associate Director – Policy, techUK
Gillian Unsworth, Deputy Director in the Women’s Equality Division - Office for Equality and Opportunity, UK Cabinet Office
Alia Qamar - Senior Economist and Women in Work lead, PwC,
Shehla Hasan - Director and Head - UK, Confederation of Indian Industry
Francesca Borgonovi - Head of Skills Analysis, OECD Centre for Skills
Event overview:
Gender Pay Gap Reporting & Menopause Action Plans
Gillian Unsworth spoke on the Cabinet Office’s Gender Pay Gap Report and the importance of encouraging companies to understand what gender pay gap reporting means.
She stressed that the key is what employers do with the data - understanding the causes of their gap, using evidence-informed actions, and reviewing whether those actions are working over time. The event noted that employers are now being pushed beyond reporting towards active intervention.
Currently, employers with over 250 workers must report their organisation's gender pay gap data, and larger employers are encouraged to produce action plans to reduce their organisations gender pay gap and support employees going through menopause. Gillian mentioned that the legal requirement for large companies to create action plans is expected to become mandatory from Spring 2027, subject to legislation.
The panel discussed menopause as a significant driver of women leaving the workforce at the peak of their careers, especially in skilled roles. The message was that even relatively small workplace adjustments, if implemented well, could help retain experienced women and reduce economic loss for businesses and the wider economy.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity has released guidance on gender pay gap reporting and creating an action plan for employers, which can be found here.
Female Returners
Gillian spoke at length about the importance of supporting female returners, as too many women drop out of the workforce due to caring responsibilities, the effects of menopause symptoms and inflexible workplace environments. The Office for Equality and Opportunity have developed guidance and toolkits for both employers and returners to ensure women continue to progress throughout their career, and not downgrade when returning to work.
Shehla mentioned the importance of social initiatives such as returnships that provide 6-12 weeks paid internships where women are upskilled, introduced to flexible working environments and support networks to bring women back into work after maternity breaks. Returner initiatives adopted by Indian companies within sectors such as IT, finance and retail have seen post-maternity retention rise to 89-99%.
Overall, it was highlighted that retention and re-entry are critical for tackling skills shortages and improving women’s progression.
Trade and Gender Equality
Shehla Hasan highlighted that the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) agreement from India to have a chapter focused on gender. The Trade and Gender Equality Chapter aims to create a more inclusive trade policy through prioritising access to markets for women founders, entrepreneurs and workers. Provisions in other Chapters that highlight advancing gender equality include government procurement, digital trade, financial services and SMEs.
PwC Women in Work Index 2026
Alia Qamar presented PwC’s Women in Work Index, which tracks five indicators including the gender pay gap, participation rate gap, female participation, female full-time employment, and female unemployment across 33 OECD countries. She said progress has continued over time, but the pace has slowed since COVID and results from the 2026 index show that the UK moved up one place to 17th.
Iceland took the top spot for the fifth year in a row, reflecting its commitment to supportive parental leave policies, childcare provision and a better work-life balance. Alia also noted that the UK’s challenge is not just about participation, but about helping women into good jobs: female unemployment is rising, full-time work is weakening, and high childcare costs and workplace culture are pushing some women into part-time work or out of the labour market altogether.
OECD Skills Outlook 2025
The OECD’s Skills Outlook Report 2025 explores how countries can build the skills needed to sustain growth and social progress. Francesca Borgonovi highlighted that the gap between girls and boys entering STEM careers is driven less by differences in ability and more by attitudes, confidence and self-belief.
She also noted that underrepresentation cuts both ways - women are underrepresented in STEM, while men are underrepresented in caring professions such as teaching, nursing and caretaking. The report highlights initiatives aimed at improving gender balance across these fields and challenging stereotypes from an early age, including France’s ‘the Girls and Maths’ (Filles et Maths) plan, Germany’s Modern Men Do Care project and Sweden’s gender equality initiatives in preschools.
AI and automation
AI came up repeatedly as both an opportunity and a risk. Francesca said women’s AI adoption appears to be converging with men’s, but that self-reporting and perception may still mask bias, especially if women’s use of AI is judged differently from men’s.
Gillian said government is looking at how AI affects recruitment, promotion and performance assessment, warning employers to be cautious about algorithmic bias. The panel agreed that AI needs human oversight, more inclusive design and better representation of women in both using and building AI systems.
Watch the full event recording
If you missed the event, you can watch the recording below:
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