A recap on techUK and Women in Tech Policy Network Unconference

Missing voices and representation:

• Under-representation in tech workforce and tech's image problem.
• Question on who's involved in AI creation, development, deployment, and training data? Need wider range of people inputting into LLM training.
• Rebrand safety as "inclusive outcomes" - build in safety and inclusion by default.

AI use cases and impact:

• Examples: AI for gender equality (caregiving, housekeeping) but consider employment implications. Government needs bolder AI vision beyond basic SME tools. Focus on transforming research, education, government operations in UK.

Public engagement and governance:

• Invest in national science and tech literacy. Tech She Can has ready communities to contribute.
• Make public engagement compulsory before launching AI tools (like planning processes). Use focus groups to test different demographic responses.

Education and the future of jobs:

• Education about future jobs that won't be eliminated by AI. Tech She Can already doing inclusive careers education - question is how to scale nationwide.

Representation and leadership challenges: Women don't tend to see themselves represented, discouraging them from pursuing these roles. Imposter syndrome affects women's outreach

Funding and investment gaps: Only 2% of VC funding goes to women (worse for certain backgrounds). Pipeline challenge - not building 50% of potential venture capacity. Men typically take more investment money than women. VCs have a role to encourage women in leadership positions. Women generally build impactful companies but face funding barriers.

Education and early intervention: tech needs to be better promoted for girls in schools. Different risk appetites between genders, potentially based on upbringing.

Solutions and opportunities: Economic argument of diversity is an economic necessity, not just fairness.Mandatory requirements: Statistical requirements to avoid echo chambers in leadership. Measurement: Define what new leaders should look like; avoid tick-box exercises. Cultural shift that women don't need to "be like men" - values-driven, impact-driven leadership. Women's reciprocity that women more willing to give back and would advocate for men if roles reversed. Behavioural strategies to be more direct, keep talking when interrupted, challenge biases boldly.

UK competitiveness and scaling: Why aren't UK companies winning major deals? Scaling challenges? Poor listing environment in UK. VCs/PEs fund seed to Series B but struggle beyond. Government ambitious about homegrown scale-ups but lacks capitalisation measures.

Supply chain and dependencies: Legacy systems creating vulnerabilities. Societal resilience concerns around supply chain reliance. Reliance on foreign service providers raising some concerns.

Sovereignty vs. resilience debate: Is full sovereignty achievable or even desirable for UK? Difference between "homegrown" and "sovereignty". Sovereignty as spectrum: do we want sovereignty or resilience?

Infrastructure components: Digital infrastructure: energy, telecoms, cloud, Digital ID. Tech Prosperity Deal implications for sovereignty.

International collaboration at risk: Policy fragmentation increasing, creating siloed approaches. Impact on country partnerships unclear. R&D collaboration threatened despite science being inherently borderless.

Online Safety Act: Enforcement to be complemented by communities of best practice for platforms as a way forward after the Online Safety Act 

Regulating platforms: Question on this being enough - a need for increased resources for education programmes and broader social interventions (e.g. AI and tech literacy programmes).

Bridging the online / offline divide: Need to implement education around offences both offline and online as well as comparable enforcement.

VC funding misalignment. Founders automatically steered toward VC, but it's not always the right path. Female-founded businesses often don't fit VC profiles (e.g., consumer-focused ventures need longer runway than SaaS). Women held to higher standards and face lower risk appetite from investors (e.g., ‘will you just have a family?’).

Early-stage support gaps: Need to raise young women to consider entrepreneurship and investment careers. Support required at earliest business stages (e.g., investment pathways programmes). Risk appetite differences affect women's entrepreneurial participation.

Messaging and economic opportunity: Growth-focused messaging more effective than diversity-focused appeals. £250 billion potential economic boost from equal opportunities for women.

Policy and leadership: Liz Kendall & Rachel Reeves championing new women in tech initiatives through DSIT. Should include startups, men, and intersectional diversity.

Information and perception barriers: Entrepreneurs often unaware of available funding options. Misconception that technical/STEM background required to found tech startups. Assumptions about needed skills hold back non-technical women

Barriers to access and adoption. Technology is hard to learn and use; digital revolution may worsen this. Female entrepreneurs and deprived communities show lower tech/AI adoption. Geographic "connectivity deserts" create infrastructure gaps. End-user experience quality affects adoption rates.

Vulnerable and excluded populations: Aging population: emergency information access challenges. Ex-offenders and prison populations need upskilling and retraining. Disabled users require accessible design (e.g., screen reader compatibility).

Intersectionality and multiple barriers: Digital exclusion has "multiple legs": reliable connectivity, trust, identity, literacy. Identity markers (age, disability, socioeconomic status) shape relationship to technology. Interventions must be tailored to specific groups, not one-size-fits-all. Homogenous tech development teams perpetuate bias.

Trust and design: Lack of trust in digital systems. Need consultative, participatory design with end-users. Understand lived experiences: "design for all, think about what you don't know".

Policy and solutions: EU accessibility guidelines struggle to keep pace with technological change. US model: user agency to choose devices and social tariffs (affordability programs). Need impact assessments that bring individuals and SMEs together. Address supply-side barriers, not just demand/adoption. Balance national policies with highly local challenges.

Critical questions: How do we "sell being online" to reluctant users? How big is the tech literacy problem domestically vs. globally? Can policy encourage participatory interventions without appearing performative? Does poor connectivity experience preclude adoption entirely?

Responsibility and accountability: Debate over who owns responsibility; the state, tech companies, or users. Is there need for greater platform transparency on addictive design and opt-out mechanisms?

User empowerment and control: Should sers should control their own algorithms? Implement usage limits and prompts. Parental controls for children's accounts. Early education on personal responsibility and choice.

Education and literacy: Media literacy and digital citizenship must be taught in schools. Consistent parent education on digital tools and functionality. Teach critical thinking about misinformation and content design.

Defining and measuring harm: Need clear definition and quantification of digital harm.

Promoting positive use: Government role in highlighting beneficial internet uses. Examples of positive impact: BookTok driving youth literature engagement. Health apps and positive behavioural nudges.

Potential tension: Tension between ambitions for  growth and net zero objectives - will have to eventually be addressed by government.

Data centres: Public perception challenge for data centres - need for a PR campaign.

Energy infrastructure challenges: Need to invest in energy use optimisation and grid modernisation; rethink how data centres connect to the grid?; nuclear as a potential solution? 

Be at the forefront of rapid change

• Society and technology evolving at unprecedented speed.
• Constantly emerging advancements.
• Being at the frontier as policy debates unfold in real-time.
• Fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Shaping rules and policy for a new ‘era’ and territory

• Writing the rules for technology as it develops – gender considerations in tech design.
• Creating new policy frameworks for emerging issues and influencing on how decision-makers approach tech policy.
• Being present at the formation stage of regulation.

Accidental or serendipitous career paths

• ‘Accidentally’ joining civil service or tech sector
• Tech "happened to" people rather than being planned
• Coming from diverse backgrounds (law, philanthropy, solar energy, skills policy)
• Non-traditional routes into tech policy

Addressing certain concerns with future of technology

• Fear of being "replaced by robots" motivating engagement
• Interest in AI's societal impacts
• Need for protection from emerging tech risks
• How technology is shaped for (or against) women
• Feminism and gender considerations in tech design
• Tech accessibility in developing contexts

An interest in technology's societal impact

• Tech shapes society and public dialogue
• Every company now essentially a tech company
• Technology's role in everyday life (e.g., phones in Africa)
• How tech interacts with broader social issues
• Absence of tech in philanthropy
• Tech accessibility in developing contexts

Continued purpose and impact

• Making meaningful differences in people's lives.
• Contributing to something that will shape everyday life and the future.
• Working in a disruptive, high-impact space.
• Shaping difficult funding landscape for women and addressing specific barriers in start-up progression (SEED to Series A).
• Improving overall representation in STEM fields.

Women in leadership and putting UK at heart of UK tech ecosystem

• Opportunity to put the UK on the global map.
• Importance of having "a seat at the table".
• Securing the UK's position at the forefront of technology.
• Underrepresentation of women in technology roles.
• Aspiration to be a role model and motivation for other women.
• Active frustration about gender disparity driving action to bring more women into the sector.

Driving real policy influence and advocacy

• Shaping policy from the inside.
• Speaking for consumers as technology evolves.
• Ensuring tech develops in the right direction
• Value of diverse backgrounds entering the tech space to shape future policy.