09 Jan 2023

Contribute to our first 'Marching Forward to Close the Tech Gender Gap' campaign month

Get involved with techUK Women in Tech March.

Striving for equality in the tech sector is central to techUK’s mission. Throughout March, coinciding with International Women’s Day (IWD 2023) on 8 March, we are exploring how we embrace equitable workplaces that support women in tech.  

According to a study by PWC, three out of five women returning to the workforce will move to a lower skill role which immediately reduces their earnings by a third. According to 2022 UK government data, the gender pay gap across the UK is 14.9% in favour of all male employees. An estimated USD 13 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2030 if the right steps are taken now to promote gender-parity improvements and bring more women back into the workforce. 

techUK has over 950 member companies which are themselves diverse, operating across numerous sectors and all with their own individual hiring, training, and retraining practices. The journey these companies are on to ensure those from disadvantaged backgrounds are represented within the tech industry are very different. However, the direction of travel is the same.  

By redoubling our efforts to increase diversity in tech we can not only work towards the normative and societal good of equal representation in the sector, but at the same time take important steps towards ensuring an ethical and sustainable approach to the development and use of technology. 

Although our campaign spotlights women in tech, we want to ensure that we are supporting allies in all shapes and forms, wherever they come from.  

The UN’s theme for IWD 2023 concentrates on Digital for All or DigitALL, and we are proud to support this. 


Why do we mark International Women’s Day? 

To celebrate and educate. We want to celebrate women in tech and the work organisations are doing to support, while showing there is a real need for more to be done. techUK uses such days as an advocacy tool. 

Input from members 

We would like to invite members to contribute to the month via blogs, videos, or being an interviewee to discuss actions that both government and industry can take towards the normative and societal good of equal representation in the sector, including: supporting women returners, career switchers and progression in the industry, exploring the impact of flexible working, gender pay gaps, and the impact of automation on women.

This could be a thought leadership blog post (400–600 words), a case study, or a video that demonstrates your views on this issue.

Email your word document submissions to [email protected]. Please ensure that you also submit a headshot photo, alongside your most updated job title, and a short bio. 

Guidelines 

Blog 

  • Should be between a maximum of 600 words. 

Video 

  • Should be between 30 to 90 seconds long  

  • Should answer at least one of the following questions: 

    • How do you currently see equality in tech? And how do you think we can achieve a more diverse future? 
    • What are the barriers, for woman, to enter your industry? 
    • How is your industry/ are you supporting diversity and equality?   
    • What’s your no 1 piece of advice for the future generations entering tech? 

Written Interview  

If you would like to be part of our written interview series, please email Tania Teixeira ([email protected]).  

SME Member of the Week: March

Every week techUK recognises one of our SME members in order to demonstrate their accomplishments. We want our members and stakeholders to get to know and connect with our valuable network of 500+ SME members.  Every month, we focus on a particular theme and select SMEs who are making particular impact on that topic.  For March's SME Member of the Week, we are focusing on Women in Tech. We are keen to showcase how SME members are supporting gender diversity in their businesses.  

Submit your case study here.

Deadline extended!!! - 22 March 

If you require an extended deadline, please email Nimmi Patel ([email protected].)  

*Please note that we can only accept content from techUK members.

Nimmi Patel

Nimmi Patel

Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity, techUK

Tania Teixeira

Tania Teixeira

Social Media and Content Manager, techUK