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Empowering women in tech starts earlier than we think
The shaped pipeline
We often focus on the ratio of women in boardrooms, yet by that point the pipeline has long been shaped – with a heavy lean towards men. The journey to senior leadership is not defined by a single barrier but by a series of pinch points: caregiving pressures, cultural expectations, bias in how leadership traits are perceived and rewarded.
Each stage requires a different intervention.
But there are earlier, quieter influences we talk about less. Girls don’t opt out of tech at 21 – many do so much earlier. By the time we are counting board seats, aspirations and confidence have long been formed.
Early signals in the classroom
So what is happening in UK classrooms? King’s College London research shows that 43% of students taking GCSE ICT in 2015 were girls. By 2023, following curriculum reforms and the introduction of GCSE Computer Science, that figure had fallen to just 21% – fewer than one in four. This shift from broader ICT to specialised Computer Science is widely considered a likely contributor to the decline in female participation.
It isn’t that girls lack interest in technology; the deterrents are greater. Tech careers are still associated widely with a narrow stereotype: the highly technical, predominantly male computer scientist. Male founders come readily to mind, while female role models are rare.
Research points to a mix of factors in formative years: limited visible role models, perceptions of who “belongs” in STEM, and confidence gaps. These confidence gaps reflect how capable girls feel to take on technical subjects and roles; even when ability is equal, self-perception can influence subject choices and aspirations.
Against this backdrop, it becomes clear why many tech businesses are choosing to intervene early.
Purposeful outreach
Early exposure to tech careers is critical, yet many students never really experience this before making subject choices. This is where purposeful outreach matters. Businesses actively deliver experiences, while school and university partnerships, alongside industry bodies (such as CyberFirst, Cyber Girls First and Tech She Can), coordinate events and provide the frameworks to maximise impact from individual initiatives.
Well-designed outreach combines practical problem-solving with structured reflection. Gamified challenges, for example, can mirror real-world roles in cyber security, data analysis, or digital product development and transformation. Participating in these experiences helps students recognise their own strengths in context. Structured feedback, self-assessment, and evidenced praise help them see how the skills they are already strong in – spotting patterns, analytical thinking, problem solving – link to real-world tech roles, building both aspiration and confidence.
Representation in outreach delivery is central. Seeing female engineers alongside culturally and cognitively diverse peers signals that the industry is both accessible and varied. When outreach is sustained and coordinated across an industry-wide network, it can translate early interest into credible, long-term ambition – bridging the gap between classrooms and careers.
Beyond exposure: building the continuum
School outreach is vital in building and maintaining a diverse tech talent pipeline, but cannot stand alone. Exposure must connect to tangible next steps – work experience, internships, apprenticeships and early careers pathways – or early inspiration will fade. Support in those early years is what transforms interest into actual entry.
Beyond entry, the sector must also consider what happens further down the line, returner programmes, flexible adjustments, and whether women are staying and advancing once they join tech. While many of the challenges mentioned to this point are not exclusive to women, the data shows they disproportionately affect female representation at senior levels. Those questions matter deeply.
If we wait until an individual’s career advancement stalls, we are already intervening late. Sustainable change requires a wheel of focus: Early Exposure → Entry → Experience → Progression → Leadership – designed collectively across industry.
If we want more women in the C-suite of tomorrow, we must invest in the classroom of today, where confidence, aspiration, and belonging are first formed.
Biography
Louise Goldsworthy is CSR Lead within Gemba Advantage (part of Actica Group), where she leads the organisation’s responsible business and sustainability strategy. Her work spans areas including school outreach, purpose-led partnerships and social value delivery, alongside embedding responsible practice into day-to-day decision-making. She brings over 25 years’ experience within tech-focused organisations and an understanding of how culture and leadership shape sustainable performance.
About the campaign
techUK’s March TechTogether campaign continues with a focus on ‘empowering women in tech from classroom to c-suite'. Following International Women's Day our insights this week focus on female retention and growth in tech workplaces, spotlighting successful female tech leaders, gender pay disparities in the tech world, and addressing workplace biases and strengthening DEI initiatives.
TechTogether Week 2
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