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The Retention Imperative: A Reflection On DEI And How Good Intention is Not Good Enough
A few months ago, I started to shape an internal initiative to empower women at our organisation. To ground the design of the programme in lived experiences, I’ve reached out to colleagues across the business to ask what they think.
People were candid in ways I hadn't anticipated.
Two questions stayed with me long after and I think they really nail down the heart of this problem.
Over 60% of tech organisations now actively working on gender balance. With the UK government’s recent launch of Women in Tech Taskforce, we are likely to see more organisations respond to this momentum and launch their own inclusion programmes.
I suspect many will encounter the same two questions that paused me to reflect.
1) "So what measurable outcome do you want to achieve and how does the programme benefit the company?"
It was a fair question, asked in good faith. And yet I found myself hesitating, because the honest answer is genuinely difficult. Because to me, the best outcome is not about simply hiring more women, but how to make the culture somewhere they want to stay.
The industry has made genuine strides in attracting women into digital careers. But between 40,000 and 60,000 women exit UK digital roles every year. The business case is strong. The cost of losing experienced women is significant and largely invisible in how organisations report on diversity.
A 2023 study found that 1 in 5 men in tech believe women are not cut out for the sector. On average women wait 3 more years for a promotion compared to their male counterpart. Women in tech often juggle more responsibilities outside work, while 97% of women believe asking for more flexibility would negatively affect their career progression.
These reasons are showing patterns calling for a systemic solution. If sense of belonging is the outcome we are aiming for. How do you quantify that?
2) "Since this is a sector-wide issue, why do you only ask women to change or participate in activities?"
Tech is, by design, a sector built by people who arrived from somewhere else. A sector where everyone, to some extent, learned on the job should be the most naturally welcoming environment for diverse talent.
However, when it comes to DEI initiatives, something doesn’t seem to translate.
Many programmes, however well-intentioned, tend to place the burden of adaption on the underrepresented groups: they are designed for women to attend and women to engage with. The people and structures that shape the environment largely remain untouched.
Poorly executed DEI initiatives can backfire. Research found that underrepresented groups hired under an explicit diversity rationale received lower competence ratings from colleagues, even before completing a single day's work. Organisations who prioritise headcount targets over genuine cultural change can inadvertently strengthen the stigma, where ‘diversity hire’ becomes a weaponised slur.
The Opportunity Ahead
These two questions don’t have easy answers but asking them openly is the starting point of meaningful change. What I am certain of is the learnings:
Belonging is harder to defend in a deck than headcount, but it is closer to the sustainable solution the industry should be working towards. The measurement dilemma is not uncommon. It might be that we need to shift our thinking from the talent pipeline to building a sector worthy of the talents who are already here.
Finally, now that I reflect on my experience, what struck me most wasn't the content of those conversations. It was the fact that they were happening at all.
Women in tech is not a topic that naturally finds its way into office small talk. But creating a structured space to discuss it was the right place to start.
About the campaign
In our pursuit to shape a more equitable future, our March TechTogether campaign will focus on supporting the next generation by joining the National Careers Week campaign, empowering women in tech, advancing equity by design, and evolving the landscape of online safety.
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Authors
Jing
Jing is a senior consultant at UBDS Digital, specialising in digital transformation and data. Her career in healthcare accentuates a people centred approach to digital change in a consultancy environment.
