IC Resources / UK Report

Women in Tech

In April and May 2017, IC Resources surveyed 1,032 respondents from their client database in order to learn
more about women working in technology companies in Europe. Their research revealed that over three-
quarters of UK respondents (77%) believe that the industry isn’t doing enough to encourage women to join,
and more than two-thirds (69%) believe that their organisation could do more. This report analyses the
findings and sets out the most common barriers to women working in tech. It also explores the perceived
value of positive action, and pinpoints the individuals and organisations that are most likely to be held
responsible for encouraging more women to work in the industry.

The Gender Imbalance

In the UK, the percentage of women working in technical roles is one of the lowest in Europe: along with
tech workers in The Netherlands, just 16% of UK respondents report a 50/50 gender balance in their
company, compared to 21% in France, Spain and Italy. This is just below the Europe-wide average of 17%.

UK women are also under-represented in senior management / executive roles, where 21% of UK
respondents report a gender balance, compared to 25% in France. This is particularly problematic, as IC
Resources’ research indicates that the lack of successful female mentors is widely believed to deter women
from joining the industry. One female respondent explains, “[We need] visible female role models. At the
moment, all we are hearing is that we [women] are not welcome, even with companies saying ‘of course you
are’. Actions speak louder than words, so unless we start seeing companies acknowledging and addressing a
mentoring / sponsorship culture that favours promoting people that look and sound like ourselves, we won’t
be able to address these biases.” Another respondent adds, “[We must] ensure that more women are being
promoted and can pursue top-level management careers. This creates an environment of possibilities (versus
a glass ceiling).”

Despite the current gender imbalance, IC Resources’ research indicates that UK respondents believe that a
higher number of women in senior management / board level positions would positively influence the
technology industry. Half of UK respondents (50%, compared to a European average of 44%) say that it’s of
benefit if management teams have gender balance, and almost half (49%, compared to a European average of
45%) think that more women in senior management would have a positive effect, even though they think that
women should not get the roles just because they are female. In addition, almost three in ten UK respondents
(29%) believe that women bring something to the workplace that men don’t. Over a quarter (26%) of UK
respondents believe that representing all minorities in senior positions would be of benefit — the highest
percentage in Europe.

In the UK women are more likely to be found working in back office roles (where 67% of UK respondents
report a gender balance), and commercial roles (where UK women occupy 30% of roles in sales, marketing,
FAE and business development, compared to a European average of 32%). Within the industry, back office
roles, including admin, HR and support, are viewed as more typically female roles. One respondent says, “In
my opinion, women do not like technology… Women like management, pedagogy, sales, etc. They do not
like work that requires constant intellectual effort.” Another respondent adds, “I think ‘technical’ women end
up in commercial or HR roles because they like the human contact.”

More than seven out of ten (72%) UK respondents agree that IC Resources’ own data, which shows that the
industry average for male / female applications to commercial and technical roles in technology companies is
92-93% / 7-9%, is representative of their own company. In the UK, the mean percentage of male applications
is believed to be 71%. However, IC Resources’ research suggests that the lack of gender balance could be a
cultural, rather than a global, issue. One respondent explains, “This is about mentality and education. I am
working for a Chinese company in the UK, and the percentage of women in technical areas is less than 10%.
In China, the percentage of women is about 40-50% in the same technical area.”
Positive Action
Within Europe, organisations in the UK are least likely to take any type of positive action in recruitment
(38% of UK organisations don’t do this, compared to a Europe-wide average of 31%). Just 10% of UK
respondents say that their organisation takes positive action ‘all the time’, and 8% say that they do so ‘quite
often’. A further 5% do so ‘once in a while’ and an additional 5% also take positive action ‘based on other
factors (race, sexuality, gender)’.

Clearly, positive action is not well regarded in the UK: Almost three-quarters of UK respondents (74%) say
that they don’t believe that preference should be given to female applicants when they share the same
experience and skill set as male applicants, compared to a Europe-wide average of 69%. In fact, one
respondent suggests that female applicants are deliberately and repeatedly overlooked: “When you have a
job posting, with ten male applicants and and one woman, when do you call the woman? Based on my
experience, not even after the ten men.”

IC Resources’ research indicates that some respondents view positive action as a form of discrimination. One
person explains: “Why treat women as a special case? They’re not stupid. If they want to follow careers in
engineering they can, and indeed do. ‘Positive action’, despite being legal, is just discrimination pure and
simple, and therefore repugnant.” Another respondent says, “Don’t tell women to join because of a desired
ratio or gates would be wide open at all times. That is a lie. Gates are open for the ones knowledgable,
enduring and capable [enough] to cope with daily IT challenges. Gates are closed for those battling their
fellow females, believing the female gender is sufficient, and actually performing poorly.”

Anecdotally, it’s these attitudes which appear to be holding women back. One respondent says, “Get the men
who already work in technology to actually have some respect for [women]. Remove the stupid perception
that employing more women is the same as lowering the bar.”

Rather than prioritising applications from women, one respondent suggests that name and gender should be
removed from all job applications, so that applicants can be selected on the skills and experience alone:
“Stop all this political correctness and simply allow people to apply for jobs without mentioning their name
or gender. That way people get selected for interview based solely on their engineering credentials.”

Encouraging women

More than three-quarters of UK respondents (77%) don’t believe that the technology industry is doing
enough to encourage women to join the industry, which is slightly higher than the European average of 76%.
Additionally, 69% of UK respondents believe that their organisation should do more to encourage women,
which is just short of the European average of 70%. Respondents from Italy are most likely to say that their
organisation is doing enough, with over a third (36%) saying that this is the case, compared to 22% of those
in the UK.

UK respondents are most likely to say that schools / universities are responsible for encouraging more
women to pursue careers in technology (77%, compared to a Europe-wide average of 74%). However, most
respondents agree that the foundations should be laid in the early years of education, well before girls sit
their GCSEs or apply for university. One respondent says: “By the time a student reaches A-Levels it’s too
late to make a radical shift to a technical direction. Rewarding and enthusing about STEM (science,
engineering, technology and mathematics) subjects early on is very lacking in British culture. The British
school system radically motivates women away from STEM subjects due to social stigma and it’s always
been this way. The engineering firms and university courses I’ve worked for and taken have been hospitable
towards all races and genders. It’s not people being turned away from STEM, it’s people never being turned
on to it in the first place.” Other respondents suggest that employing more female science teachers in schools
could help.

More than six out of ten UK respondents (61%) say that technology companies are responsible for
encouraging women, which is higher than the European average of 57%. For many respondents, financial
incentives, equal pay, and maternity benefits would make a real difference. One female respondent explains:
“I found getting into a technical career easy. The tricky part has been getting back to it after taking a break to
have children. Engineering institutions were not sympathetic to a woman having more than one child, so
when I applied for reduced membership fees while on maternity leave with my second child in 2003, the
answer was 'no'. With no income for much of the year I cancelled my membership and, after having a third
child, have never re-started it. More should be done in the tech sector to encourage women back to work
after raising children with agreements to work at home as well as part / flexi time. Refresher training or even
re-training in a different sector should be much more freely available.”

Other respondents advocate a more proactive approach. One says, “allocate 50% of internships in technology
companies to women.” Another adds: “Companies should showcase what they do in schools before girls
choose their GCSEs.” Another respondent indicates that the workplace culture needs to change: “Stop
making [women] feel bad in the workplace. It’s awful being a woman in tech. Junior male colleagues usually
disrespect, and mansplain basic things. Managers abandon women and don’t take any interest in their
development. Educate men!”

A further 61% of UK respondents say that parents are responsible for encouraging women to work in tech,
which is higher than the European average of 57%. IC Resources’ research indicates that this largely relates
to tackling gender stereotypes. One respondent says, “Address unconscious bias at schools and at home, in
which young girls are praised more heavily for their appearance, artistic / creative talent, and less heavily for
their progress in STEM subjects.” Others suggest that the best approach is to “boost confidence”, “provide
technical LEGO and dolls to both genders”, and “stop telling [girls] they’re pretty when they’re little and
start telling them they’re smart.”

Over half (54%) of UK respondents believe that technology industry bodies are responsible for encouraging
women, which is substantially higher than the European average of 44%. In addition, UK respondents are
particularly inclined to feel that the government is responsible (47%, compared to a European average of
43%). One respondent advocates changes to the National Curriculum: “A friend has worked on National
Curriculum development for engineering in UK schools. He reports that the biggest factor is to describe
engineering as a way to solve human problems, and not to talk about gee-whizz technologies. This approach
greatly increases the appeal to all students, and eliminates the traditional gender skew to male students.”
Other respondents favour tax breaks for tech companies which encourage women: “Companies involved in
engineering / technology should get some kind of tax benefit for hosting girls from secondary school for one
day each term. This would give them the opportunity to see if they would be interested in a career in
engineering or computing.”

High profile advocates are also particularly popular among UK respondents, with 41% saying that they are
responsible for encouraging girls and women, compared to a European average of 29%. In practice, this
appears to dependent on establishing high-profile role models, using traditional and new media to target girls
and young women, and advertising the benefits of a career in tech. One respondent says: “Creating female
role models in engineering and scientific areas [could encourage women to pursue careers in tech]. This can
be done in schools or by social media. People do pay more attention to celebrity news than Nobel Prize
news. Nowadays it’s very easy to make science popular and encourage girls to study in this area.” Another
respondent adds: “We need more women to speak out and be role models to younger generations through a
media that speaks to them, e.g. through sharing Snapchat stories or vlogs.”

Just 7% of UK respondents say that no one is responsible for encouraging women into the industry, while
46% say that individuals are responsible, which is higher than the European average of 41%. However, many
respondents believe that we should share the responsibility. One respondent explains: “All of us should have
equal opportunity in mind”, while others say that it’s the responsibility of “society as a whole.”

Conclusion

IC Resources’ research indicates that there is much more that can be done to encourage women to pursue
careers in technology. In the UK, the gender balance in technical roles is one of the lowest in Europe with
just 16% of respondents reporting a 50/50 gender balance in their company. This is perhaps because UK
organisations are the least likely in Europe to take any type of positive action in recruitment (38% of UK
organisations don’t do this at all), and 74% of UK respondents say that they don’t believe that preference
should be given to female applicants when they share the same experience and skill set as male applicants,
compared to a Europe-wide average of 69%.
UK respondents believe that both the technology industry as a whole, and their own company (77% and
69%, respectively) could do more to encourage women to pursue careers in tech. However, they are most
likely to say that schools / universities are responsible for encouraging women (77%), along with technology
companies (61%) and parents (61%). Anecdotally, it seems that equal pay and maternity benefits and
eradicating gender stereotypes from early childhood would be the most effective measures.

In addition, UK respondents are more likely than those from any of the other European countries surveyed to
say that the responsibility rests with high-profile advocates. In practice, this means developing more female
models, including celebrities, and using traditional and new media to reach girls and young women and
promote careers in tech.

ENDS