Nearly three centuries. That’s how long it would take for female representation in IT to achieve parity with men’s, according to a new report by the Chartered Institute for IT (BCS).
The study compares growth from previous years to determine that, with the same trajectory, it will be well into the 2300s before women and men in IT are measured equally.
The BCS also compares the IT sector to other key sectors across the UK, as well as taking a look into representation by region.
IT sector diversity is lagging
The report reveals that, if the level of representation for female workers in IT specialist positions was equal to that amongst all of the working age population, there would have been more than half a million (527,000) additional workers in 2022.
Within the IT sector, a clear north-south divide becomes apparent. Only 16% of the workers were located in the North East of England, while 23% came from the South East. One in five (19%) women in IT were also located in London. Wales, another region that suffers, only accounted for 17% of the women in IT.
Still, more women are entering the tech sector, with the proportion rising four percentage points between 2018 and 2021, or more than 1% annually. What's more troubling is that the figure now barely exceeds one in five workers, with no growth observed between 2021 and 2022.
Julia Adamson, BCS Managing Director for Education and Public Benefit, said: “Having greater diversity means that what is produced is more relevant to, and representative of, society at large. This is crucial when it comes to, for instance, the use of AI in medicine or finance.”
Adamson also noted the high number of schoolchildren dropping IT at age 14 (94% of girls and 79% of boys), which suggests that the IT sector will continue to struggle for both women and workers more generally amid a growing skills shortage.
Clearly, initiatives to incentivize more students to specialize in IT are needed to help the UK remain technologically competitive and to push for more diversity and parity, whether through the provision of online learning opportunities, funding, or any other suitable measure.
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