New standards to tackle harassment and investment bias to get more women into tech

The government and the tech industry are to draw up new standards to tackle harassment, poor workplace culture and investment bias, as part of a major push to get more women into technology and help female founders grow their businesses.

The measures, announced in yesterday's Budget, include two new voluntary standards and a new programme to help women-led businesses scale up from 2027.

A gap worth closing

Women make up just 22 per cent of the UK's IT workforce. The government says closing participation gaps could add up to £4 billion a year to the economy, and that helping women to start and grow businesses at the same rate as men could unlock £310 billion.

Investment is a particular barrier. Only 2p of every £1 of venture capital invested in the UK goes to businesses founded by women.

Two new standards

The "Tech Forward Standard" will focus on workplace culture, and could include trusted routes for reporting harassment so that workers feel safe to come forward. In the government's recent call for evidence, 74 per cent of respondents said better workplace culture would help women progress and lead in tech.

The "Inclusive Investment Standard" could include commitments to widen the ways investors find new businesses, and to track women-led companies from pitch to funding decision, so it is clear where founders drop out.

Both will be developed with industry through the Women in Tech Taskforce, with early ambassadors including BT, Revolut, Sage, Balderton Capital and Octopus Ventures. The taskforce meets again in November.

"A waste of talent"

Digital Inclusion Minister Vicky Foxcroft, co-chair of the taskforce, said: "Too many talented women are leaving tech or never getting the chance to build a career in it in the first place.

"That's not just unfair, it's a waste of talent our economy can't afford."

Anne-Marie Imafidon, chief executive and co-founder of Stemettes and the government's Women in Tech Envoy, said: "Too many women have told us about facing misconduct like harassment and discrimination in tech. That is unacceptable and a key driver of poor participation in the sector."

Help at every stage

A new scale-up programme for women founders will launch in 2027, offering workshops, peer learning, networking and introductions to investors. The TechFirst Women's Programme will give 300 women mentoring, skills training and matching with live vacancies in areas such as AI and cyber security, and registration has opened for the first TechFirst Girls Competition for schoolgirls.

With a growing tech sector and thousands of computing students at its universities, Birmingham has plenty of women who stand to benefit.