53 companies commit themselves to PwC's Tech She Can Charter

Big Four professional services firm PwC has launched the Tech She Can Charter in a bid to increase the number of women entering the technology sector, and it has been signed by 53 signatories including PwC itself. The Charter aims to tackle the root cause of the gender disparity in technology at a societal level, by inspiring and educating young girls and women to get into tech careers and share best practice across the organisations involved.

Women in technology are set to be hit disproportionately by automation and digitalisation in the coming years. A recent study found as many as 30% of women in the sector expect their jobs to either significantly change or be elimated altogether in the next five years, compared to fewer than 20% of men. On top of this, according to PwC’s 'Women in Tech: Time to Close the Gender Gap' report, only 3% of women say a career in technology is their first choice, and only 27% would consider a career in tech, compared to 62% of males, suggesting the number of women in the sector is likely to decline in coming years, rather than increase.

Moreover, support networks are failing to challenge this, and fewer than one in six women have had technology suggested to them as a career, compared to one in three men, with PwC concluding this demonstrated that long-standing industry stereotypes still influence who enters the field. As UK businesses face a mounting crisis in terms of a talent shortage, while digital and technology work is spoken of constantly as a remedy to turbulence from Brexit, this wasted labour could prove catastrophic to Britain’s economy.

This dire situation prompted the Big Four firm to launch the Tech She Can Charter, an industry standard designed to increase the number of women working in the technology sector. The charter aims to empower women and equip them with the tools they need to pursue careers in the technology industry, and encourages companies to make an impact by driving tangible changes to policy and education, sharing best practices, creating female role models, and tackling stereotypes to promote gender equality in technology. By supporting the charter, meanwhile, signatories can encourage impactful change across education and governmental policies and create opportunities for women to network and be mentored by successful and influential women in tech.

So far, 53 firms have made such a statement. A number of high profile names are already among the growing number of signatories. Along with PwC itself, fellow consultancy TCS, and professional services firm WeAreTheCity are joined by financial sector heavyweight Barclays, JP Morgan and NatWest Markets, along with notable public sector entities the British Science Association and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Sheridan Ash, Women in Tech leader at PwC and Tech She Can Charter founder, said, “Waiting until women are entering the workforce is simply too late. We need to take coordinated action to inspire girls to consider technology roles while they are still at school. Promoting visible and relatable role models is a huge part of this, as it can be hard for girls to aspire to be something they can’t see. From creatives and designers, to coders and data scientists, there are many successful women working in technology across different levels.”

Ruth Jones, Managing Director of communication agency LEWIS UK, one of the 53 signatory firms, added, “Inspiring young women to consider technology roles as a career path is imperative to changing mindsets. There is some great female talent across the technology industry and at LEWIS, but the gender industry ratios will only change if we can break down the early barriers.  LEWIS is immensely proud to be pledging our support for The Tech She Can Charter. We look forward to taking an active role in driving the change.”

The full list of signatories is as follows:

Amble
AMS
AND Digital
Apps for Good
Autumn Live
Baltic Training
Barclays
British Science Association
Business 3.0
Caterham School
Colt Data Centre Services
Credit Suisse
CWjobs
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Digital Jam
everywoman
Exate Technology
FDisruptors
Geeky Girl Reality
Girlguiding
HumanityX
InnovateHer
JP Morgan
Just Eat
LEWIS
Makers Academy
MBDA
Missive
Modern Muse
Morgan McKinley
NatWest Markets
Onecom
Play Consult
PwC
RAF
Royal Airforce Charitable Trust
Reading Room
Redington
REED Specialist Recruitment
Sanctuary Housing Group
Smoothwall
Sophos
TCS
TechGirls
Tech Talent Leader
Tesco
TotallyMoney
T Systems
Wayfinderwoman Trust
WeAreTheCity
Women in Tech/techno jobs
Xero
ZPG