Analysis and action

Last year, in our report with Coding Black Females, we set out five recommendations. This year's data shows the problems behind each of them are still relevant today.

We called for greater diversity in school computing, using the new Computing GCSE to attract and keep girls in the subject beyond 14. This year, we are reminded that female IT specialists remain much less likely than men to hold a computing degree, which shows how many girls the education pipeline still loses.

We called for clear pathways for women into leadership and senior technical roles. This year, female IT specialists were less likely than men to hold managerial or supervisory roles (38% compared with 41%).

We called for targeted support for Black women in tech, through mentoring, leadership training and local programmes. Black women made up just 0.6% of IT specialists in 2024, with no improvement since 2022. That is roughly a third of what might be expected on a pro rata basis. New research this year from Manchester Digital confirms that the talent is there. Black women do not lack ambition or capability, but the conditions to recognise and support them are missing.

We called for fair recruitment and progression, guided by independent standards such as SFIA and CITP rather than individual managers. This year, women in IT were much less likely than men to find work through recruitment agencies or people already working at the employer, the routes that depend most on networks.

We called for flexible and part-time roles that support caring and progression. This year, just 11% of women in IT roles worked part-time, compared with 36% of women in other occupations.

A chilly atmosphere

Behind all of these sits culture. There is a chilly culture for girls and women throughout the computing and technology journey. Almost three quarters of women in tech roles have experienced sexism at work, and one in five men in tech believe women are naturally less suited to the sector. Around a third of women in tech report gender-based bullying.4 Previous research has indicated that more than four in 10 women in tech think about leaving their role at least once a week.

The picture is the same in higher education. Women make up less than one in five students on a typical UK computing degree, and in nine universities no women took computing at all. Our ‘Flip the Script’ research with University College, London (UCL) found that women who stay on these courses do so through peer support, determination and a need to prove themselves to male peers. Their progress is made harder by chilly and hostile male cultures, with sexism, marginalisation, micro-aggressions and harassment worryingly common. As one student put it, 'I'm sitting in these meetings being spoken down to and ... being made to feel stupid for just asking a question.'

Culture casts a long shadow in our sector, and the 'Lena' image is the clearest example. In 1973, researchers scanned a cropped Playboy centrefold to test image processing. It became a standard, and in 1996 a leading journal editor explained that it was not surprising the mostly male research community had gravitated towards an image they found attractive. It was only in 2018 that journals began refusing to publish it, and only in 2024 that IEEE banned it. It still surfaces from time to time. An image from the 1970s took 05 years to retire, and that shows how long culture takes to change.

What BCS is doing

BCS is taking action. We are rewriting the national computing curriculum for secondary schools to bring it up to date and tackle the chilly atmosphere that girls face from the start.

Through ‘Flip the Script’, we are working with computing departments in nine universities to develop and trial a framework for more inclusive cultures, to improve the experience and retention of all students.

We are also acting on our own house. We have updated our own code of conduct following a comprehensive review of best practice across membership organisations, large and small, including those that have made significant reforms to advance equalities in recent years. It has been approved by our trustees and is now being delivered. The code is about professionalism, and inclusive behaviour is central to it. It brings BCS in line with the most innovative membership organisations dedicated to equalities, and takes a more dynamic approach to equality assurance.

Not only that, we have updated our own disciplinary procedures and are developing an informal reporting tool, launching shortly, so members can report any example of a chilly atmosphere to BCS immediately and safely. We are committed to walking the walk on ethics and providing a safe and welcoming environment for all.

Our work is not only about tackling poor behaviour. This year BCSWomen celebrates 25 years of supporting women and non-binary people at every stage of their tech careers. It offers mentoring and runs events, including the Lovelace Colloquium, one of the highlights of our year, and it supported this year’s Birmingham Women in Tech event. BCSWomen also supports Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in Tech awards and sits on the industry advisory board for TechUp. 

Women’s experiences of tech differ, and our specialist groups, including Digital Divide, Embrace, Pride and NeurodiverseIT, help us reflect that. 

We are working with EngineeringUK on gender pathways into engineering and technology. Through the City of London’s Women Pivoting to Tech taskforce, we have helped research and recommend ways to support mid-career women moving into tech.