In the UK, only 17% of those working in the technology industry are female. Seven per cent of students doing computer science at A-level are women and only half of those go into a job in this field (source: Women in Tech). Forty-three per cent of highly qualified women voluntarily leave the workplace after having children (source: Harvard Business Review).
To drive sustainable improvement in the number of women in our industry, and gender parity in our UK business, we need to ensure young women understand the career options available to them in the IT sector.
One of the ways in which we address this is through our Bring Your Daughter to Work days. For the last three years, each summer our members have been able to bring their daughters, nieces and other female family members aged 7-12, into the office during a series of events across a number of our UK offices.
During their time with us, the girls gain exposure to working in an office environment while learning about the career opportunities in technology and the trailblazing women who have gone before us. Previous activities during these events include flying drones and programming a robot to make a music video.
Watch the video to learn more.
