A new chair of a gender diversity group said more work must be done to begin addressing the gender gap in Scottish tech.

The comments were made by Sarah McLaughlin, the Vice President of Marketing at Scottish space tech scale-up R3-IoT.

McLaughlin is now heading up the Gender Diversity Workstream of Scotland’s Digital Economy Skills Group aimed at addressing the gender gap in Scotland.

The group is a partnership of a broad range of technology and public sector representatives supporting the digital skills activity led by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

“I want to be the proactive, influential voice across Scottish industry and beyond to enact change,” McLaughlin commented.

“There is a growing skills gap in digital technologies, rooting back to early education and females continue to be underrepresented. A wealth of resources and toolkits exist; however, activation remains a challenge. I am keen to lead and collaborate to help change this.”

McLaughlin said that gender diversity “brings value to industry,” and that investment is required to boost inclusivity in educational institutions and industry and to encourage inclusivity, openness, and transparency.

She added that this move will also allow individuals of all ages to be “motivated, inspired and encouraged to pursue any career opportunities.”

McLaughlin holds more than 15 years industry experience and has worked in a range of disciplines, including financial services, higher education, professional services, and technology for organisations such as Glasgow Caledonian University, PwC. National Australia Bank and Tesco Bank.

She continued: “Addressing the gender gap requires significant collaboration and actions across multiple stakeholder groups, and I intend to draw upon this to lead positive change for individuals and industry.

“There is a huge opportunity to draw a line in the sand, remove the stigma, and write the next chapter of today’s inclusive workplace.

“Together we can collectively help ignite change for now, and future generations and I cannot wait to get started as new chair of the gender diversity workstream.”

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McLaughlin’s appointment as chair of the group was welcomed by Ross Tuffee, Chair of the Digital Economy Skills Group.

Tuffee commented: “The technology skills shortages faced by employers in all sectors in Scotland can only be tackled if we encourage more women and girls towards careers in technology.

“The tech industry itself must play a leading role in that, which is why it’s vital we have people like Sarah who can offer the benefit of her experiences.

“We’ve achieved a great deal so far, but we accept much more remains to be done, and Sarah will be an important voice in setting and helping us reach our ambitions.”

Addressing representation in Scottish tech is one of a series of key priorities in SDS’s work across all sectors of the digital economy, the organisation has said.

Claire Gillespie, Digital Economy Sector Skills Manager at SDS, added: “In recent years SDS has led on, and co-ordinated, a range of actions aimed at improving the gender balance in technology roles from developing a robust evidence base to helping employers attract, recruit and retain more female talent.

“Other developments have focused on various stages of the talent pipeline, from girls in the classroom to women returners.

“Industry input is essential to all of this work, and so it’s hugely important to have people like Sarah playing a key role.”

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