The choice of technology as a career is still fairly misunderstood for the majority of high school children weighing up their career path options. The perception of working in tech for many young people – the ‘geeky’ programmer or coding expert hunched over a computer – belies the variety and flexibility that a career in technology can offer.

In many cases, these students – especially girls – have missed the opportunity to work in a sector which has such an impact on our lives, simply because they didn’t feel they could fulfil their ambitions. Yet digital skills are becoming crucial as tech infiltrates all areas of employment – the European Commission maintains that 90% of occupations today require digital competences, including programming.

Lacking Perspective

However, according to new research, these skills are viewed by parents as more important for boys than girls, just as tech-specific careers are preferred for sons. With only 17% of workers in technology today being female, we risk a lack of variety in skill, perspectives and ideas that will have a permanent effect on the industry.

So, what can be done? As a well-known UK ‘brand’ we have a responsibility to take a lead in effecting change and have been reaching out to schools in a big way. Direct contact with teachers, pupils and parents in the 11 West Lothian high schools is, I believe, making a difference. Excellent initiatives like Developing the Young Workforce West Lothian are helping to establish these links and open young minds to fantastic opportunities to work in such an invigorating industry.

It is now up to employers in West Lothian – like Sky – to foster these relationships and help to gradually challenge perceptions that a career in technology is just for boys.

Signs of Change

There are positive signs of change. Our Modern Apprenticeship programme which recruits four students each year, to start their working life at Sky, was established five years ago. The programme typically receives over 100 applicants each year, but previously it was not unknown for there not to be a single female applicant. This year – progress! 10% of applications are from girls which is heartening, although clearly there is still a fair way to go.

To educate girls about the potential of working in tech, we take part in a number of outreach activities from attending STEM events to inviting school pupils into our offices to chat with our female engineers. Activities like these clearly inspire young girls, showing them that possessing a great attitude and passion is more important than technical skills alone. We show that you don’t need to be just scientifically minded to work in technology – indeed, some of our best engineers at Sky, both female and male, come from wide and varied backgrounds including arts and humanities.

We also have female Analysts, Project Managers, Coders, Software Technicians and several in senior or leadership roles. These role models are a powerful way of proving what can be achieved if girls pursue a career in technology as well as redressing the ‘myth’ that technology is a male-dominated environment above all else.

Starting at Home

Perhaps the initial discussions should start at home. The UK Government recently stated female under-representation starts at school with only 7% of computer science ‘A’ level students being girls. One in eight parents would want their son to be a game developer, compared to just one in 20 who say the same of their daughters. There is the same disparity for engineers and tech entrepreneurs.

Parents are more interested in their daughters working in ‘caring professions’ despite the fact that the tech jobs are likely to offer higher wages and long-term job security.

From apprenticeships and graduate schemes, to mid-level management and return-to- work initiatives, right through to senior leadership roles, there’s an opportunity for us to change the status quo and we at Sky will continue to campaign for greater diversity. In the meantime, I believe that we can all do our bit to give our daughters, sisters, nieces and friends the encouragement and confidence to embrace a career in technology where opportunities in future years are boundless.