The report, D&I for Tech Leaders: How to Hire, Retain and Progress Women in Tech report, mainly draws from data uncovered in Code First Girls’ and TTC’s recent surveys regarding the UK tech landscape and women’s position in it.

When it comes to the matter of entering the tech workforce in the first place, the report outlines that systemic barriers continue to remain.

For instance, 73% of respondents in Code First Girls’ community point to a lack of confidence as their biggest obstacle, while for 59% it’s the preconception that the industry is still for men.

For 55% it’s sexism in the workplace, and for 53% it’s a lack of education and upskilling.

When women in tech do get through the door, they then face inequitable experiences, according to the data.

For example, 54% say that they’ve experienced “mansplaining” — an explanation by a man that’s defined as condescending, overconfident, or inaccurate.

Meanwhile, 50% have had questions directed to someone else, 41% were assigned lower-level tasks, and 31% received unwanted sexual advances.

Relatedly, on the question of “Why do women’s careers progress slower than men’s?,” 63% of respondents point to the issue of stereotyping, while 53% say maternity leave, 39% say family-life balance, and 38% say double-standards.

When it comes to the main contributing factors underpinning why women are leaving their roles, 54% point to no clear career pathway or progression.

Further, 49% cite unfair pay or a lack of salary progression as a factor, 44% say burnout, 35% say ineffective senior leadership, and 17% say sexism, racism, or another discriminatory act.

Based on these shared insights, and in a bid to help employers retain female tech talent and also help bridge the pervasive skills gap in the UK, Code First Girls and TTC have supplied the following recommendations:

1. Flexible working. Employers should offer a range of flexible working options, and also discuss these options upfront during the hiring process.
2. Audit systems for bias. All processes in the career lifecycle — from recruitment to promotion processes — should be cleared of bias.
3. Offer tech skills programmes. Offering tech skills programmes can demonstrate a commitment to career progression, growth, and upskilling.
4. Engage or run reskilling and returners programmes. Both routes into tech and career mobility can be facilitated through a variety of targeted programmes.
5. Enhanced family leave policies. Particularly for longer periods away from work, such as maternity leave.
6. Fair remuneration. Fairness can be demonstrated through salary transparency and pay parity measurement.
7. Reproductive healthcare. Policies and behaviours that support employees and reproductive health should be implemented.
8. Conduct regular listening activities. Safe environments where employees can give feedback and be listened to should be created.
9. Support a healthy work-life balance. Individualised approaches to employee support in wellbeing and professional development should be undertaken.
10. Develop robust HR practices. An inclusive and safe workplace culture should be cultivated, and supported by robust HR practice to deal with emerging issues.

Commenting on the report, Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls, said: “It is no secret that the tech industry has for too long been a boy’s club – but the dial is shifting and we want to accelerate that progress.

“With the UK continuing to suffer from a glaring skills gap, improving family leave and reproductive healthcare policies should be a first step to help retain women in this vital industry.

“To get women into the industry – and crucially keep them there – we cannot ignore their needs. Through these recommendations, we hope that the industry can speed up their efforts to narrow the gender inequality gap and bring the tech industry into the 21st century.”

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Lexie Papaspyrou, Co-COO at Tech Talent Charter, also commented, saying: “If we are to make a difference in the fight for better gender diversity in tech, we must go beyond “just hire more women.”

“Tech workers are looking for companies that understand their desires around career development, flexibility, work-life balance, family-forming, wellbeing and inclusion.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to grow the tech talent pipeline by tapping into new sources of talent and harnessing the skills already available, but businesses need to be informed on what this looks like in practice for their talent strategy.

“Our new report sets the bar for what it takes to attract, develop and retain women in tech, based on the efforts of hundreds of companies going through these challenges right now.”

To read more about the report’s insights and recommendations, click here.