Government and industry to take on investment bias and workplace culture to support more women in tech
Government announces a major new push to back women in technology by helping tackle barriers facing female founders and workers while boosting growth across the UK economy.
- Better workplace culture, improved reporting routes to tackle harassment, and fairer investment practices are expected to inform new voluntary standards announced as part of the Chancellor’s Budget
- Government to launch a scale-up women’s programme, with enhanced support to help women-led businesses scale and grow
- Creating a fairer sector and investment culture where women are empowered to start and scale businesses at the same rate as men could unlock £310 billion for the UK economy2
- Early industry ambassadors including BT, Revolut, Sage, Balderton Capital and Octopus Ventures, will co-create the standards with the Women in Tech Taskforce
As announced at the Budget yesterday, a major new push to back women in technology will help tackle barriers facing female founders and workers while boosting growth across the UK economy.
Government will work with industry through its Women in Tech Taskforce to develop two new voluntary standards on workplace culture and on investment practices, alongside launching a new scale-up women’s programme to help more women start, grow and scale technology businesses.
The UK is home to one of the world’s leading tech sectors, but women continue to face barriers to entering, progressing and securing investment. Women make up just 22% of the IT workforce3, despite evidence showing that closing participation gaps could add up to £4 billion a year to UK GDP.
While enabling women to found and grow businesses at the same rate as men could unlock £310 billion for the economy2.
Government’s recent call for evidence found that 74% of respondents believe a better workplace culture would support women’s progression and leadership in tech1,2.
To help break down some of these barriers and encourage more inclusive behaviour, the government is committing to a new “Tech Forward Standard”. Commitments are intended to improve workplace culture and could include measures such as developing trusted harassment reporting routes so workers feel safe to come forward.
Women founders face additional challenges in raising investment. Only 2p of every £1 invested in venture capital funding in the UK goes to women founded businesses5. A new “Inclusive Investment Standard” the taskforce are progressing, could include commitments around broadening deal sourcing channels, and tracking women-led businesses progress from pitch to funding decisions, so it’s clear where founders drop out and where change is needed.
The result: a fairer, more transparent route to funding, helping more great ideas get the financial backing they deserve.
Alongside these voluntary standards, in 2027 government will launch a new scale-up women’s programme. This will help women founders of high-potential, high-growth UK businesses to secure investment and scale.
The programme will help address the barriers that lead to persistent funding gaps for women-founded companies, providing support that could include workshops, peer learning, networking and introductions to investors. The programme will be run jointly between DCMS and BIST.
Digital Inclusion Minister and Women in Tech Taskforce co-chair Vicky Foxcroft said:
Too many talented women are leaving tech or never getting the chance to build a career in it in the first place.
That’s not just unfair, it’s a waste of talent our economy can’t afford. These initiatives are about working with industry to create opportunities for all, so that tech becomes a place where women can thrive, from the classroom right through to the boardroom.
Chief Executive and co-founder of Stemettes and Women in Tech Envoy Anne-Marie Imafidon said:
Too many women have told us about facing misconduct like harassment and discrimination in tech. That is unacceptable and a key driver of poor participation in the sector. This launch is about working with industry to ensure we have a future that works for everyone, by creating the cultural change women and their allies have long been calling for.
With 74% of respondents to our Call for Evidence advocating for better workplace culture, we now have a clear mandate to work with industry and make tech somewhere women stay, thrive and lead.
Both standards will now enter a period of co-creation with industry, investors and the Taskforce, ahead of their formal launch in the coming months. The Women in Tech Taskforce will reconvene in November to take forward this next phase of work, helping ensure the standards deliver meaningful change for women across the technology sector.
These initiatives come alongside wider work to build more opportunities for women and girls in tech.
TechFirst Girls Competition
Government has launched registration for the first ever TechFirst Girls Competition, giving girls across the UK the chance to build tech skills and confidence, and to see what a future career in technology could look like for them.
Get Tech Certified
Government has also kicked off digital upskilling across the public sector through its Get Tech Certified programme, which is open to all public servants, not just those in technical roles. This year sees the launch of a dedicated Women in Tech strand, bringing together events, mentoring and career stories to help more women in the public sector build confidence and progress their digital careers.
TechFirst Women’s Programme
Government will also support women at all career stages, from early-career professionals to career changers and returners, to move into paid jobs in artificial intelligence, cyber security and other high-growth technology sectors. Through the TechFirst Women’s Programme, 300 women across the UK will receive mentoring, skills development and matching with live vacancies, with the aim of securing paid roles lasting at least six months by March 2027.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- 1 DSIT (2026) The Economic Impact of Equal Opportunities in the Digital Economy
- 2 HMT (2019) The Alison Rose review of female entrepreneurship; original estimate of £250 bn adjusted for inflation to £310 bn
- 3 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, Women in Tech Report 2026 (key findings): There were 433,000 female IT specialists in the UK in 2025 – 22% of all IT specialists in the UK at that time. These figures come from BCS analysis of the ONS Labour Force Survey.
- 4 Master, A., Meltzoff, A. N., Cheryan, S. (2021) Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(48), e2100030118.
- 5 Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2026 - GOV.UK
Ambassadors of the Standards include:
Tech Forward Standard
- Arm
- British Science Association
- BT Group
- Cellnex
- Code First Girls
- Coding Black Females
- Colt
-
East Midlands Cyber Security Cluster
- Founders4Schools
-
FDM Group
- Global Tech Advocates
- GTA Black Women in Tech
- Ivee
- Openreach
- Marsh
-
Niyo
- Olio
- Revolut
-
Sage
- Startup Coalition
- Stemettes
- techUK
- Tech London Advocates
- Tech North Advocates
- Technology Scotland
- Tramshed Tech
- TUC
- Virgin Media O2
- Vorboss
Inclusive Investment Standard
- Ada Ventures
- Alma Angels
- Balderton Capital
- BlankPage Capital
- British Chambers of Commerce
- ClimbUK
- Impact X Capital
- Innovate Finance
- LocalGlobe
- Octopus Ventures
-
ScaleUp Institute
-
Full ambassador cohorts and both Standards are expected to be published in the coming months.
- The Get Tech Certified campaign itself runs from 1 October to 31 December 2026, and is delivered by Government Digital Service and Government Digital and Data in partnership with technology providers covering AI, cloud computing, cyber security, data, software engineering, architecture, FinOps and quantum computing. More information on the Women in Tech strand can be found here: Women in Tech - Government Digital and Data Hub