On December 16, 2025, the UK government took a decisive step toward reshaping its technology sector by launching the Women in Tech Taskforce, a bold initiative designed to help women enter, remain, and lead in technology roles across the country. The move comes in response to mounting evidence that women continue to face significant hurdles in the tech industry—a sector that’s rapidly shaping the future of the British economy but, for all its innovation, has struggled to achieve gender parity.
According to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, women currently make up only 22% of IT specialist roles in the UK. That figure has barely budged over the past five years, despite years of advocacy and policy efforts. The recently published Lovelace Report paints an even starker picture: between 40,000 and 60,000 women are leaving digital roles each year, costing the UK economy between £2 billion and £3.5 billion annually. The report also found that men outnumber women four to one in computer science degrees, female founders receive 5.9 times less funding than their male counterparts, and women hold just 18% of board roles in the country’s fastest-growing tech scale-ups. If this trend continues unchecked, it would take an astonishing 283 years for women to achieve equal representation in the sector.
The new taskforce is spearheaded by technology secretary Liz Kendall and Anne-Marie Imafidon, the renowned founder of social enterprise Stemettes and now the government’s Women in Tech Envoy. Together, they are joined by a formidable group of 15 founding members, including industry heavyweights such as Allison Kirkby (CEO of BT Group), Francesca Carlesi (CEO of Revolut UK), Dr. Hayaatun Sillem (CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering), Anna Brailsford (CEO of Code First Girls), and Sue Daley (director at techUK). The group also features leaders from academia, labor, and policy, such as Louise Archer from the Institute of Education, TUC’s Kate Bell, and Uber’s Emma O’Dwyer.
The mission is clear: to advise the government on how to boost diversity and economic growth in the tech sector by identifying and dismantling the persistent barriers that keep women from entering, staying, or progressing in technology careers. These barriers are multifaceted. As noted by the Lovelace Report and industry experts, they include a lack of career progression opportunities, insufficient workplace flexibility, entrenched bias, and misconceptions about tech roles—misconceptions that start as early as school, when girls are often steered away from STEM subjects due to outdated ideas about what skills are required.
“Technology should work for everyone. That is why I have established the Women in Tech Taskforce, to break down the barriers that still hold too many people back, and to partner with industry on practical solutions that make a real difference,” said Liz Kendall, as quoted by the BBC and echoed in government statements. She continued, “When women are inspired to take on a role in tech and have a seat at the table, the sector can make more representative decisions, build products that serve everyone, and unlock the innovation and growth our economy needs.”
Anne-Marie Imafidon, whose own journey began with passing A-level computing at age 11 and earning a Master’s from Oxford by 20, emphasized the urgency of this moment. “This isn’t just about having women being the driving force and building the technology, but this is about building technology that benefits everybody,” she told the BBC. With the world in the midst of what she described as a “fourth industrial revolution,” Imafidon believes now is the time to shift who is making decisions about the technologies that will define the next era.
The taskforce’s work will span the entire pipeline—from encouraging school-aged girls to pursue technology subjects, to supporting women already in the workforce, to ensuring that seasoned professionals are not passed over for promotions or forced out by inflexible workplaces. More than three-quarters of women with decades of experience in tech wait over three years for a promotion, according to the Lovelace Report—a statistic that underscores the need for systemic change.
Collaboration is central to the taskforce’s approach. Members will work closely with government, industry, and educational institutions to develop practical solutions and advise on policy. The goal is to replicate the success of organizations that already boast an even gender split in their tech teams and to ensure that the sector accesses the full talent pool, market opportunities, and innovative capacity needed for sustained economic growth.
The taskforce will also complement existing government efforts, such as the £187 million TechFirst skills programme and the Regional Tech Booster scheme, both aimed at nurturing emerging tech talent and supporting diversity in the sector. These initiatives are designed to provide the training, mentorship, and career support needed to help women not only enter the tech field but thrive within it.
“Entry routes, career progression to leadership, and access to capital are just some of the barriers women in tech still face today,” said Sue Daley, director of technology and innovation at techUK, in a statement to the BBC. “Achieving gender equality is long overdue, and I am honoured to join the Women in Tech taskforce alongside Liz Kendall and several inspiring women from across the industry, working together to chart a path forward for true gender equality.”
The taskforce held its first meeting on December 15, 2025, marking the beginning of what many hope will be a transformative period for the UK’s technology sector. The government has made it clear that this is not just a matter of fairness but of national interest. As Sharron Gunn, chief executive of BCS, stated, “We cannot create high-trust, high-integrity AI systems if the profession behind them is missing out on the talents and perspective of half the population.”
The stakes are high. With the tech sector driving much of the UK’s economic growth and playing an increasingly central role in everything from healthcare to finance to education, ensuring that women have equal opportunities isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s essential for the country’s future competitiveness and innovation.
As the Women in Tech Taskforce sets to work, all eyes will be on its ability to deliver practical changes—changes that, if successful, could serve as a model for other countries facing similar challenges in their own tech industries. For now, the message from the UK government and its partners is clear: the time for incremental progress has passed. The future of tech must be inclusive, representative, and driven by the talents of all.
