Addressing gender inequality in tech will require structural change
The government has today announced details of its new Women in Tech Taskforce which is being set up to help break down gender barriers in the industry.
A recent survey of Prospect’s tech branch highlighted one of the key problems which is work life balance. The survey showed that around half of all workers in the sector have been asked to voluntarily opt out of the Working Time Directive (WTD).
The WTD was introduced to ensure that no one would have to work more than 48 hours a week. Workers can ‘opt-out’, but this must be voluntary. The high rates of WTD opt-out clauses in tech work contract results in workers believing they have to opt out as part of their contract. Prospect has concerns about the supposed voluntary nature of these opt-outs and their impact on equality and diversity in the sector.
Prospect surveyed members in its tech branch receiving 250 responses. 9 out of 10 told the union that working time is an important factor in their career choices with 70% of tech workers agreeing that they can’t achieve a satisfactory work life balance.
The tech sector already has significant gender balance issues with women making up only 22% of the workforce and women even less likely to hold managerial positions. Working practices like this are a key barrier to women’s status and progress in the workplace.
Rachel Curley, Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, said:
“Tech is a key growth sector competing globally for skills, but it can be an unwelcoming place to work, particularly for women.
“The government has recognised the problem with the welcome creation of this Women in Tech Taskforce but policy makers and the sector need to do far more to move away from the toxic tech bro culture.
“The taskforce must put unions and engagement with tech workers at the heart of what it does. It is simply not enough to encourage more girls into STEM subjects if the working environment and working hours are such that women are penalised and forced out. These are not only unacceptable working practices but it deprives the industry of a large pool of talent.
“Over the years there have been countless “taskforces” and “initiatives” to get more women into male-dominated industries. What’s urgently needed is fundamental structural change of the sector with women at the heart of the industrial strategy.”
