Tech workers feel the sector has seen a decrease in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) focus over the past two years, according to research from Harvey Nash.
The technology recruitment firm found that a large number of tech workers (84%) believe their workplace is doing enough to support a diverse workforce, but 10% believe investment in Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has been slipping, with more women than men believing the sector needs to do more.
A quarter of women working in tech in the UK said the technology sector is not working hard enough to encourage and support women to join and stay in tech roles, compared with 14% of their male counterparts.
Simon Crichton, global CEO of Harvey Nash, claimed this is down to a “tougher economic environment” including “geopolitical tensions, tariffs and wars”, as well as a shifting attitude towards DEI trickling into the UK.
He said: “In those conditions, leadership inevitably narrows what they’re thinking and focuses on performance, cost control and delivery, and the worry is that important subjects like DEI can slip down the agenda as a result.
“I find it disappointing. It’s taken a long time for the industry to reach a point where inclusion and progression are being treated as important leadership issues, not side conversations. To see that momentum stall is frustrating.”
When assessing the “push and pull” factors influencing whether individuals plan to stay in their current tech role, Harvey Nash’s Tech talent report found that more woman than men are unhappy in their current role. Crichton pointed to the recently published Lovelace report as reflecting similar findings, whereby women are leaving the technology sector entirely due factors such as a lack of career progression and pay inequality.
Harvey Naash’s own report found that 22% of women in tech are currently either very unhappy or unhappy in their current role, compared to 19% of men.
It was also clear than men and women have different priorities when it comes to considering leaving their tech roles, with women more concerned with a lack of career opportunities as opposed to men, who are on the lookout for more money. Almost 60% of men said pay was their top reason for considering leaving their current role, while 51% of women said their defining reason was around career opportunities.
Personal circumstances appeared as the fifth most likely reason women are considering leaving their tech role, whereas this did not appear in the top five reasons men gave for considering moving on.
Despite women claiming they plan to leave their current technology role due to a lack of career progression, women are more likely than men to have seen an increase in their workload over the past year – 60% of the women asked said their workload had increased, compared with 56% of men.
When it comes to pay for men and women, there is a pay gap in the technology sector, with women not only making approximately 8.2% less than their male counterparts, but also more frequently being expected to take on side-of-the-desk tasks such as party planning.
When it comes to considering a new tech role, men and woman in the UK have very similar objectives – 76% of tech workers will choose their next role because of an increase in pay, and 41% want to be able to work from anywhere.
More than half of tech workers won’t even consider a role if they were not able to work in a hybrid fashion, and 39% would settle for less money if it meant they could work from home more often.
Hybrid working was considered a way to improve wellbeing for tech workers, with 84% saying it helps to reduce commute and therefore allow more personal time, as well as increased productivity, and 81% said it contributes towards better work-life balance.
But there are some differences between men and women when it comes to hybrid and flexible working – a higher percentage of women than men were willing to take a lower salary for the ability to work from home more often, and 51% of women want flexible working hours compared with 41% of men.
Crichton said: “The desire for hybrid working from our Tech talent and salary report is very similar between the two genders. I thought that was interesting because I recognised that, as a leader and within my own experience, giving that flexibility for hours doesn’t harm anyone. I see great value in getting people into the office, but I also would be one of those that might not consider a role that didn’t have hybrid working as an option.”
Opportunities for career progression and strong organisational culture and leadership are also slightly more important to women, whereas the purpose and values of an organisation, as well as opportunities for training and skills development, are slightly more important to men.
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), a focus on training is important, and 76% of tech workers said they had been given access to AI tools, though only 36% said they were given dedicated time to experiment with and learn how to use them.
For around 20% of tech workers, their organisations expect them to figure out the best use of these tools by themselves, and a quarter are still waiting for their companies to provide training.
Some 32% of firms are actively investing in providing AI skills to tech workers. A “sandbox” environment for staff to safely experiment with AI could be beneficial, said Crichton, who said there is benefit to a combination of formal training and allowing workers to figure things out for themselves, though the number of workers claiming to have access to AI versus those given formal training is a “huge gap between access and enablement”.
He added: “The problem here is that AI is very new and organisations are rushing to keep up. People are going and trying and experimenting and are coming up with things that might not have come up in structured training.
“What we’re trying to promote is developing judgement, creativity and confidence to use AI effectively in the real world and in their workplace. It’s about leadership in a new environment, creating an environment where experimentation can turn into capability.”
Tech workers want their leaders to have a firm understanding of technology, with 44% saying it’s important for their leaders to be “techie”, with 18% saying a lack of deep understanding around tech from a leader can stand in the way of the team achieving their goals. More than half also said a good leader will cultivate a positive culture within a team and have good communication.