BCS diversity report 2021: Women in IT

Over the past six years, as part of its aim to make IT good for society, BCS has been tracking and reporting upon levels of female representation within the IT labour market, highlighting areas of particular concern for the industry and supporting infrastructure and providing supporting evidence for those seeking to improve the gender* balance within our industry.

In 2017, we expanded the reach of our analysis to cover other ‘minority groups’ - namely, the disabled, ethnic minorities and older workers, and following positive feedback / comment from the IT community, this year we have elected to continue with this broader analysis of diversity in IT.

The insights contained within these reports are drawn primarily from an analysis of secondary data from the ONS Labour Force Survey (see notes for details). This input allows us for the first time to not only identify the key issues in question, but also the potential / preferred resolution mechanisms as suggested by our membership base.

In summary then, these reports aim to inform BCS policy as we provide a definitive source of information concerning the levels of ‘minority’ representation amongst the IT professions. We also want to identify and explore the extent to which the market is failing those from minority groups, as demonstrated by below-average levels of representation and compensation amongst these groups.

Through our campaigning work, we aim to highlight potential actions that can be initiated to address the imbalances and inequalities identified.

* BCS aims to be inclusive in its use of language. In this report the use of the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ follow the widely held convention that they are broadly interchangeable. We want our content to be clear in meaning and inclusive in scope, whilst also taking into account the evolving nature of language. BCS wants to consider as many aspects of diversity as we can, whether or not they are considered a legally protected characteristic. The content team are happy to hear views or concerns on this subject.