Employment characteristics

Self-employment

In 2020, there were approximately 156,000 self-employed IT specialists in the UK representing 10% of the total at that time. The incidence of self-employment amongst female IT specialists however was half this level (5%) and half the level recorded by women in the workforce as a whole (also 5%).

Gender and the incidence of self-employment (2020)

Source: Analysis of ONS Quarterly Labour Force Survey by BCS

Employees and size of workplace

IT specialists working as employees are, perhaps understandably, more likely than others to be employed within larger workplaces^[2] (i.e., as micro / small sites are less likely to have an in-house function) and whilst just 29% of UK employees as a whole were working in larger sites during 2020 (those with 250 or more staff), a figure of 43% was recorded for IT specialist employees.

This observation was still more pronounced for female IT specialists in 2020 - 50% of whom were working in larger workplaces during 2020 (compared with a figure of 27% for all female workers).

IT specialist employees by gender and size of workplace (2020)

Source: Analysis of ONS Quarterly Labour Force Survey by BCS

Industry of employment

After IT, the next largest employers of IT specialists (male or female) were banking/finance (23% of female IT specialists and 21% of IT specialists as a whole) and the public sector (21% and 13% respectively).

Looking in more detail at the levels of representation for female IT specialists in different industries, it can be seen that representation was highest in the public sector and transport/communications in 2020, during which figures of 32% and 22% respectively were recorded.

Conversely, the construction sector, along with distribution / hotels / restaurants and the IT industries, was shown to have the worst gender balance with regard to IT specialists - in this case the levels of representation for women in IT positions being 13%, 14% and 16% respectively.

Female employees by occupation and industry (2020)

Source: Analysis of ONS Quarterly Labour Force Survey by BCS
* Five-year average

^[2]The LFS asks individuals about the number of employees at their workplace as opposed to enterprise / organisation as a whole.