Inclusive Tech Alliance

We had the honour of being invited to the launch of the Inclusive Tech Alliance at the House of Commons last month. Despite the fast growth of the tech sector, there have been substantial challenges for the sector in when it comes to sourcing skilled and diverse talent. The ‘tech revolution’ has been viewed as one of the biggest changes to the world since the industrial revolution over two centuries ago.


Inclusive Boards released a leading report into the current lack of diversity within the senior leadership of the tech sector. They found a significant lack of senior women across the sector, while black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) leaders are underrepresented compared to the wider population. Some key findings from the report:
 

  • Women make up just 12.6% of board members and 16.6% of senior executives in the top tech firms, equivalent to 14.6% female representation across all senior levels in tech.
  • Only 8.5% of senior leaders in the sector were from a black, Asian, minority ethnic (BAME) background.
  • Almost two-thirds (65%) of boards in the top tech firms had no female directors. Over two-fifths of executive teams in the top tech firms had no female representation.
  • More than a third (35%) of board members and moreover a quarter (26%) of senior executives in the top tech firms attended Oxford or Cambridge (Oxbridge) universities compared to just 1% of the population.
     

In response to this report, leaders from over 100 tech firms gathered in the House of Commons for the launch of The Inclusive Tech Alliance on the 14th of November to pledge their dedication to increasing diversity in the UK Tech Sector. This also coincided with the release of a list of top 100 most influential Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) leaders in tech. Those featured in the top 100 include senior leaders from LinkedIn, IBM, Twitter, FinTech firms and more.

And you can see the report and full list of the 100 most influential Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) leaders in tech here