I started in IT recruitment back in 2010 — straight out of university, bright-eyed and with no real preconceptions about female representation in tech, writes Danielle Keegan, associate director of tech staff specialist VIQU IT.
'Those who don't teach'... are chuffed to be part of tech
Originally, I had planned to spend just one year in technology recruitment to save up some money to train as a teacher! That was my big goal at the time.
But nearly 15 years later, it’s clear that fate had different a plan for me. And I’m so glad. Because I’m part of the UK’s vibrant tech industry. It’s exciting, fast-paced and ever-changing. Furthermore, I’m proud to be a woman working across two male-dominated fields — tech recruitment and tech itself. I want to share what both worlds are like, or at least have been like for me.
Back to the beginning
I started working for an IT recruitment company in September 2010 as a “Trainee Recruitment Consultant.”
Looking back now, I think the relatively balanced men-to-women ratio in the scheme numbed me to the lack of women in the IT recruitment industry.
Only as I did well in the company, and made my way further up the ladder, did the decline in the number of women in more senior and leadership-based positions become painfully obvious.
Paddle your own canoe
But I paddled my own canoe, and was pleasantly surprised to be promoted in 2012 to the position of Sales Director in 2012 — just two years into my career.
It was a huge achievement for me personally, but in hindsight, I also believe it was an acknowledgement of the direction that the tech industry was slowly heading in.
How do I know? Well, the tech staffing company I was then working for had been operating for 20+ years at that point, and had not once had a female Sales Director in its entire history!
Breaking the mould
I suppose in this sense, I broke the mould. Such a promotion might be slightly less record-breaking today. But a woman being in a director-level role being less remarkable in 2025 than in 2012 just goes to show how far the inclusion of women working in IT, whether directly or as a supplier to the tech sector, has progressed in the last decade.
That said, and from what I’ve seen, the women in tech movement didn’t take off and get the spotlight it deserved until around 2020.
And that’s not to say there isn’t still a heap of work to do now, as we approach 2025-26 on April 6th!
The 8-year itch
Yet I would guestimate that I wasn’t truly conscious of the lack of women working in technology until eight or nine years into my career, so somewhere around 2018.
That’s changed in the past five years, especially since I joined VIQU IT. With my current staffing agency, there’s a genuine care and concerted effort around it, often mirrored back to us by our clients — UK organisations.
It’s also more publicised. Indeed, there’s a more mainstream awareness of the need for women and other underrepresented groups in the tech industry. Previously, either companies just didn’t realise this lack of representation – as I didn’t – or more worryingly, didn’t want to recognise it.
The dominance of middle-aged white men
When I used to meet with hiring managers, heads or directors of IT, and business owners, to drill down into their staffing requirements, I was mainly sat in front of a male of White British background.
If I think back to it now, I can acknowledge that there was a very different dynamic between myself taking a middle-aged white man out to lunch and my director/manager (also invariably a White British male) taking them out to lunch!
What do I mean here? Well, I think some of those clients found it unnerving that a 23-year-old woman was taking them out for coffee!
Time on the terraces, and the pitch, may have served me well
However, I never felt intimidated by the situation, but I can understand why some women might feel differently.
To explain why I didn’t, I credit the beautiful game! In fact, I think that me playing football from a young age often helped me in these situations – almost by them not becoming a ‘situation’ in my mind.
However, on paper, back then, and like women in this client-prospect dynamic today, struggling to find common ground in such a face-to-face seems likely.
Women in tech being hold back
Could this lack of simply having things in common with the other person be partly why more women dropped out of IT recruitment the higher up the ladder I went? The same could be posed about female IT workers. Could a lack of commonality between these rank-and-file, underrepresented techies and the middle-aged white men who are traditionally in the senior roles, be holding women in tech back?
I think the answer is ‘Yes.’ But I also think the tide is slowly turning. Here’s a bit on why.
Thankfully with recruitment, it’s ‘in’ with ‘talent-hubs’ and it’s ‘out’ with ‘side-gig’
Traditionally in many companies, the HR department had to pick up recruitment as a bit of a ‘side gig.’ Today, though, a growing number of companies are moving towards dedicated ‘talent hubs’ or ‘extended HR’ departments. Beyond the jazzy titles, these objective-orientated units are focused on building business initiatives that create upward mobility and empowerment for underrepresented groups in the workforce.
In addition, there are groups, meet-ups, and helpful elements of employee benefits packages that are giving women in tech more of the support they deserve and traditionally haven’t had.
A changing awareness
At the same time, at the top, there are more stakeholders who are women. Many companies now have strategies in place to ensure balance and diversity in their senior leadership teams and boards.
The C-suite no longer being tin-eared (unintentionally or otherwise) about diversity is a huge step in giving women in tech confidence, because it means this overdue work can start from the top. If women working in junior tech positions can see others they can relate to in those senior positions, they can envision themselves there and work towards it.
What topics we recruiters are asked about by firms wanting to boost women in tech
I find it incredibly rewarding to work with so many companies that want to actively encourage more women and other underrepresented groups to get into tech.
During pitches and client workshops, it is now commonplace for us to be quizzed on our recruitment agency’s approach to:
- unconscious bias;
- diversity;
- accessing tech talent from underrepresented groups.
These are absolutely NOT the sort of questions that made it into the interview of the company I became sales director for, where no woman before me had ever been elevated to such a role!
Going beyond football
But today, I love to be asked about these topics.
Not just because it shows me that I do now have common ground with those sitting across from me — common ground that goes beyond football, but also because there are so many positive things I can share from what I’ve seen, learned, and worked on with other firms.
These things range from running bi-annual open days and integrating gender decoder tools, to entirely overhauling recruitment processes and appointing their own DE&I officer.
Interviews, individuals and influence
And from my personal perspective, I get to talk about the Women in Tech interview series that I ran in 2023 where I had the opportunity to interview women in tech from all different walks of life and seniority levels.
Those interviews really opened my eyes to different perspectives, challenges and experiences some of those individuals had and continue to face. It has most definitely influenced how I work with organisations on their DE&I workforce strategies — and that’s why it is so key for women to be represented at board and senior leadership level.
Unhelpful comments that still get uttered
I can’t pretend it’s all rosy. I still have some clients who automatically refer to candidates as ‘he.’ And some, still in 2024, commented on how surprised they were at female candidates turning up for interviews.
But overriding there is a strong awareness of the need to encourage more women into tech. Related, sometimes I get requests and comments such as:
“Oh if you could get a woman that’d be great”.
Now, in this case, I have mixed feelings. A female candidate should get the job because of her skillset, not because of her gender. But with comments like that, while clumsy, at least there’s a consciousness, even if it’s coming from a muddled place!
Hirers being hungry to be challenged bodes well for women in tech
On the whole, however, most hiring managers currently want tech applicants who are going to challenge them and their organisation.
So by and large, UK plc and its hiring decision-makers ARE actively encouraging diversity in gender, ethnicity, religion, background and even education, when staffing up their teams for 2025.
To end, I want to go back to where I started — me going forward for a role that I thought might last 12 months, and only as a stepping stone to becoming a teacher.
Well, positively, women who are starting their tech sector or tech recruitment careers now might have different experiences than me, because pleasingly there are now more females at the coalface. So there has been a welcome shift.
Gender imbalance in UK IT persists (plus my tips to tackle it)
But a word of caution — imbalance persists, and is stubborn.
The key is for all companies that understand the need for a greater representation of women in tech to not be complacent. Companies must continue putting initiatives and strategies in place for women and other underrepresented groups. And implementation shouldn’t be an attempt to jump on the bandwagon for PR purposes, as this marketing ruse is easily found out and sets back the process immeasurably.
Rather, if a company sincerely wants to encourage more women into IT, such an overdue commitment needs to translate into every operational aspect; from their employee benefits packages and diversity of board membership to their hiring, interview, and — if my journey is anything to go by, their processes for internal promotions too.
Danielle Keegan
Danielle Keegan is a technical IT recruiter with 14+ years’ experience in identifying and securing the best permanent IT talent for businesses across the UK.
As an associate director and head of permanent recruitment at VIQU IT, Danielle plays a pivotal role in driving the business forward and contributing to innovative solutions for VIQU’s clients and candidates.
Danielle is passionate about encouraging more women to consider careers in tech and takes prides herself in leading the conversation at VIQU IT and among her client base. These efforts include spearheading a Women in Tech interview series and introducing new processes to household name clients to reduce unconscious bias and encourage more opportunities for women working in tech.
