The growing presence of certain tech areas such as AI, Blockchain, AR/VR and Cyber Security, needs to be accompanied by two key things in 2025, writes Amanda Whicher, UKI technology director at Hays.
Those two key things — so ‘key’ in fact that those tech areas risk not growing as fully as they might otherwise — are:
- increased female representation in the IT industry, and;
- more visibility, detail and support around the vast opportunities that exist for women to thrive in and around these four key tech sectors.
Fewer than a fifth of cyber security officers are female
On women’s representation in tech, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 17% of women make up the cyber security workforce across the UK.
With the threat of cyber-attacks on the rise (a 75% worldwide increase in Q3 2024 according to software security firm Check Point), it is now more important than ever for UK organisations to nurture talented and resilient security teams.
And a key way for corporate hiring decision-makers to achieve this is to tap into the vital contribution female professionals can make. It’s a solution that also diversifies and strengthens each organisation’s tech and non-tech workforce.
What women typically have in their lockers that AI, Blockchain, VR jobs require
Let’s take a closer look at some of the crucial skills female professionals can utilise to enhance the world of tech and the four key subsectors of AI, Blockchain, AR/VR and Cyber Security — where we’ll be placing in the coming months of 2025.
Creativity, innovation, and diversity of thought
As with any industry, the more diversity of thought, the better.
In other words, teams comprising individuals of the same gender and background will have limited points of view. By contrast, a diverse team inevitably offers a range of different ideas, perspectives and solutions leading to greater creativity and innovation.
Women are needed within these four cutting-edge tech sectors to see things through a fresh, alternative lens — to challenge certain ways of thinking. After all, let’s remember – this is a traditionally male-dominated space!
Anti-bias in AI needs to be designed-in
One of the pressing concerns surrounding Artificial Intelligence development is how to mitigate bias. For AI tools and technologies to be authentic, inclusive and beneficial to all, women must be involved in the initial conversations and then the ongoing development.
Organisations need to reflect on how to ensure biases don’t exist when building and utilising AI tools. Keep in mind — women make up roughly half of the total population in the UK, so any products, services and solutions that are built must consider the needs and desires of their entire audience.
The risk is AI won't be for all
Having females play a role in building these technologies for the future is absolutely key, or else we end up with services that don’t meet the demand of the population at large.
It’s also worth noting that biases aren’t just specific to gender. For instance, if AI is only developed in certain socio-economic environments, then socio-economic biases will be inherent within the technology.
In short, ensuring female professionals are part of the AI design and development process is a valuable step in the right direction, for this nascent technology and the UK tech workforce at large.
Empathy, purpose and emotional intelligence
Transferable ‘soft skills’ that female professionals may have learnt through lived experience can bring a huge amount of value to the world of tech and its four ‘darling’ sectors.
To get the best out of the various emerging technologies that we’re seeing from AI, Blockchain, AR/VR and Cyber Security, emotional intelligence as a resource is just as important as the technical skill that underpins this quartet.
Sustainable and ethical tech roles are a match to many women’s CVs
Women are widely acknowledged to typically take a more empathetic and compassionate approach than men, which dovetails with the briefs we’re receiving for staff in technology fields such as sustainable and ethical tech.
But there’s even more potential on offer to hirers who want to be ‘challenger’ brands in the sustainable and ethical tech spaces. Female professionals are more likely to challenge the status quo, whether that’s a particular service design or user experience, to improve certain processes from an empathetic and emotionally intelligent angle.
More likely to prioritise a sense of purpose in their tech job? That would be women...
We see many female professionals being visibly passionate about working for an organisation with a strong sense of purpose.
That’s a tick for sustainable and ethical tech hirers, but it’s also conducive to renewable energy and ethical AI, as women who work in the fulfilling and rewarding roles that these fields offer can have a directly positive impact on society.
Leadership, mentorship and inspiration
Women have the tools necessary to enhance the tech landscape but part of the challenge is to empower them to venture into these roles.
Ultimately, improved female representation in the UK tech sector leads to more role models, and therefore reassures women there is a space for them within tech.
Education through schools, colleges and universities, is also crucial for raising awareness around the importance of certain core IT skills and attributes that facilitate a successful technology career.
It’s a key but often overlooked way to encourage more females to take the leap into the IT/Computing sector.
The positive ripple effect of female tech leadership
It’s not just entry-level where more needs to be done. We need to see more women in tech leadership roles to inspire and mentor the next generation and gradually close the gender gap, to truly tap into their powerful potential.
Tech employers ought to look beyond women as an underrepresented gender or a ‘tick box’ to meet their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goals.
Our DEI take as a tech staff agency heading into 2025
Instead, we hope employers in 2025 will focus on the unique skills and qualities they bring that can complement their projects — and the predominant workers on those tech projects; men!
We’ll be telling them as vocally as we can in 2025, but it’s down to organisations to create and clearly communicate relevant job opportunities so women feel they have a role to play in emerging technology fields like AI, Blockchain, AR/VR and Cyber Security and in shaping the future.
But for these four technology markets to continue to progress in a way we can all be proud of, we must address the UK’s tech industry’s lack of female representation — standing at 26% (as of 2023).
So we all lose if women in tech representation stands still...
As I’ve highlighted, women undoubtedly bring sought-after attributes to the table and their absence within tech teams means organisations simply miss out on the pivotal skills female professionals possess to advance tech in a creative, innovative, inclusive and ethical way. Without those four in these four seminal fields, we’ll all suffer.
Amanda Whicher
Amanda Whicher is a director at Hays UK&I, specialising in public services technology. With over 17 years of experience in the recruitment sector, Amanda has a wealth of insights on the challenges employers face accessing and retaining talent. She has a particular interest in encouraging more women into tech, to expand their career opportunities and create more diverse and inclusive tech teams.
Amanda is passionate about matching the top technology experts to organisations, through life-long partnerships and workplace solutions, to support both clients and candidates to meet their ambitions and thrive in the ever-changing world of tech.
