The importance of soft skills as a woman in tech was clearly conveyed last month on Women In Tech.co.uk.
And if I’m allowed to say so, not before time!
But informed by some of the candidates that we’re placing in temporary IT jobs, here are five behavioural competencies that female technologists specifically seeking freelance or contract roles need to succeed, writes Danielle Keegan, associate director at tech staffing agency VIQU.
Putting your ‘soft skills’ to work — every three months
One key distinction between full-time and freelance tech workers is the need for the latter to generate new contract opportunities, potentially as often as every three months.
And the top 5 soft skills outlined in this article — exclusively for Women In Tech — have such a wide, versatile application that these competencies can indeed be used to optimise your work pipeline.
After all, there’s no fun painstakingly developing these five soft skills when IT contracting as a female in the temporary labour market, and then reserving their benefits just for others!
Hitting the ground running as a female IT contractor, potentially alone
Next, an acknowledgement.
Female tech contractors and freelancers face an added layer of complexity, because regardless of how fast they run when they ‘hit the ground,’ they’re in an environment where women are severely underrepresented.
In practice, what does that underrepresentation mean, or look like?
Female IT contractors can feel unsupported amid gender bias, even outright prejudice
Too often it means female techies (not just contractors) can be fighting unconscious gender bias, exposure to discrimination, and a lack of colleague support.
My top five soft skills for women contracting in tech are a great place to start to keep this unwelcome trio on the back foot!
And I can make an even bolder claim.
By actively enhancing and honing these five soft skills — beyond merely just having them in your locker, a female tech contractor can set themselves up for success, with leadership or lucrative contract offers among the rewards.
What are the top 5 soft skills for women contracting in Tech?
1. Proficient communication
Businesses are increasingly appreciating IT contractors (potentially in the shape of premiums at renewal time) who have a mix of technical skills to deliver a project or end goal and a set of soft skills.
Chief among those competencies is proficient communication, to effectively collaborate with and inform stakeholders.
Be in no doubt — being technical in the IT industry is great; you might not even land the freelance contract in the first place without your core tech skills on show!
But having the ability to set out and share key technical ideas and IT-related information — with a non-technical audience, is key.
Communication's sub-skill: Relationship building
Also paramount, and a sign that you’re communicating proficiently, is the ability to build and nurture sound relationships with all colleagues and stakeholders.
It puts you as a woman tech contractor a step above the rank-and-file tech workforce when on-site, while also shining a favourable spotlight on you at extension.
Is your communication clear and concise?
A clear and concise communication mode encourages cooperation among teams, which deters confusion and heads off the potential for disputes.
This ‘clear and concise’ mode is particularly important for women IT contractors who will invariably find themselves in male-dominated environments, potentially surrounded by professionals they don’t know but who they quickly need to know — and competently communicate with — to achieve a common end-goal.
When engaged to provide a specialist technical skillset, the individual female IT freelancer needs to be able to effectively communicate with clarity her intentions, to ensure the alignment of teams, milestones, and project goals, while ‘taking people with her.’
2. EI/EQ: Emotional Intel
Businesses frequently seek contract technology workers who possess robust emotional intelligence — a trait that current AI capabilities haven’t mastered yet!
But what is ‘Emotional Intelligence?’ Well, in a tech recruitment setting, ‘EI’ to me is a female IT contractor’s ability to methodically identify and regulate her own emotions, and even the emotions of those immediately around her too.
Being emotionally intelligent allows a female computer contractor to be self-aware, which can support with establishing fulfilling working relationships, and that can ultimately improve productivity.
Emotional intelligence competencies: discover where YOU excel
Now, the controversial bit!
There are many views on whether different competencies within emotional intelligence are gender-specific or not.
Most believe that women do better than men in areas like empathy and social responsibility.
Whereas men tend to excel at assertiveness, confidence, and tolerating stress.
‘Top Performance’ and ‘Emotional Intelligence’ go hand-in-hand
Whether these perceptions are accurate or not, the consensus is that ‘top performers’ in the corporate and start-up spaces have high emotional intelligence.
Indeed, one survey shows 90% of respondents categorised as ‘top performers’ had “high” emotional intelligence (also known as ‘EQ’ – Emotional Quotient).
Another survey shows that 75% of respondents used emotional intelligence as a key factor in determining promotions and pay raises. Granted, contractors tend to not be interested in the former, but the latter is definitely relevant to contractors, in their age-old pursuit of rate increases!
On sight of male domination, don’t hide your EQ under a bushel
Emotional intelligence should be important to all women working in the UK technology marketplace.
Indeed, it was the second ‘soft’ skill featured in a Women In Tech piece entitled ‘The Importance of Soft Skills for Women In Tech.’
However, good-to-high EQ is especially important if you’re aspiring to be a female tech contractor who will regularly venture into unfamiliar, male-dominated workplaces, where you’ll need strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills to succeed.
Remember, a female freelance technologist eyeing a long independent career will need to secure contract extensions repeatedly. A candidate with strong emotional intelligence could conceivably convince a deliberating business into both extending her AND offering a rate increase.
3. Negotiation
From work locations and IR35 status determinations to rates and extensions, the ability to negotiate across a range of work-related issues is a must-have in your arsenal for IT contracting success.
Unfortunately, with men reportedly being four times more likely to initiate negotiations than women, and 2.5 times more women than men feeling “a great deal of apprehension” regarding negotiating, women IT contractors appear to be at a disadvantage when there are talks to potentially be conducted.
Development, instinct, and the importance of speaking first
Developing solid negotiation skills is therefore not nice-to-have, it’s critical!
Although it might go against your instinct, female tech contractors need to deftly seize control of the situation, where possible, and make the first ‘offer.’
At least, that’s my advice to you as a fellow woman in tech!
Rate rise: How women freelancing in the computing industry should negotiate
Let’s get specific. If it’s a day rate negotiation, a female IT contractor should NEVER say:
- “My usual rate is [x]”; or
- “The daily rate I like is…”
Instead, use concrete numbers, not ranges.
For example:
- “My rate is £500 per day.”
For some women, there is often a temptation to next overtalk — or explain oneself, after stating: “My rate is £500 per day.”
But don’t! Rather in situations like this, the female IT contractor needs to articulate their rate; then pause, be comfortable with the silence, and await a response.
Negotiation dos and don’ts (continued)
Once it’s clearly your turn to respond as the prospective candidate, it’s over to the excellent communication skills you’ve been working on to keep the conversation professional but friendly.
The best outcome (in almost any negotiation) is that both sides feel like they have won something.
4. Flying your flag
Eight in 10 women have issues with low self-esteem and shy away from self-advocacy at work, according to The National Bureau of Economic Research.
Perhaps the finding isn’t overly surprising when, from a young age, many women are encouraged to be modest and avoid boasting.
Downplay to your disadvantage
Unfortunately, this well-intentioned lesson about politeness can translate into female IT freelancers downplaying their achievements and not effectively communicating their value.
This can lead to client decision-makers not understanding the actions and breadth of value that the woman IT contractor on the team has brought to a project, only the result.
Unjustly, that could ultimately be the difference between the line manager offering the female contract techie renewal or a rate increase and offering neither.
Female IT contractors should self-advocate their value
Therefore, a female tech contractor’s ability to ‘fly her flag’ – meaning to highlight and self-advocate for the value and achievements she brings and is responsible for, is vital.
A woman contracting in IT can do this easily and without pomp.
The key is to know with certainty what you bring to the project, and clearly and concisely communicate this to the client.
Keeping track -- aka Creating an Audit of Achievements
One way to positively draw attention to your actions, when working temporarily on tech projects or programmes, is by writing a weekly or fortnightly email to the line-manager, detailing the work carried out and milestones hit.
Doing this could positively impact the quality of the reference the client gives — should you (the contractor) want to subsequently pursue full-time employment. And it will invariably impact the probability of being offered a contract extension and/or rate increase.
5. Networking
A woman in the temporary technology jobs market must prioritise networking.
Online or offline, networking often lets a female techie working on a temporary but professional basis bypass dealing with us recruitment agencies.
Instead, direct contacts recommend the technologist for upcoming projects and contract opportunities.
Referrals are today’s gold dust for women contracting in IT
These ‘referrals’ are known to uncover the most lucrative and fulfilling freelance computing assignments.
As 2025 comes into sight, women who are tech contracting should be reassured that networking is no longer really about standing in a room of suits, mingling with people not always relevant to your tech career, and making awkward small talk!
It’s now much more about being proactive and consistent with your network. Yes, there’s still a place for attending networking events and meeting new and interesting people.
Former colleagues, ex-clients, and a bit of LinkedIn
But many female IT contractors we source for organisations do very well for themselves simply by ensuring consistent communication with colleagues and ex-colleagues in their network.
The key is for IT contractors to stay in the minds of their contacts. Many use LinkedIn to achieve this — commenting on posts, sending messages, and forwarding tech industry threads.
Introduce, improve, utilise…
Female computer consultants operating independently can also look to make useful introductions to their ex-clients and colleagues, which again can endear the tech company/individual to them and help with the work pipeline.
In my experience of the professional hiring market, quite a few female IT workers struggle to attend networking events outside of conventional work hours, often due to family commitments.
Improving and utilising other aspects of your networking skillset as a woman in tech contracting is therefore critical.
Soft skills as a female freelance techie: what THEY do for YOU
Your technical skills as a female IT contractor are imperative to your ability to provide for the client; in 2025 and beyond, that won’t change.
But soft skills increasingly have their place too, in client workplaces; in carving out and solidifying your tech career, in creating a healthy contracts pipeline and in becoming the go-to contractor within a niche that’s rewarding both financially and otherwise.
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.
