Over the past few years, Jo (my fellow Data Monster) and I have become immersed in the mission to address the gender gap in technology roles. This is not a new phenomenon. It has been an issue for decades and various organisations have been trying to fix it for years.

The question of “why” these have failed was asked at a BBC Women’s Hour event we attended – and there was no clear answer from the panel. We have often found ourselves asking the same question. All the statistics show that the gender gap in the UK (particularly in tech and IT) is actually getting worse – less than 1 in 5 tech roles are currently held by women.

We jumped at the chance to run workshops at a schools outreach day, part of the Malvern Festival of Innovation. The workshops, for girls aged 11-14, aimed to inspire them to think differently about a technology career. We spoke with over 200 girls, and did hour-long workshops with 60, across 7 schools in the Worcestershire area. It was amazing, exhausting and eye-opening (more on that another day!)

Our mission was to learn about the girls. Their frustrations, hopes, dreams and challenges. We wanted to see them as individuals who – regardless of whether they study ballet or teaching or coding – will have a future that is entirely intertwined with technology, and help them understand what this means. We had some brilliant debates and discussions and learnt so much. We talked a bit and listened and engaged a lot – our approach was about asking why rather than telling what. 

Highlights of the day ranged from a group of girls designing a IOT/AR connected product – a wardrobe. They planned how they’d structure the pricing (modular, obviously), and discussed their target market. We talked about the skills they’d need on the team to build it. We had a great chat with an aspiring ballerina about how wearables will help dancers achieve peak fitness. And a brilliant discussion about how we can keep plants happy with a connected product, and which international markets we might be able to sell it to!

Technology careers are about commercial, creative and soft skills as much as they are about technical knowledge and ability. Seeing a little girl’s eyes light up when she realised a software tester was “someone who tried to break stuff for a living” and another getting excited about “no idea is too crazy” was fantastic. Our “Be Brave and Be Brilliant” theme really resonated with the girls.

Can’t wait to do more through the team at Founders4Schools