A task force to increase the number of women founding, funding and working in technology businesses has been launched in South Yorkshire, after research published this month found women make up 18 per cent of the region’s tech workforce, against 26 per cent nationally.
The Women in Tech and Investment Taskforce has been set up by TechSY, the programme within South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority responsible for growing the county’s tech and digital economy, after research by TechSY found the region was lagging behind the rest of the UK on female participation in the sector.
The same research found women receive just 10 per cent of investment. TechSY puts the value of South Yorkshire’s tech ecosystem at £3.7bn, four times its size in 2019.
The task force will focus on four priorities: increasing the number of women starting and scaling up tech firms; encouraging more women to invest in start-ups; supporting women already working in the sector to move into leadership roles; and inspiring more girls and young women to pursue careers in technology.
Its chair, Helen Milner OBE, said discussions about women in technology had too often focused on the problem rather than finding solutions.
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