Continuing to overlook women in tech could cost the UK economy more than 10 billion pounds (US$13.65 billion) of growth over the next decade.
A new report from the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce of the City of London Corporation, the governing body that runs the capital’s Square Mile, found that women in tech and financial services face greater risk from AI and automation-driven job loss than their male coworkers. The report was cited by the Guardian.
Women also experience greater obstacles in hiring, too often sidelined by “rigid hiring processes,” the research found. CV-screening processes exacerbated the underrepresentation of women in digital roles in tech, finance and professional services, particularly “mid-career” women – those with more than five years’ of experience. They faced penalties for career gaps related to childcare, overly narrow definitions of professional experience, and bias in automated recruitment tools.
“As AI and automation accelerate, the risk of exclusion grows,” Elizabeth Anderson, chief executive of the Digital Poverty Alliance, told UK Tech News. It risks “leaving talent unused, vacancies unfilled, and firms exposed to significant costs.”
[See more: These are the job sectors most at risk from AI]
To avoid that outcome, the corporation called on employers to invest in re-skilling female workers not currently in technical roles, especially those working in clerical positions. Around 119,000 clerical roles in these sectors, most held by women, are expected to be displaced by automation over the next decade. Reskilling those affected would not only benefit workers, the report found it could save companies as much as £757 million (US$1.03 billion) in redundancy payments.
Dame Susan Langley, the mayor of City of London, emphasised how companies can “unlock enormous potential” by investing in reskilling workers. “Focusing on talent, adaptability and opportunity will ensure the UK continues to lead on innovation and remains a global hub for digital excellence.”
More than 12,000 digital vacancies in the tech, finance and professional services sectors went unfilled in 2024, costing an estimated £1 billion (US$1.37 billion) in lost growth. Companies have tried to address the shortfall with increased wages, but the report found this approach insufficient to solve the problem.
With the growing digital talent gap forecast to last until at least 2035, adjusting hiring practices and investing in the digital development of female workers could allow companies to avoid projected economic growth losses of more than £10 billion pounds (US$13.65 billion), say researchers.
