Micro Focus has joined PWC’s Tech She Can Charter to actively support one of the leading themes that we drive throughout our business - gender imbalance in the technology industry. We’ve become one of currently 150 signatories to our Strategic Alliance Partner PWC’s Tech She Can Charter, a group of organizations representing a wide range of industries who have pledged to work together to increase the number of women and girls entering the technology roles in the UK.
The Charter was born out of research showing that just 27% of young females in the UK would consider a career in technology, compared to 62% of young men. Only 3% of women taking part in the survey said a career in technology would be their first choice. Recent press articles report a decline in the number of girls choosing to study Information & Communications Technology (ICT) or computing at GCSE level (an English secondary school academic qualification) - three times more boys than girls took these exams in 2019.
Attracting and recruiting diverse talent is important for all industries, but critical for technology. Says CSR Director, Sarah Atkinson, “Micro Focus is committed to helping inspire young girls to consider technical careers, but no single company, NGO or government department can address this alone; it has to be a multi-stakeholder partnership, which is why we are proud to become a signatory of the Tech She Can Charter.”
As a Charter member Micro Focus will have access to impactful learning materials that our employees can use when using their volunteering days to help engage and inspire young girls and minorities into considering a career in tech.
The Tech She Can Charter aims to tackle the root cause of the problem at a societal level by inspiring and educating young girls and women to get into technical careers and sharing best practice across the organizations involved.
Over the past 12 months, a schools engagement pilot called ‘Tech We Can’ has benefitted 726 10-13- year-old students from nine schools across the UK. The program provides teachers with female-friendly lesson plans, giving both the boys and girls in their classrooms an insight into what a career in technology means, and why it’s a great future career option for people from all backgrounds.
Each of the companies involved in Tech She Can agree to work on streams of activity together, including:
Signing up to Tech She Can is a great example of how we can create and expand relationships with partners and customers through our shared values.
