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Women in Tech Taskforce: Terms of Reference

Published 9 April 2026

Purpose

The Women in Tech Taskforce examines the systemic barriers that prevent women from entering, progressing, and leading in the tech sector. The goal is to reach gender parity in the UK tech sector and mobilise concrete action from both industry and government to access the full talent pool, market opportunities, and innovation capacity needed to hit the UK’s growth ambitions.  

It is led by DSIT’s Secretary of State, Liz Kendall, and the Women in Tech Envoy, Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE.

The Taskforce will: 

1. Identify barriers

Harness the range of existing evidence to analyse barriers across the full tech career and entrepreneurship journey, from entry into the workforce through to senior leadership and starting and scaling a tech company. The Taskforce will examine how barriers manifest for and compound across different underrepresented groups and commission additional research where gaps are found in the existing evidence base.

2. Shape government action

Provide concrete ideas to government on what initiative are working and best practice from industry, and pitch where more government action is needed.

3. Drive industry commitment

Mobilise tech sector leaders to design programmes that also inspire industry commitments to improve recruitment, retention, progression and investment practices, with particular focus on female talent and female-led businesses while recognising wider inclusion benefits.

4. Establish accountability

Create frameworks for measuring progress and maintaining momentum, ensuring both industry and government deliver on commitments to build a more inclusive tech sector.

Scope of work

 The Taskforce will examine 3 interconnected areas. 

1. Women entering tech

Routes into tech careers, including:

• entry points for young people
• skills
• participation
• career switching
• returner programmes

There will also be a focus on barriers that particularly affect women.

2. Women staying in tech

Retention and advancement challenges, particularly at critical career transition points. Examination of workplace practices, flexibility, sponsorship and the barriers to reaching senior technical and leadership roles that disproportionately affect women.

3. Women leading tech

Support for female entrepreneurs and the barriers they face starting and scaling companies and patterns in how funding flows, with analysis of both supply-side factors (investor composition and decision-making) and demand-side factors (pipeline and pitch readiness) that prevent women from accessing capital at the same rates.

Note:  The Taskforce will examine how the areas set out above can also be affected by other factors like ethnicity, disability, socio economic background and sexuality. It also recognises geographic disparities in opportunity and support, ensuring recommendations address the needs of those outside London and the South East.

Proposed structure – core taskforce with rotating seats  

The Taskforce is comprised of 13 members.

Members are responsible for:

• developing and validating recommendations
• mobilising industry action
• representing the Taskforce in meetings with ministers and other senior engagements  

Rotating seats: A maximum of 5 additional seats are available to bring in specialist expertise as needed on an ad-hoc basis. These rotating members may be invited to join for a single meeting or multiple sessions depending on the topics under discussion and their relevant expertise. This flexible structure ensures the Taskforce can access targeted input while maintaining core membership continuity.