International Women's Day: “having women as visible digital leaders is important”

While technology became a lifeline for many during the Covid-19 pandemic, with funerals, GP appointments and school lessons delivered online, for others - including women - it highlighted the lack of digital inclusion across society.

As our daily lives become increasingly digitalised, gender gaps in digital access threaten to leave women and girls even further behind. Though efforts to close these gaps have led to improvements in the gender parity score, the absolute gap between men and women’s access has actually increased by 20 million since 2019. Today, 63% of women have access to the internet, compared to 69% of men. And women are 12% less likely to own a mobile phone, a figure virtually unchanged since before the pandemic.

This inbalance is the focus of this year’s International Women’s Day, with the theme DigitALL: innovation and technology for gender equality.

Three million people work in the UK tech industry, just 26% of which are women. By 2050, 75% of jobs will be in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and, without internet access, women can’t develop the digital skills to engage, limiting their opportunities for STEM careers.

Nikki Turner, Interim Director for Digital Services at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, says visibility is crucial so that women who are considering a digital role can see a role model higher up in the organisation and know that the door is open. “Setting a good example and leading the way is key,” said Nikki. “Having women as visible digital leaders is important – we are extremely proud at NUH to have women in our lead technical roles too.”

Bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality.

“If you were to ask a classroom full of children who wrote the first computer programme, I imagine they’d probably guess a man,” said Nikki.

In reality, Ada Lovelace is widely considered to be the first programmer. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) is considered the first computer programmer, known for her work on Charles Babbage's computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first person to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine.

Nikki, who looks after all things digital –including health records – and has around 250 staff, said the debate around women in technology roles ties closely to women in leadership.

“I remember, a long time ago, I was at a meeting and I was given some feedback afterwards that I was too emotional,” she said. Others in the same meeting praised her for her passion and leadership. “It’s two different sides of the coin of how women can be perceived,” said Nikki. “I’m pleased to say that I do believe that has started to change. But unfortunately I know that I won’t be the only one who has experienced that.”

Many people believe that leadership roles don’t come with a good work-life balance, which can be a sticking point for women who are planning a family, or perhaps still take on the bulk of childcare and caring for elderly parents.

Tech Nation found that when a job advert included flexible working options, 16% more women applied for the job, and research by Timewise found that 91% of women prefer flexible working; 84% of male full-time employees were working flexibly or stated a desire to do so.

“It’s about everyone,” said Nikki. “Being able to work in a much more inclusive and digital way gives us more opportunities to make sure that we can get that work-life balance for women and men alike.”

But it’s not just about work-life balance.

“We should also consider the menopause,” said Nikki. “You can have memory problems and emotional problems which can affect your confidence in applying for leadership roles or in doing your day-to-day job.”

Nikki highlighted how development circles back to women having the confidence to apply for the roles that have stereotypically been ‘for men’.

Having a wider support network is useful, she said, in other organisations as well as your own. “There are a number of emerging support networks led by the NHS Transformation Team,” said Nikki. “Hearing about challenges and experiences that are similar to ours and talking through any shared problems is really helpful.”

Digital leaders from across the region came together to do a podcast about women in digital leadership: https://open.spotify.com/ episode/0fNzcIw9jpE8mO1nprKdFS