Two new voluntary standards, announced by the Chancellor at the Budget and coordinated through the government’s Women in Tech Taskforce, will target workplace culture and investment practices across the UK technology sector. Ministers frame the measures as a response to persistent barriers facing women as founders and workers, part of a wider push to widen participation in technology while boosting growth across the economy. Officials say the standards will be co-created with industry before their formal launch in the coming months, and the Taskforce is due to reconvene in November to take the next phase of work forward.
The first instrument, the Tech Forward Standard, addresses conduct and culture inside technology workplaces. Its commitments are intended to improve workplace culture and could include trusted harassment reporting routes, so that workers feel safe to come forward. The second, the Inclusive Investment Standard, targets how capital is allocated. It could include commitments around broadening deal sourcing channels and tracking women-led businesses from pitch to funding decision, making clear where founders drop out and where change is needed.
The policy case rests on figures the government says demonstrate both the scale of the problem and the size of the prize. Women make up just 22% of the IT workforce, according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, drawing on ONS Labour Force Survey data showing 433,000 female IT specialists in the UK in 2025. Evidence cited by the department suggests closing participation gaps could add up to £4 billion a year to UK GDP, while enabling women to found and grow businesses at the same rate as men could unlock £310 billion for the economy, an inflation-adjusted update of the £250 billion estimate from the 2019 Alison Rose review of female entrepreneurship.
Funding disparities remain stark. Only 2p of every £1 invested in UK venture capital funding goes to women-founded businesses, according to the Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2026. The government’s recent call for evidence also found that 74% of respondents believe better workplace culture would support women’s progression and leadership in tech, a finding ministers describe as a clear mandate to work with industry.
Meanwhile, the accountability structure around the standards is already taking shape through named industry ambassadors. Early backers include BT, Revolut, Sage, Balderton Capital and Octopus Ventures, with fuller cohorts expected to be published alongside the standards in the coming months. The ambassador list for the Tech Forward Standard ranges from Arm, Openreach and Virgin Media O2 to bodies such as the TUC, techUK and Stemettes, while the Inclusive Investment Standard draws support from investors and industry groups including Ada Ventures, Innovate Finance, Phoenix Court and the ScaleUp Institute.
Alongside the standards, government will launch a scale-up women’s programme in 2027, run jointly between DCMS and BIST. The programme is designed to help women founders of high-potential, high-growth UK businesses secure investment and scale, addressing the barriers behind persistent funding gaps. Support could include workshops, peer learning, networking and introductions to investors.
Digital Inclusion Minister and Women in Tech Taskforce co-chair Vicky Foxcroft said too many talented women are leaving tech or never getting the chance to build a career in it in the first place, describing this as a waste of talent the economy cannot afford. She said the initiatives are about working with industry to create opportunities for all, so that tech becomes a place where women can thrive, from the classroom right through to the boardroom.
Anne-Marie Imafidon, Chief Executive and co-founder of Stemettes and Women in Tech Envoy, said too many women have reported facing misconduct such as harassment and discrimination in tech, calling it unacceptable and a key driver of poor participation in the sector. She said the launch is about working with industry to create the cultural change women and their allies have long been calling for, noting that the 74% figure from the Call for Evidence now provides a clear mandate.
The announcement sits within a broader set of programmes across government. Registration has opened for the first ever TechFirst Girls Competition, giving girls across the UK the chance to build tech skills and confidence. The Get Tech Certified programme, running from 1 October to 31 December 2026 and delivered by Government Digital Service and Government Digital and Data in partnership with technology providers, has also kicked off digital upskilling across the public sector, open to all public servants, with a dedicated Women in Tech strand this year offering events, mentoring and career stories. Further details of the strand are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-and-industry-to-take-on-investment-bias-and-workplace-culture-to-support-more-women-in-tech.
In addition, the TechFirst Women’s Programme will support 300 women across the UK, from early-career professionals to career changers and returners, with mentoring, skills development and matching with live vacancies in artificial intelligence, cyber security and other high-growth technology sectors, with the aim of securing paid roles lasting at least six months by March 2027.
What changed for those watching delivery: the key test comes in the months ahead, when the co-creation process concludes, the full ambassador cohorts are published and the standards are formally launched. The Taskforce’s November reconvening will mark the point at which oversight of delivery formally begins, and with it the first real measure of whether voluntary commitments translate into compliance.