WIREDGOV

In a letter to the new technology secretary, the professional body for computing has highlighted that over 500,000 women are ‘missing’ from the UK’s IT sector.

Rashik Parmar MBE, CEO of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT congratulated Peter Kyle MP on being appointed to lead the government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

BCS said it was ready to support his mission to transform public services and build trust in the power of AI and emerging technologies.

The letter goes on to outline the BCS membership community’s recommendations for government including:

Supporting Chartered status for information technology professionals

Broadening and growing computing education, digital literacy and skills qualifications

Closing the diversity gap in information technology – over half a million women are ‘missing’ from the IT profession, who should be there if representation was equal to other sectors (BCS analysis of ONS Labour Force Survey data). The over-50s and people with disabilities are also under-represented.

Publish policies

The letter also calls for organisations to publish their policies on the ethical use of AI, and for company boards to include cyber security experts.

BCS, which is the professional body for computing, argues that policy focus on these areas can close the aspiration gap for individuals and help UK companies compete on the world stage.

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT represents a professional membership community, from academia to the public sector, dedicated to promoting accountability and ethical practice in computing and digital technology.

Read the full letter to Peter Kyle MP