The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) today announced the launch of a new program to increase women’s participation in tech by creating more accessible pathways.
The program will be delivered in partnership with members: _nology, SEEK, Ubank and Project F (T-EDI standards).
Fostering diversity continues to be a priority for the TCA and a crucial part of TCA’s plan to reach 1.2 million jobs by 2030.
The Next Wave: Women’s Tech Transitions will address women’s underrepresentation in the tech workforce by focusing on mid-career transitions as a critical pathway to increase participation.
TCA research has shown women are nearly twice as likely to transition into tech roles mid-career than start their careers in the industry.
The TCA has received a grant from the Federal Government’s Building Women’s Careers Program to deliver The Next Wave program.
Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles said the Albanese Government is committed to fostering strong partnerships to get more women in traditionally male-dominated industries, like digital and technology.
“It is a key tenet of the Labor party that no one is held back and no one left behind.”
“In every skills area that’s in shortage in Australia has something in common, and that is a really skewed distribution by gender, so we’re making this investment to do something about it”
“I am really proud of our Building Women’s Careers program and the opportunities it will provide women across the country.”
TCA CEO Damian Kassabgi said this program will help identify clear pathways to get more women into tech careers, which is a key priority of the tech council.
“Women still represent only one in four tech workers in Australia—a statistic that does not reflect the broader demographics of our society. To ensure Australia remains a global technology leader, we must do more to increase the opportunities for women to reskill and upskill into tech jobs,” he said.
“The TCA’s new program will promote accessible pathways for women to join the tech sector and, in doing so, will significantly increase women’s participation so we can build a diverse tech industry that draws on everyone’s strengths. This is what is needed to drive innovation and establish Australia as a world-leading digital economy.”
TCA Non-Executive Director and PEXA Group Chief Technology Officer Eglantine Etiemble said PEXA’s focus on lifting diversity and inclusion over several years has resulted in an increase from 21% to 38.5% of female participation in the workforce.
“The underrepresentation of women in Australia’s tech workforce deprives us of the much-needed talent required to drive the widespread adoption of emerging technologies at scale,” she said.
“At PEXA, we have seen firsthand how greater female participation benefits our workforce by enhancing employee engagement and accelerating innovation. It would be great to see this replicated throughout the Australian tech eco-system.”
The TCA is excited to partner with members: _nology, SEEK, UBank and Project F (T-EDI standards) to progress their work in supporting women to build careers in technology.
The program will include the development of a career-switching action plan, interactive workshops and other high impact initiatives that highlight the benefit of tech careers and the promotion of gender, equity, and inclusion in the tech sector.