London’s technology scene is woefully far behind the FTSE 100 on gender diversity according to a group representing tech leaders, entrepreneurs and experts.

Tech London Advocates (TLA), which has over 6,000 members, is calling on the capital’s technology companies to hire more women and ethnic minorities.

The group is launching the TLA Road to One Million campaign, urging companies to help create a million tech jobs in London by 2023. A key part of this will be to bring women and ethnic minorities into the companies.

Fujitsu’s Employee Experience, Diversity & Inclusion Lead in EMEIA Sarah Kaiser is a strong advocate driving the diversity agenda.

“With the skills gap costing our economy billions a year, more needs to be done to attract a diverse range of talent into tech roles. A shortage of candidates is partly due to a lack of awareness of the opportunities that exist, and the inaccurate perception that some groups, such as women or LGBT+ individuals, do not belong in the tech sector. We also need to recognise that old-fashioned biases are still built into too many organisations and jobs. However, to benefit from a diverse talent pool, we need to consciously create inclusive organisations where everyone can succeed.

 

At the end of the day, it is only by engaging a diverse array of people in tech that we can hope to protect the future competitiveness of the UK economy. And from enhancing agility to innovation and customer relationships, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) programmes are crucial for improving business performance, continued growth and success. That’s why it’s incredibly encouraging to hear that the TLA will launch its Road to One Million campaign, in order to not only create a million tech jobs by 2023, but in a bid to bring more women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds into companies.

 

After all, when we get D&I right, everyone – from individuals and teams to the broader business – benefits. And in a progressively diverse and digital world, if we fail to foster a whole group of talent properly it will prevent the UK from seeing a prosperous economy.”

 

Sarah Kaiser, Employee Experience, Diversity & Inclusion lead, Fujitsu

>See also: Sarah Kaiser shares top five predictions for diversity and inclusion in  2019