Liverpool Girl Geeks calls for commitment to diversity from digital tech sectors

Social enterprise Liverpool Girl Geeks is calling for businesses to pledge their support for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The organisation has teamed up with eight digital and tech companies to increase awareness of the need for diversity and create more inclusive working environments.

Through a membership scheme launched in 2016, Liverpool Girl Geeks asked partners to co-create a formal pledge that will progress the diversity and inclusion agenda in their organisations while encouraging other City Region businesses to do the same.

The main points of the pledge are:

• Recruitment - Maintaining transparent and fair recruitment procedures that encourage inclusivity and diversity
• Fairness - Ensuring employees receive equal pay for work of equal value
• Representation - Having more women in senior roles and working towards a 50/50 gender split
• Community - Committing to 50/50 gender representation on speaker panels at internal and external events

Nick Howe, managing director of Liverpool creative agency Uniform, said: “If we as a business and industry are serious about increasing the gender balance and tackling the digital skills gap, we need to continue to support organisations like Liverpool Girl Geeks who are making an impact.

“That’s why we have helped to create their members pledge which we think could drive real and lasting change across the sector.”

Liverpool Girl Geeks was founded in 2013 to address the gender imbalance within tech by providing opportunities for females of all ages through education, training, mentoring and networking.

The group said that in the North West, just 19% of tech jobs are held by women.