Speaking at the DTX Conference in London, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, praised Britain’s success in the technology sector, but said more work needs to be done to encourage diversity both geographically and in gender and cultural representation.

Recognising the conference concept of digital transformation, Jones said this “is exactly what this government is trying to do” and “extraordinary, technological progress” has been witnessed in the last few years.

“Britain's world-leading Tech sector has been at the forefront of that change,” she said. “You've grown the economy. You've created new jobs and your products and services have improved lives and communities across the country.”

Spreading the Funding

Acknowledging that Britain has “the largest tech ecosystem in Europe, and one of the top five largest in the world”, Jones said the issue is that the profits of our tech success “are not evenly shared” and there is too much concentration of funding in London, Cambridge and Oxford.

“Whilst we’re proud of the success in those cities and their leading universities, we need to ensure that all regions and Nations share in the benefits,” she said.

That geographical challenge needs to be met though, as she said that every person, no matter their background, “can play an active role in every part of our society and our economy.”

She said that the tech sector is “miles behind other sectors like Financial Services and law when it comes to diversity” citing that fewer than 30 percent of employees in the UK tech sector are women, and that drops to 21 percent in senior roles. She also stated that “only one in ten people breaking into the sector are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Jones said: “This is bad for equality and it's bad for opportunity, and it also comes at a profound economic cost, because we know that the more diverse the companies are the better, they do, they grow faster, they create more jobs for more people.”

Saying she is keen to work with the sector to improve diversity, whether that means encouraging founders of every background to scale and start innovative businesses, or ensuring that everyone has the skills they need to join the sector. “In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape digital skills are not just beneficial, they're essential for the individual.”

Skills Shortage

Baroness Jones also raised the issue of the UK’s skills shortage, calling it “one of the biggest challenges to our tech sector at the current time.”

She said there are too many vacancies caused by a lack of digital skills, and also acknowledged that it is “becoming harder and harder to find and retain talent.” Saying that concerns have been heard, and action should be taken, which will include improving access and updating digital skills across the pipeline: from schools to adults, and enabling careers.

“We're commissioning an independent review of the school curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of the modern world,” she said. 

“The new Skills England body will work closely with employers, to ensure that it provides people with the skills they will need for tomorrow.”

Three Priorities

Jones also mentioned the three priorities for our department in enabling tech growth in the UK:

• Firstly accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.
• Second, ensure new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK which benefits everyone.
• Thirdly, drive a modern digital government, which gives citizens a more satisfied experience and gives them their time back.

“In each of these priorities, we see an opportunity to build not just an economy that's more prosperous, but a society that is safer and more just,” she said. “A society where everyone can access the benefits that technology brings.”

Dan Raywood Senior Editor SC Media UK

Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.

He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.

Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.