Back and bigger than ever: Female leaders unite at Girl Tech Leeds to secure better opportunities for the next generation

Girl Tech made its return to Leeds last week, marking its highly anticipated comeback as the first in a series of digital insights days designed for young women - set to unfold in five major cities across the country this year.

- By anna harman Contributor

The event brings together representatives from leading businesses in tech and innovation, along with dozens of female role models, to connect with young women across the UK. The initiative aims to inspire and inform its young participants about opportunities in the sector and help them discover their potential place within it.

Now into its eighth year, the Girl Tech initiative is designed and facilitated by social-value specialist Ahead Partnership to address significant gender disparities within tech and innovation, focusing much of its reach on young women who lack awareness or connections to this rapidly evolving sector, and providing them with the right tools to better access it.

The need for change is clear, with recent statistics from Women in Tech showing that only 29% of the tech industry in the UK are women; additionally, 76% of those women surveyed reported experiences of gender bias or discrimination in the workplace.

The initiative has sought to change these patterns through early intervention. By reaching a diverse collective of young women, and connecting them with inspirational female rolemodels and employers ahead of choosing their GCSE options, the event offers valuable opportunities for engagement at a pivotal time in their career journeys.

The event also provides participating businesses and female mentors with a unique platform to unite around common purpose - opening up new pathways for the next generation of young women, while securing a more diverse talent pipeline of the future - set to reduce bias and inequalities within the sector and within tech and digital professions and careers more broadly.