On 29 October 2026, the government set out a Budget-linked package aimed at women in technology, centred on two new voluntary standards and a separate scale-up support offer due in 2027. The announcement came from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and Digital Inclusion Minister Vicky Foxcroft. (gov.uk) The mechanism matters. Ministers have chosen a standards-based route rather than immediate regulation: the Women in Tech Taskforce will co-design a Tech Forward Standard on workplace culture and an Inclusive Investment Standard on finance, with formal publication expected in the coming months. (gov.uk)
According to the government release, the case for intervention is both labour market and economic. Women accounted for 22% of UK IT specialists in 2025, using BCS analysis of the ONS Labour Force Survey, while DSIT research published in July 2026 estimated that removing barriers to women working in the digital economy could raise total UK GDP by £4 billion a year. (gov.uk) The entrepreneurship argument is larger again. The press release, drawing on the Alison Rose Review adjusted for inflation, said enabling women to start and scale businesses at the same rate as men could add £310 billion to the economy. Foxcroft and Women in Tech Envoy Anne-Marie Imafidon presented the package as a growth measure as well as an inclusion measure. (gov.uk)
Workplace culture is the first policy lever. DSIT's call for evidence, published with findings in July 2026, received 570 responses and was cited by ministers as evidence that 74% of respondents saw better workplace culture as important to women's progression and leadership in tech. (gov.uk) The proposed Tech Forward Standard is expected to focus on practical employer commitments rather than statutory duties. The government said those commitments could include trusted routes for reporting harassment, an issue repeatedly raised in the evidence-gathering phase. For employers, the immediate question is likely to be whether the final standard sets out comparable expectations on reporting, escalation and follow-up rather than high-level pledges alone. (gov.uk)
Investment practice is the second lever. The government said only 2p of every £1 of UK venture capital funding currently goes to women-founded businesses, citing the Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2026. The proposed Inclusive Investment Standard is intended to address how investment opportunities are sourced and how founders move from pitch to decision. (gov.uk) In policy terms, that places attention on process transparency rather than quota-setting. Ministers said the standard could cover broader deal sourcing and tracking the progress of women-led businesses through the funding pipeline, so that investors can see where founders fall out of the system. If adopted in a consistent form, that would give firms a clearer evidence base for whether bias sits at origination, screening, diligence or final investment committee stage. (gov.uk)
The standards are now moving into a co-creation phase with industry, investors and the Women in Tech Taskforce, which is due to reconvene in November 2026. Early ambassadors named by government include BT Group, Revolut and Sage on the workplace culture side, and Balderton Capital and Octopus Ventures on the investment side, alongside a broader group of sector bodies and advocacy organisations. (gov.uk) That timetable gives the initiative a clear next checkpoint but also underlines its main delivery risk. Because the package is voluntary, early impact will depend on who signs up, what data are published, and whether the final standards ask participants to report against measures that can be compared across organisations. (gov.uk)
Alongside the standards, the government said it will launch a dedicated scale-up women's programme in 2027 to help founders of high-potential technology businesses secure investment and grow. According to the press release, support could include workshops, peer learning, networking and introductions to investors, and the programme is expected to be run jointly by DCMS and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. (gov.uk) This sits beside a separate pipeline already in motion under TechFirst. Government guidance published on 19 October 2026 said the TechFirst Women's Programme is designed to support at least 300 women into paid technology roles and to match participants with jobs lasting at least six months, including in artificial intelligence and cyber security. (gov.uk)
The wider package stretches beyond founders. The government has opened registration for the first TechFirst Girls Competition, while Get Tech Certified is running from 1 October to 31 December 2026 for civil and public servants, with a dedicated Women in Tech strand built around learning, events and career support. (gov.uk) Taken together, the announcement shows government using three distinct policy routes at once: voluntary sector standards, founder support and skills interventions. The next substantive test will not be the announcement itself, but the publication of the standards, the detail of participation criteria, and the reporting framework attached to them. (gov.uk)