Ofcom and telcos pledge to better support women’s telecoms careers

Ofcom has agreed with BT Group, Openreach, Sky, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone to better support women to technology careers within the telecom industry.

“Having a diverse workforce is crucial to the success of any organisation. But for too many women, climbing that career ladder in a male-dominated industry can be a real challenge. We want the telecoms industry, including us at Ofcom, to lead the way in changing that.” said Ofcom CEO Dame Melanie Dawes (right).

The other co-signers to the pledge commented

“Whilst we’ve made progress, there’s still more we can do to build a truly equitable and inclusive culture across our business. We fully support Ofcom’s pledge and commit to play our part in achieving these goals.” – BT Group Chief  Executive Philp Jansen

“Historically, our industry and Openreach has lacked diversity, and that’s something we’re determined to change. We’re committed to supporting this pledge and working together with the industry to achieve these goals.” Openreach CEO Clive Selley

“A more inclusive tech industry is fundamental to a thriving UK tech sector”

“A more inclusive tech industry is fundamental to a thriving UK tech sector, and critical to realising the full potential of innovation. But to achieve wide-scale progress, industry collaboration is key. Since 2017, we have almost doubled female representation in our technology team .” Sky CEO Stephen van Rooyen.

“We’re passionate about increasing the numbers of women in tech, As the creators of the North West Women in Tech awards, we celebrate and champion the many incredible achievements that women in our sector make every day.” – Talk Talk CEO Trista Harrison

“We have already committed to a 50/50 gender split in leadership roles at Three UK. Tackling this imbalance will require a coordinated industry effort to ensure the right training and support is offered, so we are delighted to sign this pledge.” – Three CEO Robert Finnegan

“Virgin Media O2 is proud to join Ofcom’s Diversity and Inclusion Pledge. This includes our ambitions to increase representation of women across our organisation; a series of best-in-class leave policies – from enhanced maternity and adoption leave, to paid carer’s leave; and our support of various programmes that encourage more women into STEM roles: – Virgin Media CEO Lutz Schuler

“We are fully supportive encouraging more women across the UK to explore a technology-based role. “It’s our responsibility to inspire future generations to become technology leaders regardless of gender or background.” – Vodafone UK CEO Ahmed Essam.