What a packed room at London Tech Week taught us about opportunity

In June, as the official charity partner of London Tech Week, one of Europe's biggest technology festivals, Tech She Can had the chance to bring our mission into the heart of the industry. We also hosted EQL:Lounge, a space dedicated to diversity, inclusion and the people shaping the future of technology.

Across three days, we brought together founders, leaders, technologists and changemakers to talk about responsible AI, disability-led innovation, investment, career progression, social mobility and plenty else besides. The lounge was packed. People stood at the back. And the conversations had a habit of carrying on long after the sessions were supposed to have finished.

It was brilliant to see so many people in the space throughout the week. But what stayed with us was the quality of the conversations, and a strong sense that the industry is ready to talk about who gets to shape its future, and what needs to happen to make that possible.

Three months on, with a new school year under way, those conversations feel even more relevant than they did in June.

Anyone working in technology at the moment will know that AI is difficult to escape. It's changing how we work, what we teach, the skills employers need and, increasingly, what young people imagine their futures might look like. There's plenty to be excited about, but it also raises a question that can't be left until the technology is already built: whose ideas, experiences and needs are going into it?

Throughout the lounge, we heard from people who are already doing something about that. Women building businesses, leaders questioning established ways of working, and innovators whose own experiences have helped them spot problems others might have missed. It was encouraging to hear so much ambition alongside such a practical understanding of the barriers that still need to be removed.

Our closing panel on social mobility, featuring Resham Kotecha, Deputy Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, brought the conversation back to an issue we think about a great deal at Tech She Can: the difference between having talent and having the opportunity to use it.

For some young people, technology is already a familiar world. They might know someone who works in the industry, have heard about apprenticeships or internships, or simply have an adult at home who knows who to ask for advice. Others may be just as interested and capable, but have never met anyone working in tech or had a reason to think it might be for them.

Those differences can start long before anyone is old enough to apply for a job. If we want a wider range of people entering and progressing in the industry, we need to think about the chances they have to discover it in the first place.

This summer's GCSE results showed just how early those differences take hold. Entries for Computing fell by around 7%, and girls made up only 23% of them. Yet the girls who did take it outperformed boys at the top grades, with 36% achieving a grade 7 or above compared with 28% of boys.

So the gap isn't about ability. It's about who gets as far as choosing the subject in the first place. And access still plays its part: as recently as 2023, around one in three secondary schools didn't offer computer science at GCSE at all.

There's real reason for optimism, too. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government has confirmed that digital literacy, critical thinking and foundational AI concepts will sit at the heart of computing in schools, with GCSE Computer Science set to be replaced by a broader Computing GCSE that includes AI and data skills. First teaching of the new curriculum is planned for September 2028.

That's a genuine step forward. But a curriculum can teach young people what AI is. On its own, it's much harder for it to show them the people who build it, question it and decide how it's used, or help them picture themselves doing the same. The Royal Society has made a similar point, calling for more representative role models in computing education to help attract more girls into the subject.

That's the gap Tech She Can works in.

This year, our Regenerative AI Roadshow with Accenture recorded more than 51,200 student interactions, helping young people explore AI and the routes into future careers. Our first Virtual Work Experience Tech Week gave more than 1,800 students the chance to meet people working across the industry, while our Career Insight Days have opened workplace doors to 1,000 girls over the past five years.

The figures matter, particularly when we're trying to understand how far the work is reaching. But the feedback afterwards is often much more personal.

After one roadshow session, a parent got in touch to tell us her daughter had felt seen and valued, and was now considering a career in technology. It's easy to imagine her going home and telling her mum about the people she met, the things she discovered and what she might like to do one day. We can't know exactly where that conversation will lead, but it's a strong reminder of how much can begin with a young person feeling that something is possible for them.

For those of us working in technology and education, there's something worth holding on to in that. A school visit or a first experience of a workplace may be one small part of a much bigger programme. But to the young person taking part, it could be their first proper introduction to an industry they'd never considered.

We left London Tech Week feeling very proud of EQL:Lounge and grateful to everyone who helped make it such a lively, thoughtful and very full three days.

There's an enormous amount of talent and generosity across the technology industry, and the lounge was a reminder of what can happen when people come together with a shared interest in making things better. As schools prepare for a curriculum with AI built into it, our hope is that more of that energy finds its way into classrooms, workplaces and communities where it can make a real difference.

Some of the young people sitting in classrooms today may well be the founders, engineers, designers and leaders filling rooms like ours in years to come. We'd love them to arrive having already met someone who inspired them, understood a little more about the opportunities out there, and felt confident enough to imagine themselves there.

We're already looking forward to next year, and to carrying on the conversations, connections and opportunities that made this year's EQL:Lounge so special.

Find out more about Tech She Can and how to partner with us: https://techshecan.org/
Teachers: explore our free Tech We Can classroom resources: https://techshecan.org/tech-we-can