At DWP Digital women are excelling in their careers, and they are being recognised for their outstanding leadership in the tech sector. The company has also won several awards this year, including Employer of the Year at the Women in IT Awards and the Women in Tech Best Employer Careers Website award, cementing their positions as a top employer of women. These awards recognise the important work that DWP Digital has done to attract and retain women in technical roles that are still largely male dominated.
Cheryl Stevens MBE, director of shared channels and Rajni Gill, deputy director of performance and planning, recently held talks at the WeAreTech festival, inspiring women to pursue a leadership career in the tech industry through sharing their own experiences in DWP Digital. CDIO Rich Corbridge also plays a pivotal role as gender champion for DWP’s Women’s Network, highlighting a top-down commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion across the department.
An inclusive environment
DWP Digital is striving to create the right working environment for their employees, recognising the importance of being an inclusive employer. They aim to be as diverse as the 22 million people they serve. With the company committed to the Civil Service ambition to become the UK’s most inclusive employer, almost 35% of DWP Digital’s workforce are women, compared to the tech sector in general, which is at just 27%, and they are taking important steps to address the imbalance.
DWP have made a pledge of inclusion through initiatives such as the Tech Talent Charter, and for the fourth year running their gender mission is to create an environment where diversity of thoughts, personality, background and protective characteristics are accepted and celebrated.
Working with DWP Digital comes with many benefits and they pride themselves on being family-friendly and offering flexible and hybrid working options to make sure employees have a positive work-life balance. This includes parent and carer leave, up to 30 days’ annual holiday and flexible working patterns and start times, with opportunities to work from home.
DWP Digital operate on a ‘name blind’ recruitment policy. After analysing recruitment processes through research and insights they are now removing gender-focused language in job specifications, to reduce the risk of bias. Over the last five years, there has been an increase in job applications from women across the organisation, with the representation of women at senior civil servant level increasing from 39% to 50%. They also offer access to inclusive networks such as the Women in Digital Network. This forum helps women reach their ambitions in digital professions, builds their confidence, and celebrates their achievements so they can inspire others in the workplace to do the same.
DWP Women in Digital network sponsor Sue Griffin OBE said: “Having a network like Women in Digital is so important to enable women to develop their careers, build confidence and celebrate achievements which inspires others to move into and progress in digital roles. I am proud to be able to sponsor this network and of all the women in DWP Digital who make it a special place to work.”
The importance of role models
DWP Digital’s award-winning Digital Voices programme recently concluded its fifth year, and this initiative creates visible female role models by building confidence and expertise through networking and interactive sessions.
Women are buddied with a ‘friend’ and receive tailored development and coaching. They take part in regular learning sessions including using social media, blogging and being videoed, as well as joining sessions from industry-wide guest speakers to learn more. They can attend workshops and open days to increase digital engagement skills and build leadership and confidence.
DWP Digital’s award winning career site also places importance in showcasing positive female role models to encourage women to apply for tech roles by sharing their stories through a dedicated Our Stories page on their career site. The inclusion of such role models encourages more people with diverse backgrounds to apply for roles in DWP Digital.
