Industry association TechWorks has launched Women in TechWorks, a new initiative aimed at improving gender representation, retention, and leadership progression across the UK’s electronics and semiconductor sectors.
The programme, unveiled at the IOT Security Foundation annual conference in London today, seeks to address what organisers describe as one of the industry’s most persistent challenges — the under-representation of women in engineering, systems, and semiconductor roles.
Speaking at the event, Jullian Hughes, Head of Semiconductors at TechWorks, said the initiative was driven by member demand and designed to complement, rather than duplicate, existing women-in-technology programmes.
“This isn’t about tokenism; it’s about excellence,” Hughes said. “UK global leadership in technology depends on unlocking all our talent. Too much is still overlooked. That’s not only a challenge, it’s a huge opportunity.”
The Women in TechWorks initiative will operate across TechWorks’ core communities — semiconductors, systems, cybersecurity, future compute, and AI — and aims to deliver measurable outcomes in mentoring, professional development, and organisational culture.
Hughes added that the focus would be on long-term impact rather than symbolic gestures: “Success isn’t just about getting women into the industry, it’s about helping them stay, progress, and thrive. Retention is key.”
Jon Michaels, from specialist recruitment firm MicroTECH Global, presented data showing how the semiconductor industry faces a critical skills gap. Globally, the sector is forecast to exceed $1 trillion in value by 2030, but the UK’s ageing workforce and low female participation threaten its ability to meet demand.
“Roughly 10,000 semiconductor professionals — around 39% of the UK workforce — are expected to retire within the next 15 years,” Michaels said. “Yet women represent just 26% of the overall tech workforce and only 18% in technical roles. In our own data, just 8% of 3,000 deep tech placements were women.”
Madhuparna Datta, who is leading the Leadership Pathways pillar, told attendees that improving representation in leadership roles is not only an equity issue but also a business imperative.
“Research from McKinsey and Gartner shows that companies with greater gender diversity in leadership outperform financially,” she said. “Diversity of thought leads to better risk assessment, stronger decision-making, and more innovation.”
Datta urged companies to adopt active allyship, with men playing a vital role as sponsors and advocates. “This isn’t about taking opportunities away. It’s about optimising the talent pipeline we already have. When we fix systems that hold back women, we improve outcomes for everyone.”
