Level IT out: Inclusion and diversity in the tech sector

Lack of diversity and inclusion in tech sector

The tech sector is currently struggling globally with a lack of diversity and inclusion. In Europe specifically, data from Atomico, for example, indicate that the majority of employees in this sector are white, highly educated men. In Belgium, there is currently a lack of detailed data about who exactly works in the tech sector, something we want to address with a survey in the sector in this project.

Studies by McKinsey & Company , for example, point to the benefits of a diverse team on the financial performance of organizations.

Activities to make tech companies more inclusive and diverse

We organize various activities together with Agoria, Inclusion Now, NLdigital and Tech Talent Charter.

1. Sector inquiry

Measuring is knowing. Before you can draw up an action plan, you must of course first have a state of affairs . To find out what the situation is with regard to inclusion and diversity (I&D) in the Flemish and Dutch digital sector, we organized a first major I&D survey in the sector. This survey was conducted simultaneously in the Netherlands and Flanders in partnership with NLdigital and Agoria.

The questionnaire focused on CEOs, HR managers and managers and employees in the digital sector and gauged their perception of I&D. Like our British partner Tech Talent Charter, we wanted to create a benchmark of sorts so that companies can see how diverse and inclusive the sector is in general. The results of this survey can be found in the research report at the bottom of this page.

2. Learning community

Meten is weten. Vooraleer je een plan van aanpak kan opstellen, moet je natuurlijk eerst een stand van zaken hebben. Om te weten hoe het gesteld is met de inclusie en diversiteit (I&D) in de Vlaamse en Nederlandse digitale sector, hebben we een eerste grote I&D bevraging in de sector georganiseerd. Deze bevraging werd tegelijk in Nederland en Vlaanderen uitgevoerd in partnerschap met NLdigital en Agoria.

De vragenlijst richtte zich op CEO’s, HR-managers en managers en medewerkers in de digitale sector en peilde naar hun perceptie van I&D. Net zoals onze Britse partner Tech Talent Charter wilden we hiermee een soort benchmark creëren zodat bedrijven een zicht hebben op hoe divers en inclusief de sector in het algemeen is. De resultaten van deze bevraging kan je in het onderzoeksrapport onderaan deze pagina vinden.

3. Platform inclusionatwork.be

Finally, from October 2022 you can visit InclusionAtWork.be, a platform where we share information and tools to get started on I&D. Regardless of your role in your organization (whether you are an employee, manager or CEO), everyone can help create an inclusive culture. That is why we offer accessible tools and tips on this website that various stakeholders can quickly put into practice for their company.

If you sometimes can't see the I&D forest for the trees, hopefully you will quickly find the necessary support on this platform. And because change does not have to be limited to the digital sector, of course, we have named this website InclusionAtWork.be so that some of these tips, tricks and tools can hopefully also be used in other sectors.

Ilse has a master's degree in business psychology and personnel policy and worked as an academic assistant at Ghent University before starting at Artevelde University College in 2017. She currently works as a lecturer in HRM in the courses International Business Management, International Organization and Management and the postgraduate HRM. Ilse also works as one of the coaches in the Leadership & Inclusion course. In addition to teaching experience, she mainly has experience in conducting quantitative research. Ilse has a great personal interest in the field of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and hopes to engage more people with this project.

Anouck has more than 10 years of experience as a senior HR consultant in various organizations, both profit and non-profit, large, medium-sized and small companies. She has broad knowledge and experience in the domain of Human Resources Management. In addition, Anouck knows the tech sector and the challenges in the field of diversity and inclusion from her experience as an HR manager at the company Teamleader and has been able to build an extensive network in the tech sector there. Since 2017, Anouck has been a teacher and coach at Artevelde University College. She taught People Management as part of the International Entrepreneurship specialization and coached first-year students. She currently supervises students in the Entrepreneurship lab and the Global Challenges course. She is also the coordinator of the brand new Leadership & Inclusion course.

Jan is Germanist and has more than 38 years of experience in marketing communication. Since 1994 he has focused on digital communication. In 2014 he became a part-time practical lecturer in communication sciences at UGent. And in 2020 teacher and coach at Artevelde University College in the expertise networks Communication and International Management. Jan loves technology, lives as sustainably as possible and would like to help bring more common sense, diversity and joy to this world.

International project and partners

The research project is an international project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). For 2 years, employees of Artevelde University College are committed to this project together with Flemish and international partners. Our partners are Agoria, Inclusion Now, NLdigital (Netherlands) and Tech Talent Charter (United Kingdom).

1. AGORIA

As the Belgian federation of the technology industry, Agoria  aims to focus more on inclusion and diversity. In concrete terms, there will be cooperation with Agoria Digital Industries to involve relevant companies in this project. Agoria Digital Industries currently has 558 members in the tech sector, including large, medium-sized and small companies. There are 372 members in Flanders, 85 in Brussels and 101 in Wallonia. Agoria has been focusing on gender diversity in the tech sector specifically for years, mainly by promoting (S)TEM directions among young people. Since 2019, Agoria has decided to shift its focus to more gender diversity in the tech sector by promoting this directly to companies.

Laurence Jacobs will be committed to this project as a responsible employee.

2. Inclusion Now

Inclusion Now is a private organization with a mission to accelerate inclusive attitudes and behavior in organizations. The goal of Inclusion Now is to break barriers so that everyone has equal access and opportunities within organizations. Inclusion Now targets individuals, teams and organizations worldwide. Their head office is located in Belgium. The team consists of 3 women: Michele Mees is the co-founder and global ambassador for inclusion and diversity, Pascale Ameye is co-founder, community builder and inclusion event manager and Karen Vanherck is inclusion expert and project leader. The topics around which Inclusion Now works include inclusive leadership and teamwork, inclusive organizational culture, unconscious biases, inclusive communication, inclusive recruitment, etc.

Karen Vanherck is the responsible employee within Inclusion Now for this project.

3. NLdigital

As a Dutch sector organization and interest group for more than 600 Dutch ICT companies, NLdigital is committed to more gender diversity in the Dutch digital sector in the coming years. In 2021, they want to include I&D in their strategic goals by, for example, making their own board more gender-diverse in order to achieve equal representation of men and women. Currently, only 17% of their board members are women. They want to increase this to 50%. In addition, NLdigital wants to encourage all its members to achieve at least the national average of women in ICT, namely 18%. They also act as ambassadors for the Human Capital Agenda ICT of Dutch Digital Delta and provide financial support to initiatives that ensure more influx of women, such as Make IT Work, Tech Me Up (pilot), VHTO's Girlsday. They also conduct research into the representation of women within the sector via the measuring instrument pr-eDICT, including the publication of figures on the number of women within the sector. Finally, NLdigital will continue to support tech/ICT education and programs for young girls through the CA-ICT fund.

The responsible employee for this project is Yeni Joseph.

4. Tech Talent Charter

The British non-profit organization Tech Talent Charter (TTC) is a pioneer of Inclusion and Diversity in tech. TTC was founded in 2017 with the aim of working on I&D in the UK tech sector. They focus on all kinds of organizations (small, medium, large) and on various sectors where tech talent is employed. Their focus is therefore not only on “traditional” ICT companies, but on all companies where technology plays an important role, such as banking and finance, the media, etc. Their objective is to change the broader tech ecosystem by, for example, media campaigns on perceptions about work. in the tech sector as a woman (see their inspiring campaign: “Doing it anyway”), by collaborating with schools, etc. The TTC philosophy is “connecting the dots, not reinventing the wheel” and that is exactly the purpose of this project. Be sure to take a look at their TTC Toolkit where you can find plenty of resources to work on I&D in tech.

TTC's CEO, Debbie Forster (MBE), supports this project and will share her broad network expertise and experience for Level IT out to hopefully bring the change that TTC has already brought about in UK tech to Flanders and Belgium.