Hire more women, minister tells tech sector

Digital minister Matt Hancock has called on London’s tech scene to hire more women and make the capital the best place to grow start-ups.

“You can’t get all the talent you need if you’re only fishing in half the pond,” Hancock said at a Tech London Advocates event in Stratford.

“We’re right behind you, supporting tech in London so we can be the best place in the world to grow a tech business.”

His remarks come as concerns have grown about male-dominated Silicon Valley’s attitudes towards women after allegations of sexual harassment at Uber and Tesla.

“Given the recent news from Silicon Valley about widespread sexual harassment, it has never been more important to speak with one voice as an industry to encourage action around diversity,” event founder Russ Shaw said. He called the inability to hire women “an economic and moral failure”.

Facebook’s global accounts director Leigh Thomas said only 27% of the company’s leadership is female, which “we don’t feel comfortable with”.

“There’s still a lot to be done, even in the wonderful millennial world that is Facebook,” she added.