Women in Tech · Your next chapter
Practical support for entering, returning to and progressing in technology.
Find your starting point →Free to use. No account needed.Opportunity needs access
This hub centres women’s experiences and welcomes anyone who finds it useful. Your interests, experience and circumstances should shape your route. Gender does not decide which technical role suits you.
01 / Choose your starting point
These are starting points, not fixed categories. Switch whenever your needs change.
You do not need to decide your whole career today. Compare the daily work in two roles, try a small task and use what you learn to choose your next step.
Compare support and troubleshooting, infrastructure and cloud, software and data, or security and governance. Read responsibilities and entry expectations. Cyber security and cloud titles do not always mean beginner roles.
For support, write a troubleshooting guide for a problem you can reproduce. For data, clean a small public dataset and explain one check. For infrastructure, sketch a simple network and explain an access decision. Use a safe lab and label it as practice.
Read three current vacancies in your location. Separate essential responsibilities from desirable tools. Compare time, total cost, entry requirements and assessment before buying training. Ask what evidence of learning a course will leave you with.
Try putting it into words
Illustrative first step: spend 45 minutes testing a Wi-Fi troubleshooting guide on your own equipment. Ask someone to follow it. Record what confused them and revise the guide.
Which part of this task did I enjoy, what could I explain, and what would I need help to do safely?Beyond getting through the door
The 2025 Lovelace Report describes barriers around advancement, recognition and support among the women who participated. It draws on a survey of over 500 women, roundtables and 20 interviews with senior women. [3]
Our response is practical: ask about access to technical work, transparent progression criteria and who will act on a development plan. A personal learning plan cannot, by itself, resolve an unfair workplace.
02 / Find support that fits
Choose learning, a peer conversation or a return opportunity. These are independent providers; their eligibility, prices and availability can change. UK and international coverage is labelled below.
Explore coding
Free, self-paced Coding Kickstarter courses introduce programming or data through eight modules, with up to eight weeks to finish. No previous coding experience is required.
Before you commit: Beginner coding option. Confirm eligibility and available subjects. Introductory classes are not directly linked to a job opportunity.
Check provider details ↗Experienced returners
A return route for experienced engineers through paid client projects with technical guidance. Suitable projects trigger an invitation to apply; the provider currently specifies a career break of at least six months.
Before you commit: Not a beginner course or women-only service. Confirm project availability, location, right-to-work requirements and selection criteria.
Check provider details ↗Community & learning
A community supporting Black women in technology, with events, learning opportunities, mentoring and professional connections.
Before you commit: Check the cost, eligibility and availability of each opportunity. Joining a community does not guarantee a mentor or funded place.
Check provider details ↗Professional connections
A BCS specialist group for women interested in computing, including people studying, working or taking a career break.
Before you commit: Check current events, membership requirements and charges. Choose an activity where you can discuss a specific technical or career question.
Check provider details ↗Cyber security & mentoring
WiCyS offers a professional mentorship programme for professional members, alongside its wider cyber security community.
Before you commit: Professional membership is required for this programme. Check fees, application dates and fit; mentoring is not an immediate placement promise.
Check provider details ↗Make a small, answerable ask: “I’m comparing support and infrastructure roles. Could you help me understand one task your team expects a new starter to handle?” You do not need to ask someone to map your entire career.
03 / Evaluate the opportunity
Use the same questions in an interview, returner discussion or internal move. An answer becomes more useful when it names a process, a person or a recent example.
Look for clear criteria, a review process and examples beyond length of service.
Ask how a newcomer gets access and who will review their work.
Ask how the stated arrangements work on this specific team; get agreed terms in writing.
Look for a clear route, named responsibility and an explanation of follow-through.
Ask what is paid, what training is provided and how expectations change during onboarding.
These are TechWaymark discussion prompts, not a workplace rating or legal advice. You decide which questions matter for your situation.
04 / Leave with something useful
Focus: Start your career. Make the action small enough to start, and specific enough to review.
Which part of this task did I enjoy, what could I explain, and what would I need help to do safely?
Your draft stays in this page only and is not sent to TechWaymark. Download it before refreshing or leaving. Avoid confidential work or personal details.05 / Recruiters, managers & educators
These are our suggested practices, informed by the barriers described above. Do not infer someone’s skills, availability or ambitions from their gender or a career break.
Keep exploring
Evidence & editorial notes
Written by TechWaymark. Sources and provider pages checked 25 September 2026. Research findings are attributed; exercises and employer prompts are our editorial guidance. Listing a provider does not imply a partnership or endorsement. The hero is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of contributors.
UK, 2024 employment data. Representation describes a workforce, not an individual's prospects.
ONS Labour Force Survey quarterly averages; normally ages 16–64. Estimates are rounded and subject to survey limitations.
Survey of over 500 women, roundtables and 20 senior-women interviews. Findings describe participants; they are not population-wide prevalence estimates.
Provider description of course format and access. Check current sign-up conditions.
Provider description of current consultancy route. Registration of interest does not guarantee a project or job.
Provider community information; individual opportunities have their own criteria.
Professional community; check current event and membership terms.
Programme for professional members; eligibility, membership fees and application windows apply.
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