The PA Women in Tech network is passionate about increasing gender diversity and inclusion within technical fields, in the wider industry, and in PA, including within recruitment and retention approaches and our behaviour and attitudes. We are a voluntary network of women and allies from across the firm who use our experience to ensure the future of technology is more diverse, inclusive, and benefits everyone. We put our thinking and strategy into action, by taking tangible steps to change women’s careers and improve working environments: not only do we influence the industry, but we proactively seek more opportunities to further diversity within PA Consulting. Within the next five years we want to create a global community of 2500+, benefiting all our members and actively supporting women to secure their dream tech role. To bring our vision to life we:
1. Provide women with opportunities to excel in their technical career as they progress from junior to senior roles.
In 2024, we’ve: – Increased our total number of women and nonbinary trained in our Web Dev, Python, and Data Science coding courses to over 1,700. This includes over 48 hours of class training covering theory and hands-on coding for each course.
– Delivered 24 hours of internal training on DevOps to 20 PA Consulting women, including hands-on labs, via three face-to-face sessions
In 2025, we will: – Launch our STEMbassador’s program, empowering more people within PA Consulting to participate in our initiatives.
– Continue to train 180 individuals annually and launch an additional coding course to broaden the learning opportunities.
2. Build a community of female talent and allies across the industry to cultivate a network of support, shared learning and networking.
In 2024, we’ve:
– Launched two campaigns, HerEcho and Mothers in Tech, which included a total of 7 events, 20 articles, and 1 video
– Hosted two Lightning Talks events in Belfast, with c.60-70 external attendees at each
– Launched strong communities with local in person meet-ups in Boston and Manchester for International Women’s Day with Christian Norris (CEO PA Consulting)
– Hosted the PA Hackathon with over 70 attendees from 7 different organisations (such as the FCA, Vanguard and Department for Business and Trade), in collaboration with Ada and Microsoft
– Launched first global event with Jacobs for International Women in Engineering Day with over 70 attendees
In 2025, we will: – Continue to run our annual hackathon, expanding to 100 participants
– Run WiT Lightning Talks and Coaching Circles in Belfast – Host joint WiT evenings with Cambridge University and PA’s GITC
3. Partnered with organisations to promote gender diversity.
In 2024, we’ve:
– Been the main sponsor and host for WiT: Unfiltered day for Manchester TechFest
– Developed 1 Client proposition that can be included as part of PA’s Social Value offerings
– Sponsored global panel for Women in Tech Week with WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen with over 350 attendees, and 3 PA leaders
– Presented at Women in Tech Belfast & Women Techmakers conferences in Belfast
– Two award nominations for WomenWhoCode SheRocks! Awards in Belfast
– 1 Hackathon, 1 coding course, 1 mentorship scheme with stemmetes
In 2025, we will
– Use the PA foundation to partner with TechSheCan
– Pilot our social value WIT offering to a select government client
4. Optimized recruitment and retention to proactively diversify our firm.
In 2024, we’ve:
– Kicked off the ‘Mothers in Tech Community’ with 3 events across the year and over 100 people engaged
– Scaled mentorship scheme to 61 mentees and 67 mentors, including a partnership with the Mothers in Tech community
– Attended Belfast and Manchester\’s CyberFirst Girls careers in tech events, each with 300+ students in attendance
– Co-hosted a recruitment event tailored at junior employees with Big Brothers & Big Sisters in the US
– Continue to support our previous cohorts from Code First Girls 3-month nano degree & our own career change schemes in data analytics & architecture
In 2025, we will:
– Organise an event with PA’s senior female alumni talent
– Use hackathons and coding courses as touchpoints to connect with and attract more senior female talent to PA
– Expand our mentorship programme, scaling up to 200 participants.
Over the past few years, senior engagement and commitment to diversity and inclusion has allowed our network to flourish, and we are now a successful global network with both internal and external offerings. We know there’s more to do—especially in mobilising allies—but with a strong plan and dedicated support, we\’re confident in continuing to drive meaningful change.
