The government has announced that its new digital advisory board is leading the way with an equal gender split.
Announcing the news on International Women’s Day, the board will draw upon some of the world’s biggest names in digital to advise on providing world-beating digital public services.
Fifty per cent of the advisors on the board are female and included Dr Sue Black OBE, founder and CEO of #techmums; Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com; Joanne Hannaford, Global Co-Head of Enterprise Platforms, Goldman Sachs; and Vanessa Vallely, Managing Director and Founder of WeAreTheCity.com.
The group will support, advise and challenge the government to provide better services for users and evaluate how emerging digital and technology trends can be applied to public services.
Speaking of the board, Matt Hancock, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General said, “We want the very best people on the boards of our public bodies and our government departments, irrespective of gender. I’m proud to say that our new digital advisory group is leading the way with an equal gender balance and I’m determined to work closely with these digital experts to discover and build the best public digital services for citizens.”
The Lord Davies report and the 30% Club have highlighted the lack of women within boards and are aiming to narrow the gender gap. The government is keen to show that it is at the forefront of the gender equality and diversity. The introduction of the new digital board means that it is outperforming averages in the private sector, with FTSE 100 boards on average only containing 26 per cent women.
