In a bold and direct challenge to Reform UK’s anti-diversity stance, Labour’s tech secretary Liz Kendall has pledged to dismantle the long-standing barriers faced by women and ethnic minorities in the technology sector.
Labour takes fight to Reform on diversity
Speaking ahead of her appearance at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, Ms Kendall vowed to “smash the glass ceilings” that continue to hold back underrepresented groups in one of Britain’s fastest-growing industries.
“We will tear down the barriers to success so more women, more people of colour and more people from working-class backgrounds can bring their talent and ambition to this exciting sector,” she will tell the conference.
This firm stance comes as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK intensifies its rhetoric against equality initiatives. The party has promised to eliminate diversity officers in local councils and scrap government funding for inclusivity schemes.
But Labour is not backing down. Labour is pushing back hard against what it calls the “Trump-style” politics of Reform UK, launching new plans to boost inclusion in tech, while the opposition pledges to strip it away.
Kendall’s Counter to Reform’s ‘War on Woke’
Kendall’s intervention lands just as Reform’s populist messaging gains traction, with proposals to set up a Department of Government Efficiency nicknamed “DOGE” that would aggressively cut diversity and inclusion funding under the banner of rooting out waste.
The proposal has already faced embarrassment. In Lincolnshire, Reform mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns promised to sack all diversity officers from the local authority, only for it to emerge that no such officers existed.
Labour is seizing on the moment. Ms Kendall’s proposed Women’s Tech Taskforce aims to create a more inclusive future for Britain’s tech industry.
The panel will include heavyweights such as BT Group chief executive Allison Kirkby and Stemettes founder Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon.
“Britain’s future shouldn’t just be shaped by the Tech Bros in Silicon Valley but our Tech Sisters here in the UK,” Ms Kendall will say.
Stark Statistics Highlight Industry Disparity
- At the current rate, it could take nearly three centuries, 283 years, for women to achieve equal representation in the tech workforce, according to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
- 92% of start-up investment from high-net-worth individuals goes to all-white teams, says the British Business Bank.
- If women launched and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, the UK economy could be boosted by £250 billion.
Those numbers paint a clear picture of structural inequality. Labour believes that addressing them is not only morally right, but it’s economically smart.
“A more inclusive economy is better for people and better for growth,” Kendall is set to declare.
A Strategic Political Move
This latest announcement is also seen as part of Labour’s broader electoral strategy. The party is shifting gears, opting to take the fight directly to Reform UK, whose populist messaging has found a receptive audience in parts of the country.
Sir Keir Starmer, speaking on Sunday, labelled Farage’s recently unveiled immigration plan as “racist,” framing the contest between Labour and Reform as existential.
“It’s a fight about who we are as a country,” Starmer said. “It goes to the soul of our future.”
Backing From Industry Leaders
Kendall’s tech-focused initiative has already won support from senior voices in the sector.
Allison Kirkby said: “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t and initiatives like this matter for all of us.”
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon added, “Having powerful conversations at one of the highest levels of government means we can finally tackle the structural barriers that still prevent talented people from thriving in tech.”
Labour’s bold move signals a clear choice for voters: back a future that tears down barriers or retreat into one that ignores them. And with the general election drawing closer, the political battleground is as much about values as it is about votes.
