The government has set out a range of measures aimed at boosting female participation in tech.

It is estimated that the economy loses around £2-3.5 billion every year as women leave the sector.

The measures include paid tech placements and support for those returning after career breaks to re-enter tech jobs.

It is hoped that the jobs programme will help 300 women advance their careers and unlock tech opportunities in SMEs through paid work placements.

The programme will provide women with coaching and interview prep support, and work with SMEs across the country to identify at least 300, minimum 6-month placements, in tech roles for local women.

There is also a new TechFirst Girls Competition to be delivered to thousands across the country later this year to get more girls considering a future in tech from their childhood.

Secretary of State Liz Kendall said: "Women aren’t being given a fair shot in tech - whether that’s getting into the sector, staying in it, or returning after time away bringing up their families. If we don’t address these issues now, we’ll still be having this conversation in decades’ time and that isn’t good enough.

"We’re acting through a skills and jobs package to get more women into tech quickly. These aren’t warm words - they’re real jobs, real placements, and real routes back in through a door that has been too hard to open, for too long.

"But we’re not just fixing today’s problem. Through the Women in Tech Taskforce, I want to make sure women aren’t just entering this sector - they’re shaping it. Co-creating the technologies, the culture, and the future of an industry that for too long has been built without them."