43% of UK female students would now consider a career in digital after competing in nationwide initiative

More female students in the UK are engaging with digital than ever before, according to latest figures from a new survey.

UK digital and tech trade body BIMA has released the results of its Digital Day survey after its 11th annual event in early November 2022 to help understand UK students’ thoughts and ambitions on careers in the digital industry.

Prior to taking part in Digital Day, 32% of students weren’t interested in digital as a career due to lack of knowledge, and 43% had never talked about working in digital with their parents. But post-event, 27% felt the industry sounded fun and 9% would now discuss this career path with their parents.

Digital as a career of choice for females

Digital Day is designed by BIMA to give school-age students an insight into digital careers, through getting those signed up to compete in a sponsored nationwide digital challenge to win prizes for their school and themselves.

The day is free to take part, and this year included a roll-call of digital agencies taking part, with retailer Primark and Royal Mail as ‘challenge partners’ who presented participants with real-world problems to solve using digital skills.

The survey, issued both before and after the day, showed a greater impact on female students over their male counterparts. Before the event, female students seemed to think digital was about ‘coding’ only and 16% had said they were interested in a potential career in the industry.

After the day, 43% told BIMA they would consider a career in the digital space.

BIMA also saw the percentage of female participants taking part in its Digital Day initiative once again increase year-on-year. Between 2018 and 2022, there was a 35% increase in the percentage of girls taking part.

Matt Sullivan, MD at BIMA, said: “After another successful Digital Day it’s great to reflect on the results and see how students are continuing to engage with the day. Seeing how we have the ability to inspire students – in particular females – to consider a career in digital is extremely rewarding. Next year we hope to return with a bang and introduce a new initiative to engage with the students’ parents and ensure that the inspiration they gain from the day continues when they get home."

Digital Day 2023 will take place on 8 November this year.