Give to Gain: building inclusive leadership in tech

International Women's Day is often a time for recognition. We celebrate achievements, acknowledge progress, and highlight the women shaping industries, organisations and communities. In technology, that visibility matters. It helps challenge outdated assumptions about who belongs in the sector and who gets to lead its future. 

But this year's theme, "Give to Gain," calls for something more practical than celebration alone.

It asks us to consider what progress actually requires - and what organisations, leaders and individuals must give if they want to gain stronger teams, better outcomes and a more sustainable future for the technology workforce.

In the technology sector, the answer is clear: if we want to gain innovation, resilience and high performance, we must be willing to give opportunity, trust, sponsorship, time and structural support.

Too often, conversations about women in technology focus narrowly on representation. Representation is important, but it is only the beginning. Hiring more women into the sector is progress, but it does not automatically create inclusion, influence or long-term career growth. For that, organisations must give more than a seat at the table. They must create the conditions for people to contribute fully and progress meaningfully.

That means giving access to stretch opportunities, not just support roles. It means giving visibility to work that drives business outcomes. It means giving people the chance to lead critical programmes, shape strategy and make decisions. And it means giving feedback, sponsorship and trust in ways that are consistent, deliberate and fair.

Early in my IT career, I came into the industry from a people and culture background rather than a traditional technical pathway. At that stage, it would have been easy to be seen only through the lens of what I had not done before. Instead, Jane Robinson (now COO at Avocado) trusted my experience and recognised that a diverse background and subject matter expertise could add real value to a transformation programme of work. She backed me to deliver.

That opportunity changed the trajectory of my career. It shifted my role from being involved primarily at the end of technology change - where the impact on people, process and adoption is often felt most sharply - to contributing much earlier, at the start of solution design, where business outcomes can be shaped more deliberately and effectively.

The impact of that kind of leadership is not theoretical - it can materially change a person's contribution and career trajectory.

When organisations do this well, the gains are significant for everyone.

Technology teams perform best when they bring together different perspectives and ways of thinking. Complex problems - whether in cybersecurity, operations, data, customer experience or digital transformation - are rarely solved by technical capability alone. They require judgement, collaboration, communication and the ability to understand the wider business context. These capabilities are strengthened in diverse teams where people are encouraged to challenge ideas constructively and contribute with confidence.

In other words, giving more inclusion is not a symbolic act. It is a performance strategy.

The same principle applies to leadership. If organisations want to gain stronger leadership pipelines, they must give people clearer pathways to grow. Mentorship is valuable, but sponsorship is often what changes careers. Leaders who actively advocate for capable people, back them in decision-making forums and create opportunities for visibility help shift potential into impact.

This is particularly important in technology, where leadership is still too often defined by narrow expectations. The sector gains more when it broadens its view of what leadership looks like. Not every leader in technology comes through the same route, and not every valuable contribution is loud or highly visible. Some of the most effective leaders are those who build trust, create clarity, strengthen delivery discipline and bring teams together around outcomes. These are not secondary qualities. They are essential.

In practice, I have seen people grow fastest when they are given clear direction, consistent support and genuine trust. That trust is always two-way - and when it is built well, individuals and teams are far more likely to thrive.

"Give to Gain" also applies at a cultural level.

If organisations want to gain retention, engagement and long-term capability, they must give people environments where they can succeed without unnecessary friction. That includes fair processes, transparent progression, flexible ways of working and accountability for how teams are led. It also means addressing the quieter barriers that still exist in many workplaces - assumptions about credibility, uneven access to opportunities, and leadership habits that reward familiarity over capability.

These are not issues that women should be expected to solve alone. The responsibility sits with organisations, leaders and teams across the sector.

International Women's Day remains an important opportunity to celebrate the women already making a difference in technology. But the strongest response to this year's theme is action. Not just visible support for one day, but practical changes that shape careers and organisations over time 

If the technology sector is serious about building the future, then "Give to Gain" is more than a theme. It is a leadership principle.

When we give opportunity, we gain capability.
When we give trust, we gain confidence.
When we give sponsorship, we gain future leaders.
And when we give people the conditions to thrive, we gain stronger businesses and a stronger industry.

As leaders, we need to give more - not only in opportunity and support, but in how we balance the scales between what is expected of teams and individuals, and the reality they are working in. Competing priorities and constant demands are real. Strong leadership means recognising that, creating clarity, and helping people succeed within it.

That is progress worth building - and worth sustaining well beyond International Women's Day.