But why is this happening?

The industry has an image problem. The stereotype tells us tech is full of hoodie-wearing, beer-chugging men who get a kick out of hosting late-night coding parties. But that’s just not what I see when I look around the buzzy, busy basement cafe of Campus London.

Besides the low numbers of girls studying STEM subjects, women aren’t traditionally rewarded for taking risks or standing out (Beyonce’s “I’m not bossy, I’m the boss” campaign comes to mind). Unfortunately, these two attributes are vital within tech roles.

And how can we overcome these obstacles?

I’m a great believer in the power of example; we need to see kickass women building companies from the ground up and leading successful teams.

Just recently, seventy girls, age six to twenty, took over the Campus London cafe for a weekend building their own social networks with Stemettes - It was amazing to watch young girls experience the joy of creating something entirely from scratch, then confidently pitching their product to the room.

Let’s learn from their example: whatever our skill set, we should be comfortable testing things out and sharing what we’re working on; even if it’s not perfect – that’s how great development happens.

Maybe I’m an optimist but I’m convinced things are changing. The change is slow and there’s certainly more to be done but right now, for women who work or want to work in tech, there are more education and support networks than ever before.

Included in this list are think code academies such as Code First Girls, Girls in Tech’s newly launched mentoring scheme, and supportive, diverse community, Ada’s List. And supermodel Karlie Kloss has launched a foundation to get teen girls coding.

At Campus, we’ve seen our female community of start-ups, founders, and would-be entrepreneurs jump from 20% to almost a third in only a year.

We should lead with positive role models such as these to build a future that is inclusive to all."

Why aren’t there more women in tech?