Equality in Technology is a Leeds based community, established to improve equality of opportunity in the tech sector, taking an intersectional approach to acknowledge that barriers faced by those looking to advance in the tech sector vary by background, identity, and circumstance. Therefore, coming up with just one topic to cover at our events, is always difficult, when there are so many challenges people our facing in the tech workplace. This time, we were inspired by Smart Works, an amazing charity supporting women enter or re-enter the workplace through the provision of interview clothing and interview training. Smart Works had invited us into their pop-up shop to host a breakfast event, so we felt given their role entering the workplace it would be relevant to explore the role of visibility once you’re there. The other driver behind discussing the effort of visibility is the increasing use of AI in the workplace. Women are less likely to use AI extensively and are likely to view is as advantageous to their career progression, ultimately affecting visibility and access to opportunities.
On the morning of 18th June we hosted ‘The Effort of Visibility’ at County Arcade in Leeds, in partnership with Smart Works Leeds. We gathered amongst the beautiful selection of clothes, with pastries in hand, getting to know the other people in the room. It was wonderful to have a diverse audience, made up of men and women, as it makes events like this much more impactful.
Following a brief introduction from me, setting the scene; the importance of visibility in the workplace, the impact on advancement, representation in the tech sector, and the growing impact of AI of career opportunity; Dr Beckie Ruddock delivered her keynote to the room.
What Beckie said
Beckie came to this topic through her PhD research, which examined how algorithms shape the visibility and opportunity of women entrepreneurs. What she found, and what she's spent years since working through with organisations, is not a new problem dressed in new clothes. It's an old problem with new infrastructure.
She started where the research starts; with the myth that working hard enough is enough. For some people, it is. For others, such as women, people from marginalised groups, anyone the system wasn't designed around, effort alone has never been sufficient. The playing field has never been level, and pretending otherwise doesn't make it so.
The internet was supposed to change that and in some ways it has; it created new routes to visibility, new ways to build an audience, new platforms for expertise. However, it didn't close the equality gap. It opened new ones.
Beckie spoke to many women business owners during her research. One thing came up again and again – how exhausting it is to be visible online. Sharing knowledge on LinkedIn (things they know from years of direct experience in their own industries) and being corrected. Picked apart. Mostly by men. The result is that many women retreat. Fewer women's voices online. Which means the gap between who is heard and who isn't quietly widens, without anyone making a deliberate decision to widen it.
The algorithm problem
We are told that algorithms are objective. That they treat everyone equally. That they surface the best content, the most relevant results, the strongest candidates.
Beckie's response to that is unambiguous - they don't.
Algorithms are built by humans (historically, predominantly white and male) and trained on historical data that carries every bias that already existed. They don't create a level playing field. They reflect and, in many cases, accelerate the inequalities already present in the data they were fed.
The evidence is direct. When women have changed their LinkedIn profiles to mirror male counterparts, same credentials, different presentation, visibility increases. The platform's algorithm responds differently. Not because the expertise changed but because the signal did.
Women are also 22% less likely to use AI tools than men, and more likely to be criticised when they do. The tools that are increasingly shaping who looks productive, innovative and capable at work are being adopted unevenly, and the consequences of that will compound over time.
What Mary Ann Sieghart calls the Authority Gap
Beckie recommended a book that's worth adding to your list if you haven't read it: The Authority Gap by Mary Ann Sieghart. It examines the gap between how seriously women and men are taken in workplaces, conversations, and public life. The core argument is that women routinely have their expertise questioned, their contributions overlooked, and their authority undermined in ways that men simply don't experience at the same rate.
Naming it matters. As Beckie put it: "Naming a problem is a powerful first step."
What the room did
The second thing Beckie said that stayed with us: "The accumulation of small acts matters."
Which is exactly what happened in that room on Thursday morning.
What followed was an open networking session with people sharing their experiences in the workplace, how they have navigated increasing their own visibility and how they have supported others. There was also plenty of conversation on AI, how it’s changed the workplace, it’s impact on people and talent, alongside how they are using it to their advantage and their concerns for the future. It was nice to see people speaking so openly and honestly with those they were meeting for the first time, approaching conversations with genuine curiosity and kindness.
What we took away
Awareness is step one but Beckie was clear that awareness alone isn't enough, and that the responsibility for change shouldn't fall entirely on the women and other under-represented groups who are already doing the most to be seen.
This needs collective action and it’s important to note that small acts matter too. Hear about an opportunity? Think about who else should hear about it. Make the introduction. Write the recommendation. Speak up in the meeting where someone's idea got ignored and then repeated by someone else two minutes later.
Visibility isn't just about being seen. It's about who other people choose to make visible. That's the part we can all act on. Today, not eventually.
Thank you
To Smart Works Leeds for opening the space and the partnership. To Beckie for a keynote that was honest, specific and genuinely useful. To the Abstract team who brought it all together. And to everyone who came - particularly those who came not knowing anyone else in the room.
On a personal note, I am grateful for every Equality in Technology event I am able to host, and if one person walks away having learnt something to help themselves or others, or it inspires someone to take action of their own, then it’s done its job. At Abstract, we know that diversity in tech is key to the delivery of great technology and to establishing teams that can grow, create impact, and thrive. We will be continuing to support Equality in Technology and help make the tech sector a better place to grow a career for everyone, regardless of identity, background, or circumstance.