Study finds common names & gender disparities in UK tech industry

A recent study conducted by employee share scheme provider Vestd has revealed that the UK's technology industry is dominated by employees named James and Samantha. According to the research, almost 9% of tech sector employees are named James, while 13% are named Samantha.

Vestd's analysis utilised LinkedIn data from over a million profiles to identify the 25 most common male and female names across 20 industries in the UK. Across all sectors, the name David accounts for nearly 8% of the UK workforce, while Sarah represents more than 10% of employees.

The study also highlights the prominence of certain names within specific industries. James leads in eight of the 20 industries analysed, including Retail, Legal, Hospitality, and Construction. On the other hand, Sarah is the most common name in 13 out of the 20 sectors, followed by Samantha, who tops the list in sectors such as Automotive, Electronics, and Manufacturing.

However, the data points to ongoing gender stereotypes in the workforce, with men being seven times more likely to occupy business leader roles, such as CEO or managing director, than women. Within the technology industry, the workforce remains predominantly male, with only 17% female inclusion.

Males are particularly strong in Network Engineering and Cybersecurity Analyst roles, with 94% and 70% representation, respectively. Conversely, female representation is higher in roles like UX/UI Designers (30%) and Data Analysts (29%), though they make up just 5% of Network Engineers.

Despite these disparities, there has been a notable increase in female students studying computing at university, with a 10.15% rise in 2024. Although male applicants still outnumber female applicants by a ratio of 4.1 to 1, this gap has narrowed from a ratio of 4.4 to 1 in 2023.

The analysis also revealed the prevalence of certain names within various industries. For instance, Steven is the most common name in the Fashion industry, representing 18.34% of employees, while James is the top name in HR (11.39%), Retail (10.57%), and Legal (9.44%). David is prominent in industries such as Charity/Not-for-Profit (9.73%) and Finance (8.55%).

Among female names, Samantha dominates the Automotive industry with a significant 61.83% representation while also leading in Electronics (48.34%) and Manufacturing (27.42%). Sarah is the most common name in Healthcare (15.82%), Marketing (10.82%), and Charity/Not-for-Profit (10.47%).

The findings have prompted discussions about gender representation in the workforce. According to Ifty Nasir, CEO of Vestd, the results reflect broader social trends and underline the persistence of stereotypes regarding the types of jobs men and women hold. He stated that organisations are increasingly recognising the value of workplace diversity, which is driving some to adopt blind recruitment tactics, where candidates omit details such as name, gender, age, and ethnicity.

Nasir further highlighted that employee share schemes or enterprise management incentives (EMI schemes) could play a crucial role in fostering equity within businesses. These schemes offer significant incentives for staff to climb the corporate ladder, potentially improving gender representation at senior levels in the future.