Welcome to your roundup of some of the past week’s most interesting surveys, statistics and reports relevant to those involved in the UK tech industry.
This week we bring you the latest stats on diversity in the workplace, sex, tech and the Trump administration’s effect on tech migration.
Diversity has been a hot topic over the past week, after a former Google employee (he’s since been fired) published a memo in which he claimed the widening gap for male and female tech workers was partly due to biological causes.
Now, Altify has released a set of statistics which show that gender inequality hurts companies’ bottom line.
After interviewing 700 senior executives from across the globe (including the UK), the firm found that 78% of businesses with greater diversity retain the customers they want to.
Some 79% of females, the research found, said they thought diversity policy impacted business performance. Meanwhile, only 66% of males agreed.
The data also suggest that Europe lags behind the rest of the world in terms of diversity.
Sex and tech
In other news, FemTech app Clue recently conducted a study with the Kinsey Institute, and found that some 30% of women across the globe have used apps to find some form of sexual or romantic partner. In Britain, this figure rose to 36%.
The study found that Swedes (46%) were the most likely users of apps to find sexual partners. In contrast, Russians (3%) were the least likely.
In global terms, some 67% of women said they had engaged in “sexting”. In the UK, the figure again rose to 73%. Some 41% of women, the data shows, predominately use SMS messaging
Some 41% of women, the data shows, predominately use SMS messaging to send sexual messages. When looking at those aged between 18 and 20, though, the research revealed that Snapchat (43%) was the most common platform used for sexting.
US politics and tech workers
A new report from Hired has revealed the impact the current political climate in the US is having on the movement of tech workers.
According to the findings, the UK is no longer perceived as a favourable destination for tech workers in the US.
Despite technology workers wanting to work overseas, the UK only featured fifth as a possible destination of choice. It came after Canada, Germany, Asia and Australia.
This, the data suggests, may be due to Brexit acting as a deterrent.
Additionally, the report shows that there has been a 60% decrease from US-based tech companies requesting interviews with foreign workers from Q2 to Q4 2016. Some 40% of US tech workers have considered relocating following the election
Some 84% of candidates in the US believe immigration drives innovation, with 80% saying they don’t agree with Trump’s executive order around an immigration ban.
This is again mirrored in the UK with 84% of UK candidates believe that the ability to work in other countries brings innovation.