The conversation about women in tech has reached a critical juncture. We know what the problems are, we’ve read the statistics, we’ve attended the events. But the question that matters now is simple: what are we actually going to do about it?
At Conrad London, UNBOUND brought together our newly formed steering committee of senior technology leaders to move beyond discussion and start building the roadmap for 2026. This wasn’t another networking event. It was a working session designed to define what meaningful change looks like and how we’re going to deliver it.
Lucy Kemp, Director of Brand and Marketing at La Fosse and founder of UNBOUND, opened the evening with a clear challenge: “When I’m here with you all next year with this glass of champagne, what are we cheering on? What does good look like, what barriers are there, and how can UNBOUND help you overcome them?”
The steering committee approach
UNBOUND is taking a deliberately different approach to driving change in tech. Rather than operating in isolation, we’re building a steering committee of leaders who can shape the direction, provide honest feedback, and help us create programmes that solve real problems rather than tick diversity boxes.
The committee brings together perspectives from across the technology sector: CTOs, transformation directors, programme managers, and executives who’ve navigated the challenges themselves and are committed to clearing the path for others.
As Jon Price, Director of Recruitment at La Fosse, explained his commitment: “I’ve been fortunate enough to work in a number of businesses with my wife, who is a performance and people coach. I would see time and time again her ideas either get passed over or picked up by another director and passed off as theirs. The reason I got excited about UNBOUND was it felt really different for us. We’re now at the size and scale where we can actually start to have an impact with our clients and how we shape hiring decisions.”
What meaningful change actually looks like
The evening’s discussion revealed several critical themes that will shape UNBOUND’s work in 2026.
Power skills are not “soft”
One of the most passionate discussions centred on what many still mistakenly call “soft skills.” The committee was unanimous: the skills that differentiate senior leaders from technical specialists are anything but soft.
As one member noted: “When you develop your career based on certifications where you know how technically good you are, that works at a base level. But when you want to move to director or head level, the technical certifications aren’t working anymore, and that is a shock for a lot of women.”
The challenge is real. Women often excel at building technical expertise, accumulating qualifications, and proving their capabilities through measurable achievements. But the transition to leadership requires different skills: strategic thinking, confident communication, navigating difficult conversations, and projecting authority without apology.
These aren’t innate qualities. They’re learnable capabilities that many men develop through observation, mentorship, and cultural permission to be assertive. Women need structured support to build these same capabilities without waiting years to figure them out through trial and error.
The mentorship multiplier effect
The discussion kept returning to mentorship, but with an important evolution. It’s not just about connecting junior women with senior women. It’s about creating mentorship at every level, including reverse mentorship where senior leaders learn from those coming up through the ranks.
One member shared: “I really like that idea of reverse mentorship, because you need someone maybe that is more senior to be aware of how people are feeling coming up the ranks, because they might have come up at a different time with different challenges.”
The committee also identified a critical gap: male leaders need mentorship from women to understand what they don’t know. Without this, even well-intentioned allies struggle to recognise problematic behaviours or understand the barriers women face.
Beyond visibility to accountability
The conversation challenged the typical approach of simply “spotlighting” successful women. While visibility matters, the committee pushed for something deeper: creating pathways and removing barriers rather than just celebrating those who’ve made it despite the obstacles.
As one member put it: “Having those women that are in the C position talking about their challenges, we’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, so I can do it. Because she’s not special.’ When you really have a conversation with them and they’re telling you all the challenges, you realise they are exactly like us.”
This connects to a broader insight: success shouldn’t require superhuman resilience. The goal isn’t to help more women survive toxic cultures or navigate impossible demands. It’s to change the systems so that success becomes genuinely achievable for talented people regardless of gender.
The barriers we’re tackling
The committee identified several specific obstacles that UNBOUND will address in 2026:
The confidence gap that’s actually a communication gap
Women often internalise feedback differently, seeing constructive criticism as evidence they don’t belong rather than guidance for improvement. One member shared an example of a mentee who interpreted her boss’s suggestion to “think about Plan B” as a sign she wasn’t good enough, when he was actually showing care by helping her prepare for all outcomes.
Workplace inflexibility that treats parenting as a women’s issue
Multiple committee members raised the challenge of shared parental leave and flexible working that’s only truly available to women. One member noted: “It’s a partnership. It’s not like one or the other. We have to do this together and we have to go on the journey together.”
Male-dominated leadership teams that lack perspective
When the committee discussed La Fosse’s own executive team makeup (six members: two women, four men), the conversation was honest about the challenges. As Lucy Kemp explained: “Would we love it to be 50/50? Yes. But what is nice is my CEO, when I came to La Fosse, I said I want to do something for women externally in tech, but I also want to do something internally. And Ollie was so open. He was like, ‘Go and find out what’s happening. Come back to me. We’ll do a plan.’ Although we’re not 50/50, I have a team there who isn’t afraid to almost break things in order to fix it.”
The shortage of female role models at every career stage
The pipeline problem isn’t just at the top. Women need to see other women succeeding at every level to understand what’s possible. The committee emphasised the importance of showcasing achievements across all stages, not just celebrating those who’ve reached the C-suite.
What UNBOUND will deliver in 2026
Based on the evening’s discussion, the steering committee helped shape several key priorities:
Structured power skills development
UNBOUND will create focused programmes teaching the strategic communication, confident presentation, and leadership capabilities that women need to transition from technical roles to senior positions. This includes difficult conversations, self-advocacy, and projecting authority.
Multi-level mentorship programmes
Building on the successful launch of the UNBOUND mentorship programme, we’ll expand to include reverse mentorship and peer mentoring opportunities. The goal is creating support networks at every career stage, not just connecting junior women with senior mentors.
Male allyship education
The committee was clear: we need more men in the room. Not as saviours, but as partners who understand the challenges and actively work to address them. UNBOUND will create programming specifically designed to educate male leaders on effective allyship and challenge behaviours they might not recognise as problematic.
Practical workplace solutions
Rather than just discussing problems, UNBOUND will work with companies to implement specific changes: gender-balanced shortlists, flexible working that’s truly available to all parents, transparent promotion criteria, and accountability measures for diversity commitments.
Regular measurement and iteration
The steering committee will reconvene in April 2026 to assess progress and adjust strategy. This isn’t a static programme, it’s an evolving response to what women actually need.
The honest conversation we need
One of the most powerful moments of the evening came when discussing the challenges of calling out bad behaviour in workplaces that punish those who speak up.
A committee member shared: “There are real challenges in calling out behaviours in a certain way that’s acceptable. Sometimes you feel like you can’t because you either get put as the troublemaker, or they don’t want you to be involved because you’re not aligned 100% to their values and you’re challenging the status quo. That, for me, is not okay. I don’t agree with the values here. I don’t want to be at that company anymore.”
This honesty is exactly why UNBOUND exists. Too many diversity initiatives avoid uncomfortable truths. They celebrate small wins without acknowledging systemic problems. They put the burden of change on women rather than addressing the cultures and structures that create barriers.
The steering committee’s willingness to have these difficult conversations gives UNBOUND the foundation to drive genuine change rather than just creating another well-intentioned programme that makes no real difference.
Join us in driving change
The energy at Conrad London was electric, not because we solved all the problems, but because we moved from talking about what should happen to planning what will happen.
If you’re a woman in tech looking for mentorship, skill development, or a community of people facing similar challenges, the UNBOUND mentorship programme is now accepting applications.
If you’re a leader committed to creating genuine change in your organisation, get in touch. The steering committee has shown there’s appetite for real solutions and willingness to do the difficult work of systemic change.
This isn’t about quick fixes or performative diversity. It’s about creating an industry where talented women don’t just survive, they thrive. Where success doesn’t require superhuman resilience. Where the path to leadership is visible, achievable, and supported at every stage.
The conversation has started. Now it’s time to build.
Learn more about the UNBOUND mentorship programme here.
Get in touch about UNBOUND: lucy.kemp@lafosse.com