Dunelm’s FY25 reporting describes a Women in Tech development programme with one-to-one coaching in confidence, career planning, resilience and leadership. A staff working group also organised the company’s first Women in Tech Week, held 7–11 October 2024, with talks, a CTO Q&A, an allies panel and a masterclass. The reports do not publish technology-specific representation or outcome measures, so these activities should not be treated as proof of programme impact.
What does Dunelm’s Women in Tech programme include?
Dunelm’s Annual Report and Accounts 2025 says its Women in Tech development programme provided one-to-one coaching focused on four areas:
- Building confidence
- Career planning
- Resilience
- Leadership skills
The Sustainability Report 2025 also describes one-to-one coaching from Shift Left, the organisation whose Susan O’Connor led a masterclass during Women in Tech Week.
What happened during Women in Tech Week?
A Dunelm Women in Tech working group organised the company’s first Women in Tech Week from 7–11 October 2024, coinciding with Ada Lovelace Day. It was open to colleagues across technology and other areas, as well as allies. Dunelm said the week was intended to celebrate women’s achievements in technology and prompt candid conversations about inclusion and empowerment.
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Activities included:
- A Q&A with Chief Technology and Information Officer John Gahagan
- A panel on male allies
- “My Journey” talks by female technology leaders
- A masterclass by Susan O’Connor of Shift Left
The sustainability report quotes participant Patricia Walker describing a confidence boost from meeting existing and new colleagues and attending in-person meetings. That is one participant’s reported experience, not a measured result for the programme as a whole.
What do Dunelm’s representation and pay figures show?
Dunelm’s leadership figures offer company-wide context, not evidence about the Women in Tech programme or the technology workforce. As at 28 June 2025, women held 56% of Executive Team positions and 47% of senior leadership roles; Dunelm defines senior leadership as including the Executive Team and members of the Dunelm leadership team. The figures are reported in its Annual Report and Accounts 2025.
The UK Government’s Gender Pay Gap Service report for Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Ltd covers the employer’s 2024–25 reporting year. It says women earned 97p for every £1 men earned in median hourly pay. Women made up 52.4% of the highest-paid quarter and 67.0% of the lowest-paid quarter; 18.2% of women and 21.4% of men received bonus pay. These statistics describe the reporting employer, not its technology teams.
Is the programme still running?
The primary programme details are in FY25 reporting and describe the October 2024 event. Dunelm’s current People and sustainability and Tech, Digital & Data careers pages discuss broader inclusion, training, technology roles and early careers, but do not establish whether the specific Women in Tech programme or event continued after FY25.
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What would show whether it is making a difference?
The published material describes activities and includes one participant’s account, but does not provide a programme evaluation or technology-specific outcomes. To assess longer-term impact, useful evidence would include participation and retention, progression into technical and leadership roles, feedback gathered across participants, and representation and pay data specifically for technology roles over time.
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