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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 ran the company’s first Women in Tech Week, from 7–11 October 2024, for technology and non-technology colleagues and allies. Dunelm has published broader workforce figures, but not technology-specific measures showing how many people joined or what outcomes the programme produced.
What Dunelm’s Women in Tech programme includes
One-to-one development coaching
Dunelm’s Annual Report and Accounts 2025 says the programme provided individual coaching covering four areas:
- building confidence
- career planning
- resilience
- leadership skills
The Sustainability Report 2025 identifies Shift Left as the coaching and masterclass partner.
A staff-led working group
A Women in Tech working group organised Dunelm’s first Women in Tech Week. The initiative was presented as a way to celebrate women’s achievements in technology and create candid conversations about inclusion and empowerment.
#1 Best Overall
What happened during Women in Tech Week
The week ran from 7 to 11 October 2024, coinciding with Ada Lovelace Day. It was open beyond the technology department, including non-tech colleagues and allies.
- A question-and-answer session with Chief Technology and Information Officer John Gahagan
- A panel on the role of male allies
- “My Journey” talks from female technology leaders
- A masterclass led by Susan O’Connor of Shift Left
Shift Left coaching was also part of the wider development programme, rather than only a one-week event.
What participants have said
The Sustainability Report quotes participant Patricia Walker: “Since joining, it is giving me a confidence boost to be able to talk with not only existing colleagues but also new ones. Also coming to in-person meetings is giving me great confidence. It’s great to be part of a fantastic group, well worth Dunelm’s investment in us.”
This is an individual account of her experience, not an independently measured programme result or evidence that all participants had the same outcome.
Rank #3
How this fits Dunelm’s wider workforce data
Dunelm reports company-wide leadership and pay figures that provide context, but they should not be read as measurements of the Women in Tech programme or of representation in technology roles.
| Measure | Reported figure | Scope and date |
|---|---|---|
| Women on the Executive Team | 56% | Dunelm Group plc, as at 28 June 2025 |
| Women in senior leadership | 47% | Dunelm Group plc, as at 28 June 2025; senior leadership includes the Executive Team and members of Dunelm’s leadership team |
| Median hourly pay | Women earned 97p for every £1 earned by men | Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Ltd, UK reporting year 2024–25 |
| Women in the highest-paid quarter | 52.4% | Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Ltd, UK reporting year 2024–25 |
| Women in the lowest-paid quarter | 67.0% | Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Ltd, UK reporting year 2024–25 |
| Employees receiving bonus pay | 18.2% of women; 21.4% of men | Dunelm (Soft Furnishings) Ltd, UK reporting year 2024–25 |
What Dunelm has not established publicly
The reviewed FY25 reports do not provide a technology-only participant count, completion rate, retention measure, promotion data, or pay and representation breakdown for the technology workforce. They also do not attribute the company-wide leadership percentages to Women in Tech participation.
Dunelm’s current People and Careers pages describe broader inclusion, training, technology roles and early-career opportunities, but the available material does not confirm that the specific Women in Tech programme or the October 2024 event continued after FY25. A continuation or effectiveness claim therefore requires newer company evidence.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What would show whether the initiative is working?
For a meaningful assessment, Dunelm would need to publish technology-specific information over time, such as:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems- participation and completion, including access across job levels
- retention and progression into technical and leadership roles
- changes in women’s representation across technology teams
- technology-team pay and promotion data
- repeated participant feedback collected consistently, rather than a single testimonial
On the evidence available, Dunelm has described a concrete coaching offer and an inclusive company event, while the scale and long-term impact of the work remain unreported.
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