Tech's glaring gender gap and how to fix it

Gender diversity by the numbers

Figures vary, but research finds that women occupy no more than a third of the technology jobs in the United States. Here are some statistics related to that reality:

• Women occupy 27% of tech occupations versus 49% of all occupations, according to the "State of the Tech Workforce 2024," published in March 2024 by CompTIA, a nonprofit professional and IT certification association.
• At the end of 2023, women held just 35% of tech jobs in the United States, according to "2024 Women in the Workforce report," published by the WomenTech Network.
• In 2023, women held 27% of professional computing occupations in the U.S. workforce and 24% of tech C-suite positions at Fortune 500 companies, according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology.
• Women held just 24% of positions in the computer occupations sector at the end of 2022, down from a high of 44% in 1990, according to the U.S. Department of Labor statistics, updated April 2024.

The gender gap is real, glaring and persistent.

"We still have cultural norms that perceive tech as male-dominated, which can discourage women from pursuing careers in tech," said Adrienne Go, director of HR advisory services at McLean & Company, an HR research and advisory firm.

Women continue to face biases and barriers at pivotal hiring and promotion junctures within the talent lifecycle, Go said. The discrimination is potentially more subtle in certain cases, but it's still significant enough to prevent them from getting support and opportunities for growth.

In addition, since there are fewer women in tech, particularly in senior roles, a lack of role models reinforces the status quo of tech as a male-dominated field, she said. Thus, the lack of female representation in the technology field continues.

Factors and consequences of the tech gender gap

The factors contributing to the gender gap start in middle school and extend into the later stages of a typical career.

Drop-off in girls studying STEM

The stark drop-off in the percentage of middle school and high school girls opting to advance their studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) begins in the pivotal years of middle school and continues from there.

"Girls and women are systematically tracked away from science and math throughout their education, limiting their access, preparation and opportunities to go into these fields as adults," according to the American Association of University Women, a nonprofit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. There are various reasons why girls opt out of STEM courses, but the prevalent reason is the faulty stereotype that, in comparison to boys, girls struggle to master math.

That talent pipeline loss is longstanding.

"This isn't a new problem: Girls don't think they're good at math or science, so as they enter high school, they get derailed, and they're no longer interested in areas they think require math and science," said Carolyn April, vice president of industry research at Computing Technology Industry Association -- more commonly known as CompTIA -- a nonprofit trade group that awards IT certifications.

That limits the number of young women who study STEM in college.

Only around 39% of the bachelor's degrees in computer and information sciences in 2022 were given to women, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Hiring barriers

Gender barriers don't stop with education. Women who seek IT and technology positions then face discriminatory hiring practices.

Many of the AI software systems that screen job seekers' resumes and applications embed and codify cultural biases, including those based on gender, though AI is widely touted as more objective.

These types of AI platforms reproduce gender and sexual biases as well as perpetuate racial stereotyping, according to "Algorithmic bias in job hiring," a 2024 study published as part of the University of Minnesota's Gender Policy Report.

Hostile 'tech bro' cultures

Hiring biases and other barriers result in fewer women in tech, which, in turn, can create a reinforcing negative cultural loop.

That lack of female representation reinforces both conscious and unconscious biases and cultural barriers, April said. For example, a woman often finds she's the only female working on a tech team or in a meeting. She's more likely to be the one saddled with notetaking or meal planning responsibilities -- tasks that can limit her ability to engage or be seen as an equal contributor. Women in tech might also find that they are subjected to more unsolicited advice and explanations than male colleagues or excluded from the "tech bro" culture that flourishes in some male-heavy work environments.

Research from WomenTech Network found the following:

• 64% of women have experienced being spoken over during meetings.  
• 19% felt they were assigned to gender-based roles or duties in a variety of situations.
• 11% have been asked to take responsibility for the food during meetings.

A culture that marginalizes women -- in other words, treats them as peripheral or less important -- and allows for microaggressions -- subtle or unintentional discrimination -- has a powerful effect.

Women can be subjected to biases and unconscious types of aggression that make the workplace feel uncomfortable, April said. These types of behaviors don't exist at all organizations but they do exist in enough pockets to have an impact.

Leaking women from the talent pipeline

Dealing with the feeling of being targeted or made to feel different can be exhausting and demoralizing, leading to a search for more welcoming environments.

Many women transfer out of tech and into other tech-adjacent positions where they're less likely to encounter problematic situations, April said.

Drop-offs after having children are also common.

However, that leaves fewer women in tech to advance to the top ranks -- meaning there are fewer high-ranking, high-profile female technologists to serve as role models for others, she said.

That further perpetuates the gender imbalance, April said, as female students and early career female technologists often see the lack of female executives as an indication that gender-based biases remain -- and will continue unchecked.

Gender gaps in pay and promotion

The culture of gender bias also contributes to a continuing pay gap between female and male technologists, said Kristen Lamoreaux, president and CEO of Lamoreaux Search and host of the Diverse Tech Leaders podcast.

Statistics again reinforce such observations.

Research from career website Dice found that men in tech earn on average about $114,000 whereas women in tech earn an average of $99,000. Men stay longer in their roles, with 31% of the men surveyed being in their current role for at least five years compared to 22% of the women in tech surveyed. It also found that slightly more men in tech hold full-time positions as compared with women -- 85% vs. 80%.

Furthermore, research found that even fewer women are promoted into top tech-related positions.

For example, only 14% of digital leaders are women, according to the 2023 Nash Squared "Digital Leadership Report."

Attracting more women into tech

As a technology skills shortage looms -- particularly as the need for AI skills grow -- organizational leaders must take action if they want to gain or keep a competitive edge.

Take Shauna Bowen. Now senior vice president of strategy and transformation at Radial, an e-commerce fulfillment services and technology company, she reported she was the only female among the 100 or so students in her graduating class of mechanical engineering majors.

Although Bowen has had primarily positive workplace experiences at her employers, she reported that even she encountered some gender-based discrimination. That said, she knows of other women in the profession who have experienced lower pay than their male counterparts, discrimination and unwelcoming cultures.

"I don't know if too many of the barriers have changed from 10 to 15 years ago," she said.

To ensure others don't hit barriers, Bowen focuses on ensuring everyone has an equal shot at success by emphasizing fairness and equity and by making sure everybody -- even the quietest team members -- is encouraged to contribute.

Others also are taking steps to close the gender gap in tech and pay women fairer wages, but it's no easy matter to address.

For example, NTT Data North America, an IT services company, is continuing to invest in its DEI programs to ensure it is able to attract and retain a diverse workforce, said Terri Hatcher, the company's chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Although NTT Data leadership believes diversity is key to the company's ongoing success, DEI efforts have had mixed success, Hatcher said. For example, internal data shows that women represent more than 40% of its workforce at the lower levels but their representation drops off at the middle and top tiers of the company.

NTT Data North America is working to recruit from more diverse pools of talent and is reviewing its mentorship and sponsorship programs as well as its competency frameworks to ensure everyone has an equal chance to succeed and advance, Hatcher said.

"We're making sure leaders are leading everyone," she said.

Addressing unconscious bias is a primary goal since, by definition, people aren't aware they act on such biases, and because of that, it can do real damage, Hatcher said.

"You need to make sure you have managers engaged in activities so they know their entire team -- not just those they're comfortable with and those they have something in common with."

NTT Data also has implemented flexible work hours and four-day workweeks to help retain workers, Hatcher said. It created a program to give people who have been out of the workforce for two or more years "a bridge to come back." And it has a development program to prepare workers, including many women, for career advancements.

"It takes intentional effort to move the needle for equity and closing the gender gap. We have to keep trying, really trying; it can't come off the radar," Hatcher added.

Examining talent lifecycle for biases

There are a myriad of ways to promote more women in tech, just as there are in other areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Organizations would do well to examine their talent lifecycle and processes to see where decisions are being made, identify where bias and barriers exist, and enforce controls that mitigate these biases and barriers, Go said. In addition, gender-balanced hiring panels, blind resume reviews and structured interviews can be helpful tools in moving the dial on recruitment and retention of women in tech roles.

"Most importantly, organizations need to track consistency of practices and metrics to inform where they are falling prey to less-than-fair decision-making," she said.

Leaning on familiar recruiting processes and turning to the same old spots to run job ads is will only get the typical job seekers, which in turn results in homogenous workplaces.

Companies must expand where they're looking for talent, Lamoreaux said.

"There are thousands of women in tech organizations across the country, let alone across the globe -- tap into them," she said. "Don't say there's no pipeline; there are thousands of pipelines out there."

As one of many examples, Lamoreaux cited SIM Women, which she founded to promote communication, mentorship, leadership and career development among the female members within the larger Society for Information Management.

There are also other professional organizations as well as organizations that promote women in STEM more generally.

Strong candidates from diverse sources

Objections to DEI efforts often center on the idea that focusing on diversity equates to subpar applicants. While the issue is complex -- including the compounding effects of either receiving or not receiving chances for upleveling. But it can help to remember that, at heart, attracting and keeping more women in tech is about expansion, especially as a means to help compete on AI skills and other new areas.

DEI is not about changing hiring standards but rather about changing recruitment, retention and worker development practices to ensure the organization finds a diverse mix of qualified candidates, Lamoreaux said.

Hatcher echoed those thoughts, saying that she tells recruiters to stop thinking they need to find "diverse candidates" and instead search for strong candidates from diverse sources.

Hatcher, Lamoreaux and others, as well as ongoing research and studies, stressed the business imperatives for doing so.

"Having a diverse workforce will drive revenue, grow your company, drive innovation, because a diversity of thought and experiences brings far more ideas and solutions to the table," April said.

Mary K. Pratt is an award-winning freelance journalist with a focus on covering enterprise IT and cybersecurity management and strategy.