Why We Need More Women In Technology

With International Women’s Day just around the corner, there is no better time to consider the future of women in technology. Traditionally, the world of tech has always been dominated by men, but as technology becomes more and more part of our everyday lives, it’s imperative that women play a bigger role. Not only do we need technology to be designed with women in mind (we do make up half of the population after all), but we need more tech-capable workers to meet future workforce demands.

Research shows women are still significantly underrepresented in tech. In the UK’s tech sector, women make up just 21% of tech teams, and each year, 40,000 to 60,000 women leave tech roles, costing the UK economy an estimated £2 billion to £3.5 billion annually. Globally, the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report indicates that only 68.8% of the gender gap has been closed across 148 economies — meaning it could take over 123 years to achieve full parity.

Without the input of women, tech teams are making mistakes and missing opportunities. Take this shocking example: when Apple launched its Health App to track our body’s daily functions, it managed to completely omit a tracker for women’s menstrual or reproductive cycle. This would never have happened if a woman had been on the team. Another example of the value of a woman’s perspective is seat belts. As soon as women started driving and carting kids around, they refused to do it without better safety measures, hence the introduction of the seatbelt. Basically, input from women made cars safer for us all. So, we need women to increase diversity, which in turn will increase creativity and innovation, an absolute must for the technology of the future.

According to recent analysis, increasing the number of women working in tech could add £2.6 billion per year to the UK economy. Women currently represent 26% of the UK tech workforce and hold only 14% of tech leadership positions. Globally, the gender gap remains significant, with economic parity still over 100 years away at the current pace of change.

Addressing the pay gap would be a good start. The median gender pay gap in the UK is now 6.9%, but in the technology sector it remains higher at around 17.5%. Women in tech are still routinely offered lower starting salaries, with differences ranging from 5% to over 30% compared to men for the same roles. Big tech companies continue to pledge equal pay for equal work, but the question remains: is this enough to encourage more women into the sector?

Women need to know that there are good career progression opportunities in this male-dominated world. Recent research shows that 57% of women in tech feel they have clear career-advancement opportunities, and among women aged 18–34, over half report positive prospects for progression. This is encouraging.

However, one of the biggest problems for women in STEM careers is an unrealistic work-life balance. Around 43% of women in STEM leave their jobs after becoming parents, often because childcare is unaffordable. As the way we work is changing, it’s more important than ever to make sure all employees, including women, have the support they need to succeed. Flexible working conditions are a must if we want to tap into women’s much-needed expertise and skills.

But we need to start early if we’re really going to make a difference. In the UK, the latest data shows that only 20% of A-Level Computing entries are girls, and while 52% of early-career STEM workers hold a STEM degree, only 23% of Computer Science undergraduates are women or non-binary. We need to do more in the classroom to encourage and inspire future generations of women. And then give them the support to pursue it by studying computing and technology at school and going on to do apprenticeships and degrees.

The good news is that the tech sector is beginning to wake up to the value of women. But there needs to be a cultural shift on a global scale, and not just in technology. Women make up half of the world’s population, and yet, globally, 383 million women and girls are living in extreme poverty, while women make up over 60% of the world’s extremely poor in multidimensional poverty measures. Educating and empowering them could be one of the most effective ways to meet future demands and break the cycle of poverty.

A balanced world is a better world. Find out about International Women’s Day here.