The number of women in tech roles is in decline. Here’s what we can do about it

If you are someone who cares about the equal representation of women in the tech sector, then times are bleak. Despite this subject being on the corporate radar for years, the number of women taking roles in the industry is declining. Today, women constitute just 21% of senior tech leaders in the UK – down from the 23% recorded in 2017. Globally, women hold just 32% of senior management positions in the tech sector, below the global average of 34% and below other industries, such as professional services (36%), asset management (36%), and healthcare (38%).

There appears to be no sign of this situation improving any time soon. Indeed, the backlash to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US could well spread and undo the scant progress.

This would be a pity. Not only is ensuring gender equality the right thing to do, but it also makes sense from a business perspective. Research from McKinsey discovered that a 48% differential likelihood of outperformance separates the most gender-diverse companies from the least.

Yet, fewer women are being recruited into the tech sector. In many cases, this is not due to a lack of effort on the part of employers. Amazon, for example, has implemented an apprenticeship programme for women, invests in digital training for young women, and celebrates the success of female tech workers. There are also islands of success. In my dealings with Turk Telecom, I've been delighted to see a near-equitable ratio of male and female engineers.

However, suppose all businesses are to follow in Turk Telecom's footsteps. In that case, we must address the elephant in the room: not enough women are interested in tech careers. Unless there are equally large male and female talent pools, the sector will always have more men than women. 

What's more, DEI initiatives won't take hold without an equal workforce. Businesses will always choose the most skilled worker for a role, and due to their predominance in the workforce, employers will usually choose a man. Businesses can only make hiring decisions to improve inclusivity and gender balance if everything else is equal.

Put simply, there need to be as many skilled women as men to select from.  

The problem seems to start at school, where there's been only modest success in attracting schoolgirls into STEM(science, technology, engineering, and maths) subjects. As a result, fewer women than men go on to study STEM subjects at university as a precursor to starting tech-sector careers. Recent analysis shows that women make up just 35% of STEM graduates. This is despite the proliferation of coding clubs and apprenticeship programmes tailored for young girls to boost interest and participation in STEM fields. 

How can we solve this challenge? First, we need to significantly expand the successful initiatives already in place: more coding clubs, increased apprenticeships, additional awards to celebrate achievements and elevate women's profile in tech, and more corporate-led women in tech programmes.

Businesses must also engage more deeply and frequently with schools and universities to foster grassroots interest and outline clear, enticing career paths for women.

Next, we must address the issue of too few young girls seeing a future for themselves in tech. The reasons vary from a scarcity of female role models in the sector to the stereotype of tech as overly "geeky." Tech careers need to be aspirational to attract schoolgirls into STEM. Girls need to be able to see themselves in rewarding careers that have the potential to change the world. 

Social media can help. Influencers have a profound ability to sway the interests of youth across a spectrum of topics—some more beneficial than others. There's much to learn from the mechanics of popularity and influence on these platforms. These insights could help us positively steer young girls towards considering tech careers by showcasing the fulfilling and impactful nature of roles in this field.

Finally, young women can be led into STEM through more circuitous paths. This is certainly what happened in my case.

I was never that interested in technology per se, so much as understanding how things work. By following what did interest me, I was led into the world of technology almost by chance and have not looked back since. We could replicate this experience in schools by embedding a technology stream into the subjects that interest girls. For example, art classes could introduce a module on using programming to create digital artworks. History classes, meanwhile, could leverage online document libraries so that students can interact with digital versions of original primary sources.

When reflecting on the underrepresentation of women in tech, it's crucial to acknowledge technology's significant impact on our societies and cultures.

Digital technology is fundamentally shaping the modern world. Without more women developing and deploying this technology, the world will persist in being predominantly designed by and for men.

Young girls have the power to change this story in the future. Still, it's our responsibility to inspire them and ensure that they take up the available opportunities.