Gender equality in the Tech Industry

As in previous years, the proportion of women in the tech industry remains lower than in any other sector. The highest share of women is found in non-management roles, where 24% of employees are female. However, only seven percentage points are lost on the way to top management, where women make up 17% of the workforce. Most of this decline occurs between non-management and lowest management. The share of women in lowest management is 19%, which is five percentage points lower than in non-management.

Gender distribution by management level - Tech industry

Women
Men
Top management
17%
83%
Middle management
18%
82%
Lower management
16%
84%
Lowest management
19%
81%
Non-management
24%
76%

In lowest/lower management, the proportion of women in both recruitment and promotion is slightly above the current female representation (18%) in these roles. The share of women promoted (24%) also exactly matches the proportion of women in the pipeline (non-management) for these levels.

In middle/top management, a higher proportion of women were considered in both recruitment and promotion compared to lowest/lower management. Women account for 27% of promotions, which exceeds both the current share of women in these roles (19%) and the pipeline share (lowest/lower management: 18%). The share of women among new hires for these positions is even higher, at 49%. Recruitment and promotion can therefore contribute to increasing the representation of women in these leadership roles. It should be noted that there are large differences between companies in this industry when it comes to recruitment into middle/top management.

Female talent pipeline – Tech Industry

 

The Glass Ceiling Index of 1.2 is lower than in any other industry. This means that women in the tech industry face fewer barriers in advancing to upper management levels compared to all other sectors. While the overall share of women in this industry remains low, they are adequately supported in their career progression.

Glass Ceiling Index for middle and top management by industry

 

In management positions, both women and men work at average employment rates of at least 91%. The largest gender difference can be seen in non-management roles. In these positions, women work at average rates of 82%, which is 12 percentage points lower than the average for men at the same level. Additionally, in non-management work, the women’s average employment percentage is 9 percentage points lower than in lowest management. This is a notable difference compared to other levels. As a reminder: the tech industry loses the largest share of women between non-management and lowest management. This could mean that women working part-time are not considered as part of the talent pool for promotion.

Employment percentage by gender and management level - Tech industry

Women
Men
Top management
Middle management
Lower management
Lowest management
Non-management