It is vital that IT teams and technology companies aim for gender parity, and bridge existing gaps. What is the state of women in tech today? How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted women in the tech industry?

Read on for 15 recent reports, trends, and statistics that reveal the most relevant insights for women in tech in 2023.

1. 67% of European women in tech feel under-paid compared to men

A Web Summit poll indicated that over 67% of women in technology believe they are paid less than their male peers. While 92% of respondents felt trust that they were able to complete tasks assigned to them, 70% stated they had been made to believe they must strive harder to establish themselves in their jobs due to their gender.

2. 60% of women in tech said a parent or teacher encouraged them

This 2022 research from Logitech, along with Girls Who Code, examines the obstacles women encounter in IT and the factors that contribute to their success. The organizations questioned tech and IT professionals in order to determine the obstacles women encounter in tech as well as in pursuing STEM jobs. 60% of women who went to college for computer science degrees were supported by a parent or instructor, while 38% said that their interest originated in high school.

3. Gender diversity in tech leadership fell from 86% in 2020 to 59% in 2021

A BCG study of male and female IT executives offers insights on the pandemic’s multifaceted consequences. 44% of female respondents devoted well over 20 hours a week engaged in caregiving duties, whereas only 33% of male respondents did so. In addition to a decline in diversity, 41% of women of color had a negative effect on overall work-life balance, compared to only 28% of white women.

4. In 2021, 35% of Apple’s employees identified as women, up from 30% in 2014

“I think the essence of technology and its effect on humanity depends upon women being at the table,” CEO Tim Cook commented. “Technology’s a great thing that will accomplish many things, but unless you have diverse views at the table that are working on it.” In 2021, 50% of the company’s workforce comprised people from historically underrepresented groups, up from 44% in 2014.

5. Female representation in tech workforces in 2022 is up slightly more than 2% points from 2019

Deloitte Global projects that by 2022, large worldwide tech enterprises would have a female presence of about 33%, an increase of little over 2 percentage points from 2019. Women in technical professions will also increase, despite the fact that they have traditionally lagged behind the general ratio of women by roughly 8 percentage points. According to Deloitte, a two-percentage-point improvement, though minor, represents significant progress.

6. 57% of women in tech feel burned out at work, compared to 36% of men

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous influence on women in technology. Concerning burnout, they are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of this problem than their male colleagues. Because of the pandemic, 57% of the women polled felt more burnt out at work. 43% of women interviewed by TrustRadius had taken on more duties at work, as opposed to 33% of males.

7. Only 10% of women working in a technology role work in a female-majority team

A little over half of organizations (53%) indicate that the percentage of women in senior IT or tech roles has risen during the last two years. In contrast, 48% of women work in male-dominated teams, while only 10% work in female-dominated teams. In a recent Kaspersky poll, most female respondents said that a healthy work-life balance is crucial, indicating that remote work may play a big part in achieving this.

8. 46% of the women of color founders who were harassed, were harassed by a potential investor

Over 1,000 tech workers, entrepreneurs, and investors were questioned anonymously about their experience in the tech industry, by Women Who Tech. It was observed that investors harassed women of color entrepreneurs significantly more frequently. Compared to white women entrepreneurs, 46% of women of color CEOs/founders who were harassed were intimidated by a prospective investor.

9. Women in their 20s are increasing the female presence in the tech world

Women in their twenties constitute around 40% of all candidates in this age bracket. In the period between 2020 and 2021, women comprised an average of 41% of all applicants in the technology industry, a 400% increase over the preceding five-year period. Women over 40 are regularly applying for leadership positions, reveals BairesDev, a tech staffing company.

10. Executive boards will reach gender parity by 2050 globally and by 2038 for the U.S

In the IT industry, the proportion of female board members has almost doubled since 2010, and the proportion of female CEOs has increased by around 60%. Notwithstanding, not all the news is positive. Investigating the IT departments of 550 organizations across the globe, slightly under half reported that women made up fewer than 25% of the workforce. 9.5% reported having no women in their IT department, at all – S&P Global.

11. For small companies, an average of 30.2% of employees are women

According to data, women comprise a median of 30.2% of the IT workforce for small businesses with less than one thousand workers. Medium organizations with a tech workforce of 1,000 to 10,000 workers have an average of 29.6% female employees, whereas larger companies with a tech headcount of more than 10,000 employees have an average of 27% female employees. To improve these figures, businesses must abandon the concept of “tokenism,” the report suggests.

12. The proportion of funding raised by women-only teams has dropped from 3% to 1% since 2018

The gender disparity in computing is well-documented. According to research, women make up barely 25% of workers in the technology sector. This disparity is significantly worse at the executive level, when just 11% of leadership roles are held by women. Even the share of financing obtained by women-only groups has decreased from 3% to 1%, and among those obtaining support, they are receiving less, as per new research.

13. 1 in 5 women in tech are thinking of leaving their jobs

58% of respondents stated that prominent role models are among the factors that draws them to organizations, but underlined the absence of female presence at the leadership of their respective companies. 55% of those who had mentoring access thought it had a major impact on their careers, the survey found.

14.  Gender-diverse companies are 48% more likely to outperform their competitors

There is a significant correlation connecting diversity in leadership teams with financial results: businesses with the highest gender diversity are 48% more likely to achieve better results than those with the least gender diversity. Companies ought to do a lot more to avoid unintentional discrimination and standardize their advancement strategies for technical professionals. Just 2 of the 40 executives interviewed by McKinsey said that their companies don’t have a broken-rung issue.

15. 75% of women in tech consistently asked to handle more administrative tasks

Navisite discovered that women are required to carry out the majority of administrative duties. This involves sending invitations to meetings, securing meeting rooms, and arranging for refreshments. In addition, 86% of women report being accused of being excessively emotional at work, or being labeled with equivalent gendered terms.

Conclusion

While there has been some progress in leveling the playing field for women in tech and overcoming systemic issues, more effort is needed in this direction. Further, the pandemic has caused new divides like more burnout, poorer work-life balance, and challenges in being recognized.

For International Women’s Day 2023, companies need to consider the importance of a fair, equitable workplace with sufficient representation – both for the business as well as society. Also check out our Women’s History Month interview series for more insights similar to this.