Statistics on female software developers

I cannot wait to read 404: Women Not Found by the incredible Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE. What an incredible, uncomfortable, and sadly necessary title. It stopped me in my tracks and sent me down a familiar rabbit hole. Have we actually shifted the needle for women in tech, or have we just talked about it more loudly? Some sobering context: • Early 1990s: women made up ~35% of programmers in the US and UK • Early 2000s: this fell to ~28% • 2010s: down again to ~22% • Early 2020s: hovering stubbornly around 20–23% of coding roles Despite decades of initiatives, investment, and intent, the trend line tells a story of decline, not progress. So what will the history books say when they look back on this period? That we spotted the problem and still failed to fix it? Or that we stood at an inflection point and finally changed the narrative? Which brings me to AI. Today, women represent roughly 22% of AI and data science roles globally. Leadership and research roles are even lower. But unlike previous tech waves, this one is still being written. Predictions suggest that with deliberate action, representation in #AI could rise to 30% or more by 2030. That is not inevitable. It only happens if we design inclusively, hire intentionally, and challenge who we think “belongs” in these rooms. AI could either automate our existing biases at scale, or become the greatest opportunity we have had to reset the system. Books like this matter because they force us to pause and ask the harder question. Are women missing from tech… Or has tech been missing women all along? October 2026 cannot come soon enough. #WomenInTech #AI #Leadership #Inclusion #TheCareerMum #404WomenNotFound #FutureOfWork #Representation

What does the future look like for women in Salesforce technical roles? I analyzed data from the 2024 and 2025 Salesforce Surveys to understand how gender representation is evolving across development, architecture, and admin roles. A few insights stood out: - Female developer representation increased from 20% to 22.7% year over year - Admin roles remain the most gender-balanced, showing what is possible - More women are entering — and staying in — senior technical pathways - Remote work continues to play a critical role in accessibility - Confidence and self-assessment still influence how expertise is reported Progress is happening, but it’s incremental — and it raises important questions about access, flexibility, visibility, and long-term retention in technical careers. In this piece, I explore what the data tells us, where momentum is building, and what Salesforce, employers, and the community can do to make technical roles more accessible for women. 👉 https://lnkd.in/emUTpEnz I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially from those working in development or architecture roles. What’s made the biggest difference in your career journey? #Salesforce #DEI SalesforceAdmins #SalesforceDevelopers #SalesforceArchitects #SalesforceJobs #WomenInTech #WIT

"Women’s share of tech jobs has increased across advanced economies since the pandemic, helped by strong demand, gender equality policies and greater tolerance of flexible working arrangements. The notoriously large gender gap in the tech sector has narrowed across the US, EU and the UK in the past four years, an FT analysis of official data shows. Yet despite the improvement in the gender balance, men still dominate employment in the sector. That has led to calls for greater diversity in hiring at a time when the industry is developing crucial new artificial intelligence technologies. 'We are just at a critical point with regard to AI,' said Athene Margaret Donald, professor emerita of experimental physics at the University of Cambridge. 'You need a diverse workforce to make sure . . . that you find some way around any bias that is present. We need more minorities, women, people of colour in the room to make sure that we get this right.' In the US, the proportion of female workers in tech rose from 31% in 2019 to 35% by the end of 2023, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were just under 900,000 female workers in computer programming and related services out of 2.5mn in total last year." #WomenInSTEM #GirlsInSTEM #STEMGems #GiveGirlsRoleModels https://lnkd.in/gkAjyDN2

Continuing our International Women’s Day week reflection, the data still shows clear challenges for women in technology. Even with diversity and inclusion initiatives in place at many companies, women remain underrepresented in core technical fields such as software engineering and artificial intelligence. In many teams, less than 20% of technical roles are held by women. Retention is another critical issue. Research indicates that up to 40% of women leave the tech industry before the age of 35, often due to unwelcoming environments or limited advancement opportunities. At the same time, there are encouraging signs. Organizations that implement structured growth programs, mentorship initiatives, and pay transparency policies are seeing measurable improvements in satisfaction and retention of women in technical and leadership roles. These findings reinforce an important truth: leading with inclusion is not just a moral choice. It is a strategy for sustainable innovation. For those interested in diving deeper, the data is available here: https://lnkd.in/e3k8jVfx https://lnkd.in/ejrA-btk In your organization, which practices have proven most effective not only in attracting but in retaining and promoting women in technology? Let’s talk about real initiatives and measurable impact. #womenintech #techinnovation #diversityandinclusion #leadership #futureofwork #AI

‼️ WHY TECH NEEDS MORE FEMININE ENERGY ‼️ Let’s make this very clear: If we want to win the AI race, we CANNOT afford to leave half the population out of the equation. The facts: 👩💻 Only 18% of software developers are women. 🛠 Just 14% of engineering roles are held by women. 📊 Only 11% of tech leadership positions are held by women. 📉 In 2023, women were disproportionately affected by tech layoffs. This isn’t just a gender gap. It’s a creativity gap, an innovation gap, and a blind spot in technology that’s supposed to shape humanity’s future. Why does this matter? 1. Systems designed by one perspective are incomplete and vulnerable. 2. To lead globally, especially in competition with AI powerhouses, we need to leverage all perspectives to build technology that works for everyone. Without feminine energy in tech, we risk designing tools that amplify bias, stifle progress, and fail to reflect the complexity of the world. Leaders like Sheryl Sandberg, who turned Meta into an advertising giant, and TIME CEO of the Year, Lisa Su who transformed AMD from a company with a $3 billion market cap to $200 billion, show how feminine energy drives transformation. Yet women remain underrepresented, and the industry is missing their creativity, empathy, and long term vision. To build a better future, we must: 1️⃣ Elevate more women into leadership roles. 2️⃣ Invest in programs that empower women in AI and innovation. 3️⃣ Ensure technology is designed by everyone, for everyone. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: we can’t win the AI race without women. Do you think AI can truly serve humanity when half the population is excluded from building it? Let me know what you think in the comments. I want to hear your thoughts! 🤔💡 #WomenInTech #AIRevolution #DiversityDrivesInnovation #FeminineEnergyInTech #FutureOfWork #GlobalLeadership

A new report from InnovateHer paints an astoundingly bleak picture of the future involvement of women in tech in the UK. The report found: • 78% of girls show an interest in tech, but *only 39%* consider it as a career. • Over time, Girls’ interest in tech careers drops by a massive 50% compared to boys. • Barriers like a lack of representation and gender stereotypes about ‘Tech Bros’ are further affecting Girl’s participation. InnovateHer's CEO Chelsea Slater told me that according to the latest figures, only 21% of IT specialists in the UK are women. Their latest latest trend report (link in comments) surveyed 1,200 young people, aged 11-17 about their dreams, fears, and the challenges they face in pursuing careers in tech. What is to be done? I hope we can put our collective heads together on this issue. InnovateHer is a social enterprise “dedicated to getting girls ready for the tech industry and the tech industry ready for girls.” What a great moto!

👩💻 Women in Tech: numbers that still hurt in 2025 Every time I read a new report on women in tech, I hope to see the shift we’ve been working toward for years. Yet the latest Spacelift statistics remind us: the gap is still deep, and it’s not just about numbers — it’s about culture, opportunity, and dignity. 📊 What stands out • Women hold just 10–11% of senior technical leadership roles • Only 17% of CEOs and 8% of CTOs in tech are women • Nearly 50% of women leave tech before turning 35 These are not just statistics. They are stories of women who felt excluded, unsupported, or invisible in spaces that should have embraced their talent. 🇺🇦 When I work with women entrepreneurs and leaders in Ukraine, I see the same patterns: brilliant women building solutions, coding, innovating — and yet, constantly proving their right to belong. We can’t afford to lose their potential because of “bro culture” or outdated stereotypes. 🙌 What we can change ↳ Build workplaces where women don’t just enter but stay and thrive. ↳ Create visible role models and mentorship networks. ↳ Value human connection in tech as much as we value innovation. Because behind every statistic there’s a woman who could have been a CTO, a founder, a global innovator — if only the system hadn’t pushed her out. The Spacelift report is another reminder: equality in tech won’t happen by itself. It takes conscious action, bold leadership, and solidarity. 🔗 Read more >> https://lnkd.in/ePC-CgdA

The economics of women in international tech in 2026 come down to three numbers: 27%, 2.3%, and 130 years. Women hold roughly 27% of global tech roles, despite making up nearly half the total workforce. That gap alone costs the global economy trillions in unrealized innovation and productivity. The Good: Female-founded companies captured a record 27.7% of total US venture deal value in 2025 which is nearly double the prior year (PitchBook). In Europe, over 1,300 female-founded startups raised €7.5B, up 19% year-on-year (Female Foundry Innovation Index 2026). Five new female-founded unicorns emerged in Europe alone. AI and deep tech are opening doors that didn't exist three years ago, and women are walking through them. The Bad: All-female founding teams still receive just 2.3% of global VC dollars. Women hold only 26% of AI-related jobs worldwide. Half of all women in tech leave the industry before age 35. And the average deal size for female-only founded companies is less than half that of male-only teams - $5.2M versus $11.7M (Founders Forum). The Ugly: Big Tech's retreat from DEI programs in 2025 sent a clear signal, and it wasn't a good one. Meta, Amazon, Google, and Accenture all scaled back diversity commitments. Research shows women are now prioritizing job security over career growth, with half saying they're more cautious about changing roles. At current rates of progress, the World Economic Forum estimates it will take 130 years to close the economic gender gap. These aren't social issues. They're economic ones. Every company that underinvests in female talent is leaving productivity, innovation, and profitability on the table. The data is unambiguous on this. What's the one structural change you think would move the needle fastest? #WomenInTech #TechEconomics #GenderGap #Innovation #InternationalWomensDay