Women in Software Engineering Statistics

Discover the latest stats on women in tech including low representation, high attrition, and gender pay gap persist. See how App Academy promotes greater diversity and equity in the industry.

More now than ever, women are carving out their space, driving innovation, and breaking barriers in the tech industry. We still have a long way to go, though. Understanding the state of women in tech as it stands today will help us have a more diverse and inclusive future.

Let's delve into the latest statistics that reveal the state of gender diversity in the tech industry in 2024.

Statistics: Gender Diversity in Tech

In order to achieve true gender equality in the tech sector, we have to understand what the landscape looks like at present.

Across the entire labor force, 56.1% of women participate, whereas 67.6% of men participate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the global population skews male, it’s nearly equal — as such, it’s key that we fill the gap in the gender ratio that exists in tech.

Why Fewer Women Are Looking for Tech Jobs

Despite making up nearly half of the workforce, women are significantly underrepresented in computing roles. This stark contrast highlights the need for greater gender diversity in tech fields.

The BLS states that women make up 47% of the workforce, but only 27% are in tech careers. Even fewer of these females in tech are black women, women of color or Latina/Hispanic women, and even fewer hold leadership roles.

Let’s dig into additional stats to support these findings:

Representation of Women in Tech is Less Than 30%

With less than three out of every ten individuals in tech identifying as female, there's a clear disparity in gender representation within the technology industry.

The Number of Women in Tech Seeing Slow Progress

While efforts to increase female representation in tech are ongoing, progress has been slow. The marginal increase of just 1% (from 2020-2022) in the number of women in tech underscores the need for sustained initiatives to promote gender diversity.

While the pandemic was a likely culprit: hiring freezes, fewer people changing careers, and the like, higher rates of trained applicants across are needed to fill related jobs in tech — and, ideally, many of them will go to females.

Big Tech Companies: Not Leading the Way

Large tech companies still grapple with gender imbalance in their workforce. Despite strides towards inclusivity, there's much work to be done to achieve gender parity at these organizations. On average, only 33% of the Big Tech workforce is women. Let’s look at the percentage of females in the workforce at some of the world’s biggest enterprises:

• Amazon: 45%

• Microsoft: 29%

• Google: 31%

• Meta: 37%

• Netflix: 49%

• Oracle: 30%

• Dell: 35%

• Apple: 34%

Not all tech giants have the same gender diversity profile, and Silicon Valley has done little to bolster females at their most popular organizations. Startups, however, are leading the way in number of women working in roles.

💡 In order for tech to be more inclusive for females, there is a need for more females in the talent pool. Even now, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts we’ll need 30% more software engineers, web developers, data scientists, and other professionals to fill STEM jobs by 2030.

Tech Statistics: Retention, Senior Leadership, and the Wage Gap

Though progress is slow, it’s progress nonetheless — and by expanding access to training and tech education, we’ll see even more females find their way into the tech industry. Keep reading to learn more about how females are moving up the career ladder:

Issues with Retaining Talent

50% of women in tech leave their jobs by age 35. Attrition rates among women in tech remain high, with many leaving the industry prematurely. Addressing the factors contributing to this trend is vital for retaining female talent in tech roles.

Retention isn’t just important to keeping the talent pool filled with viable candidates — it allows companies to continually invest in their employees, offering benefits like higher salaries, work-life balance, and additional compensation options.

Bolstering More Women Into Leadership Positions

Women Hold 26.5% of Executive, Senior-Level, and Management Positions in S&P 500 Companies

Right now, women hold nearly 27% of executive, senior-level, and management positions at S&P 500 companies. Luckily, at startups and other smaller organizations in tech, the number of female CEOs and female founders tend to be higher. Having role models that other women can look up to is critical to bringing in fresh, female talent.

Unfortunately, for every 100 men that are promoted to manager, only 86 women are afforded the same opportunity. While this is likely the result of attrition in tech roles, gender disparities in promotions continue to persist, with men disproportionately occupying managerial roles compared to their female counterparts.

Understanding the gender ratio in tech will help you understand why there’s such disproportion. From there, we’ll identify areas for opportunity and steps prospective female software engineers and software developers — among other tech professionals — can take to be better represented in the industry.

The Tech Industry Gender Ratio: Men to Women

In many tech firms, men significantly outnumber women by 3:1, highlighting the need for concerted efforts to bridge this gender gap. In more technical roles, that ratio expands to 4:1.

Despite comprising a sizable portion of the workforce, women in tech often find themselves in the minority, facing challenges associated with being outnumbered by their male counterparts, on average, 2:1, in tech.

In STEM fields, females comprise of over one-third (34%) of the workforce in critical areas of innovation and discovery, including AI, machine learning, blockchain, and other hot-button verticals.

Because women complete college more often than men in America, they tend to hold more and often higher degrees, but rarely are they in STEM fields. Those with relevant degrees don’t always wind up in tech, either:

Women with STEM Degrees Don’t Often Enter STEM Occupations

While many women pursue STEM degrees, nearly 70% ultimately transition into non-STEM roles, indicating the need for greater support and opportunities within STEM fields.

Computer Science Degrees: Not High on the List

Despite the growing demand for tech skills, women remain underrepresented in computer science programs, limiting their entry into tech-related careers. Less than 20% of all computer science degrees earned are held by women.

As a result of the misalignment in the gender ratio, there’s also a gender pay gap in tech. Let’s dive into these key statistics and understand how to improve them:

The Average Salary of Women in Tech Is Over $15,000 Less Than Men

Despite possessing similar qualifications and experience, women in tech face significant disparities in compensation compared to their male counterparts, furthering the narrative that a wage gap exists in the tech industry.

As a result, 38% of women in tech are unsatisfied with their pay, expressing dissatisfaction with their compensation — ultimately highlighting the need for equitable pay practices within the industry.

While these women in software engineering statistics don’t paint the prettiest picture for females and other underrepresented prospective tech employees, there’s hope. Addressing these disparities is essential for fostering an inclusive and equitable environment where all individuals, regardless of gender, can thrive and contribute to innovation.

How the Tech Industry Becomes More Inclusive to Females

It may seem counter-productive, but bringing more women into the tech fold will improve conditions for all.

There are many ways to make tech more inclusive for anyone who identifies as a female or who falls into other marginalized or underrepresented communities, and these are some of the most important and most impactful:

Improve access to education: At App Academy, we encourage females from all backgrounds to join our bootcamp programs and receive the training they need to find viable, lucrative tech careers. With our remote-first classroom environments, anyone in any time zone that’s ready to change their career will ultimately change their life.
Create stricter laws for gender discrimination and sexual harassment: These two issues are very real and prevalent in the tech industry, but organizations are working diligently to combat them and make tech safer and more positive across the board. According to PEW Research, 73% of Americans think these are relevant problems in the industry.
Hire from a more diverse population: Many tech professionals identify as white, Asian, and American - but hiring more women of color, including Black women and Hispanic women is critical to bringing in new backgrounds, new ways of thinking, and new perspectives.
Remove the need for a bachelor’s degree when hiring: Computer science degrees take, on average, four years to complete — oftentimes even longer. While those foundational skills are helpful for tech professionals to know, updating curriculum to keep up with the rapid advancement of tech isn’t always possible. A coding bootcamp certification is a viable substitute for a college degree because we can be more nimble with updating curriculum and train students in more relevant skills, faster.