There ‘still aren’t enough women’ in tech, with too many leaving before reaching senior leadership positions. Liz Rhodes, CEO at Leeds-based Art of Cloud, explores why the female talent pipeline is still ‘leaking’ and the steps employers should take to attract, retain and develop more women in tech.
It’s been an interesting few weeks for those of us with a keen interest in making tech careers more accessible.
As a female tech leader I’ve long campaigned for a more strategic approach to enticing candidates of all kinds, including women, into our sector.
But despite lots of strong words and good intentions from like-minded people, women are still woefully underrepresented in all areas of the ecosystem.
And as teenagers across the UK collect their exam results and get ready to consider future learning and career options this month we’re seeing a yawning gender gap and an extremely leaky female, tech talent pipeline.
With the government announcing a more proactive approach to education reform issues of representation and accessibility seem to be back on the news agenda.
There have been clear mentions of the need to help young people from all backgrounds find routes into what we know are lucrative, fulfilling jobs in our sector. And by the suggestion of more non-academic options, work experience placements and skills-based learning in areas like AI and coding.
So why are we still having to talk about this hugely important issue and how do we go about resolving it?
Put simply there still aren’t enough women in tech.
Whether it’s to do with misconceptions around routes into work, post A level and degree choices or later life, practical challenges, talented female candidates are missing out.
When they do enter the workforce women don’t always stay long enough to make it to become senior leaders.
The official figures are stark. According to the latest (2025) government report only one in four tech-related degree places are currently filled by women.
And despite a raft of jobs being created to serve the growing AI and cyber-security sectors, when women do enter the workplace they’re less likely to progress, with the number of female leaders remaining stubbornly stuck at 21%.
The same UK government report points to some of the reasons why.
It found that attrition rates are chronically high, with one in three women planning to leave their roles due to ‘a lack of career progression, poor work-life balance, and an unsupportive culture’.
I totally get it. I understand and have experienced many of these barriers and concerns. It’s one of the reasons I’m so keen to help build something better.
I am 52. I’m a mum, wife and someone who likes to volunteer and play an active part in my community.
Like so many of my contemporaries I’ve also spent a large part of the past decade juggling these commitments with caring for my late parents and growing the business I am passionate about.
I was lucky enough to be supported by my brilliant family, great colleagues and fantastic professional networks.
But even so, it wasn’t easy and I’ve watched too many smart and capable female colleagues understandably take a step back or away.
So what do we do?
For me there are some clear, key ways to challenge this status quo.
It starts with education – telling young women about all the brilliant roles there are for them and how they go about grabbing them.
Myself and my team spend lots of time visiting young children in schools, planting those seeds of interest and underlining the fact that tech could be a good fit for them.
It’s about the kind of roles we highlight too. All too often I’ve seen female candidates pushed towards ‘softer’ departments – in ancillary services like HR and marketing – rather than more lucrative areas like coding and consulting.
Young women need more help choosing degree courses and non-academic schemes like apprenticeships and we need to bust myths around who these courses are for. The image of the male ‘techie’ is outdated and done – these options are open to everyone.
In our own business we have several ‘mid life returners’ women who wanted to come back to the workplace or who wanted to pivot and take on a new challenge.
We have been able to facilitate this – via paid for, professional training, helping candidates get back up to speed and boost our teams.
Removing practical barriers to progress is something else that can make a huge difference.
That means looking again at the impact of caring commitments and life outside the office and finding ways to help women navigate these challenges.
Here at Art of Cloud we do this by offering flexible hours, considering shared and part-time roles or just providing the opportunity to talk openly about the pressures people are under.
What will you do to support your female colleagues?
