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Women in Tech: Reading the Risk, Claiming the Revenue, and Building AI's Next Chapter
Published 2 months, 1 week ago
Description
This is your Women in Business podcast.
Welcome back to Women in Business. Let’s get right to it.
Right now, women make up only about a quarter to a third of the global tech workforce, even though women are roughly 42 percent of the overall labor force, according to Spacelift and WomenTech Network. That gap shapes everything about how we navigate this economic moment: who gets hired, who gets laid off, who gets funded, and who gets heard when decisions are made about AI, cloud, and cybersecurity.
First, let’s talk about navigating instability. During the 2022 and 2023 tech layoffs, WomenTech Network reports that women were significantly more likely to be laid off than men, largely because they held fewer senior roles and were overrepresented in functions seen as “non-essential.” At the same time, McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace research shows companies scaling back their visible commitment to diversity just as volatility rises. For women in tech, that means learning to read the risk early: looking closely at senior sponsorship, promotion pathways, and who holds P&L responsibility in your company, then deliberately moving toward roles tied to core revenue and emerging technologies.
That brings us to opportunity in the middle of disruption. Women in Tech UK points out that women are strongly represented in product management, UX and UI design, and accessibility roles that sit at the intersection of tech and the customer. And according to Women in Tech UK’s trends for 2026, new positions such as AI product manager, AI operations specialist, applied machine learning engineer, and AI ethics lead are exploding in demand. These are tailor‑made for women who combine technical skills with communication, systems thinking, and user empathy. Economic uncertainty actually amplifies the value of that blend.
Next, we have to confront retention and burnout. StrongDM and Spacelift both highlight a brutal statistic: around half of women who enter tech leave by the age of 35, often citing toxic culture, limited advancement, or impossible work‑life balance. Women also report significantly higher burnout than men. For women navigating today’s landscape, that means treating culture as an economic factor, not a “soft” issue. Organizations like Women in Tech Global and WeAreTechWomen are working across continents to shift culture and policy, but on an individual level, it’s about choosing teams where leadership accountability, psychological safety, and flexible work are real, not just part of the employer brand.
Fourth, let’s talk money and power: promotion and capital. StrongDM notes that women in tech are still paid less, and WomenTech Network reports that for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 87 women and just 82 women of color get the same step up. On the startup side, WomenTech Network data shows that only a tiny single‑digit percentage of venture capital flows to women‑led companies, even though multiple studies, including work cited by the UK government and We Are Tech Women, show women‑founded startups can deliver higher returns on investment. Navigating this means being unapologetically strategic about titles, equity, and sponsorship, and where possible, seeking out women‑focused funds, angel networks, and accelerators.
Finally, we cannot ignore AI and the future of skills. Deloitte and WomenTech Network both report that less than a third of the AI workforce is female, and most AI professionals believe that as long as the field stays male‑dominated, bias in AI systems will persist. At the same time, a Boston Consulting Group study cited by WomenTech Network found that women in tech are slightly more likely than men to use generative AI tools at work at least once a week. That means women are already at the forefront of applying these tools. The economic play is clear: lean hard into AI literacy, data storytelling, and governance. Women in Tech UK emphasizes
Welcome back to Women in Business. Let’s get right to it.
Right now, women make up only about a quarter to a third of the global tech workforce, even though women are roughly 42 percent of the overall labor force, according to Spacelift and WomenTech Network. That gap shapes everything about how we navigate this economic moment: who gets hired, who gets laid off, who gets funded, and who gets heard when decisions are made about AI, cloud, and cybersecurity.
First, let’s talk about navigating instability. During the 2022 and 2023 tech layoffs, WomenTech Network reports that women were significantly more likely to be laid off than men, largely because they held fewer senior roles and were overrepresented in functions seen as “non-essential.” At the same time, McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace research shows companies scaling back their visible commitment to diversity just as volatility rises. For women in tech, that means learning to read the risk early: looking closely at senior sponsorship, promotion pathways, and who holds P&L responsibility in your company, then deliberately moving toward roles tied to core revenue and emerging technologies.
That brings us to opportunity in the middle of disruption. Women in Tech UK points out that women are strongly represented in product management, UX and UI design, and accessibility roles that sit at the intersection of tech and the customer. And according to Women in Tech UK’s trends for 2026, new positions such as AI product manager, AI operations specialist, applied machine learning engineer, and AI ethics lead are exploding in demand. These are tailor‑made for women who combine technical skills with communication, systems thinking, and user empathy. Economic uncertainty actually amplifies the value of that blend.
Next, we have to confront retention and burnout. StrongDM and Spacelift both highlight a brutal statistic: around half of women who enter tech leave by the age of 35, often citing toxic culture, limited advancement, or impossible work‑life balance. Women also report significantly higher burnout than men. For women navigating today’s landscape, that means treating culture as an economic factor, not a “soft” issue. Organizations like Women in Tech Global and WeAreTechWomen are working across continents to shift culture and policy, but on an individual level, it’s about choosing teams where leadership accountability, psychological safety, and flexible work are real, not just part of the employer brand.
Fourth, let’s talk money and power: promotion and capital. StrongDM notes that women in tech are still paid less, and WomenTech Network reports that for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 87 women and just 82 women of color get the same step up. On the startup side, WomenTech Network data shows that only a tiny single‑digit percentage of venture capital flows to women‑led companies, even though multiple studies, including work cited by the UK government and We Are Tech Women, show women‑founded startups can deliver higher returns on investment. Navigating this means being unapologetically strategic about titles, equity, and sponsorship, and where possible, seeking out women‑focused funds, angel networks, and accelerators.
Finally, we cannot ignore AI and the future of skills. Deloitte and WomenTech Network both report that less than a third of the AI workforce is female, and most AI professionals believe that as long as the field stays male‑dominated, bias in AI systems will persist. At the same time, a Boston Consulting Group study cited by WomenTech Network found that women in tech are slightly more likely than men to use generative AI tools at work at least once a week. That means women are already at the forefront of applying these tools. The economic play is clear: lean hard into AI literacy, data storytelling, and governance. Women in Tech UK emphasizes