Technology industry

Proportion of women in the tech industry

Depending on exactly what is being surveyed, women usually represent 10-30% of the technology industry or ICT professions. The numbers vary widely depending on what you're looking at. Broadly speaking, there are fewer women in tech startups than in corporate IT, and fewer women at higher levels (technical management, etc). The numbers also vary widely from country to country.

Stats from various sources

• USA:
  • All women in ICT roles (including non-technical administrative positions) = 32.4% (source)
  • Non-administrative ICT roles held by women, 2009: 25% (source)
  • Computing-related occupations help by women in 2009, by ethnicity:18% white, 4% Asian, 2% African American, 1.5% Latina (source)
  • Execs of tech companies in San Diego area = 18.2% (source)
  • 11% of corporate officers and top earners in the high tech industry (source)
  • U.S. IT patents with at least one woman inventor in 2005: 6% (source)
  • Representation of women among open source participants: 1.5% (source)
  • Percent of computing degrees earned by women in 2009: 22% PhDs, 27% Master's, 18% Bachelor's, 22% Associate's (source)
  • Technology start-ups founded by women: 8% (source)
• Canada: 23-28% of the ICT workforce (Source: "Women in ICT National Forums Action Report", published March 2008 by ICTC)
• Australia:
  • 24% according to Australian Computer Society source)
  • 19% according to Department of Workplace Relations (source)
  • 15-20% according to the Australian Information Industry Association (source)
• South Africa: women represent 18% of the core IT workforce (source)
• European Union: women are 28% of the IT workforce (source)
• France: 20% of IT workforce (source)

Anecdata

Please contribute stats for your most recent job in the tech industry!

• 10%: 5 women out of about 50 in technical roles across the company. Internet industry, California. --Skud 06:15, 25 July 2009 (UTC)
• 4.6%: 6 women out of 131 staff across the entire company (almost completely tech). Web hosting, US Midwest. RickScott 19:47, September 1, 2009 (UTC)
• 10%: ~30 women out of ~300 total staff, of whom ~4 in tech roles (software, global) --Mdz 17:41, September 6, 2009 (UTC)
• 8%: 1 woman out of 12 people in technical roles. 40% women (8 out of 20) overall (software consultancy) -- Macoafi 23:55, September 28, 2009 (UTC)
• 7%: ~6 women out of ~80 employees, 2 of those women in tech roles (computer security consultancy) -- Macoafi 23:55, September 28, 2009 (UTC)

Issues facing women in the technology industry

• Limited education
• Hiring discrimination
• Pay discrimination
• Pigeonholing

Discussion of issues

• Gender Inclusion within the ICT Workforce
• Tech pay gap between men and women grew last year
• What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women
• Wadhwa and Geek Feminism

Examples of women in the tech industry

• List of women executives at tech companies
• List of tech companies founded by women

Groups for women in the tech industry

See List_of_women_groups_in_technology for more.

• Devchix
• Pyladies
• Systers
• Women in Technology
• Women in Technology International (WITI)
• Women in Project Management SIG
• Girl Geek Dinners (sometimes referred to as "Girl Geeks")
• Girls in Tech (note: actually for "young women")
• Society of Women Engineers
• Mulheres na Tecnologia (/MNT) (Brasil)
• Girl Develop It

Awards for women in the tech industry

See List of awards for women in the tech industry.

Women-friendly tech companies

Companies in the tech industry support -- or fail to support -- women through a variety of means. See Feminist reviews of tech companies for some commentary on specific companies.

Further reading

• The Scorecard: a report on the status of women in information technology