Shattering the Silicon Ceiling: Women Rewriting Tech's Rules

This is your Women in Business podcast.

Welcome to Women in Business, where we lift the voices and stories of ambitious, creative, and resilient women shaking up the world. I’m glad you’re here, because today we dive straight into one of the most urgent topics of our times: how women are navigating today’s economic landscape, especially in the fast-evolving tech industry.

First, let’s face the facts together: across the global tech sector, women account for only about 28% of the workforce, according to recent reports from CompTIA and Nash Squared. In the United States, the number is just a bit higher, around 35%, but that’s still miles away from true equality. Look closer, and you’ll see an even sharper drop in leadership. Out of the world’s major tech companies—Amazon, Meta, Apple, Google, and Microsoft—not one has ever put a woman at the top as CEO, and women in executive roles, like CTO, represent less than 10% of leadership. So, let’s start our discussion by asking: what needs to change for women to move forward and break the glass ceiling in tech leadership?

But here’s the tricky part: while the percentages have inched upward over the last decade, behind the stats, many women still feel sidelined or unsupported. The Women in Digital Report out of Australia highlights the “Missing Middle”—women who start strong but lose momentum mid-career due to lack of support for caregiving or flexible schedules. That leads us to our second discussion point: how do companies create cultures that retain talent, allow for flexible work, and help women advance rather than stall?

Even with these challenges, there’s a glimmer of hope. In fields like data science and e-commerce, women’s representation is as high as 46%. But zoom out to software development, where just over one in five American developers are women. Combined with studies showing half of all women leave the tech industry by age 35—often citing burnout, bias, or lack of clear paths for advancement—it begs another question: how do we truly shift workplace norms and create visible, supportive pathways for women at every career stage?

The conversation also has to include pay and recognition. Women in tech typically earn $15,000 less a year than men for similar roles, and 66% say they lack a clear path for promotion. Only 45% of women leaders believe they get authentic support from male executives, even amid campaigns claiming allyship. To build more equitable teams, we need to re-examine hiring, pay, and promotion practices throughout every layer of a company.

Finally, let’s look ahead. With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, McKinsey & Company highlights that closing the tech gender gap could add $12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025. AI is where power and opportunity are growing fastest, yet most women aren’t using it at work—and worry about falling behind. To stay competitive, skill-building has to be accessible, and women must be given the resources and confidence to lead in this space.

So as we navigate so many interconnected challenges—from representation and retention, to fair pay, workplace culture, and the ongoing transformation brought by AI—our call to action is clear. We celebrate pioneers like Helen Beal and lift up those driving change at every level, but the journey isn’t over. Today, women in tech are rewriting the rules, demanding meaningful support, and leading the innovation that’s reshaping our world.

Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe to Women in Business for more insights and stories that empower, inform, and inspire. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Women in Business, where we lift the voices
and stories of ambitious, creative, and resilient women shaking up
the world. I'm glad you're here because today we dive
straight into one of the most urgent topics of our times,
how women are navigating today's economic landscape, especially in the
fast evolving tech industry. First, let's face the facts together.

(00:23):
Across the global tech sector, women account for only about
twenty eight percent of the workforce, according to recent reports
from CompTIA and Nashquared. In the United States, the number
is just a bit higher, around thirty five percent, but
that's still miles away from true equality. Look closer and
you'll see an even sharper drop in leadership. Out of
the world's major tech companies, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Google, and Microsoft,

(00:47):
not one has ever put a woman at the top
as CEO, and women in executive roles like CTO represent
less than ten percent of leadership. So let's start our
discussion by asking what needs to change for women to
move forward and break the glass ceiling in tech leadership.
But here's the tricky part. While the percentages have inched
upward over the last decade, behind the stats, many women

(01:10):
still feel sidelined or unsupported. The Women in Digital Report
out of Australia highlights the missing middle women who start
strong but lose momentum mid career due to lack of
support for caregiving or flexible schedules. That leads us to
our second discussion point, how do companies create cultures that
retain talent, allow for flexible work, and help women advance

(01:32):
rather than stall. Even with these challenges, there's a glimmer
of hope. In fields like data science and e commerce,
women's representation is as high as forty six percent. But
zoom out to software development, where just over one in
five American developers are women. Combined with studies showing half
of all women leave the tech industry by age thirty five,
often citing burnout, bias, or lack of clear pads for advancement,

(01:56):
it begs another question, how do we truly shift workplace
norms and create visible, supportive pathways for women at every
career stage. The conversation also has to include pay and recognition.
Women in tech typically earn fifteen thousand dollars less a
year than men for similar roles, and sixty six percent
say they lack a clear path for promotion. Only forty

(02:17):
five percent of women leaders believe they get authentic support
from male executives, even amid campaign's claiming allyship to build
more equitable teams, we need to re examine hiring, pay,
and promotion practices throughout every layer of a company. Finally,
let's look ahead with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.
Mackenzie and Company highlights that closing the tech gender gap

(02:37):
could add twelve dollars trillion dollars to the global GDP
by twenty twenty five. AI is where power and opportunity
are growing fastest, yet most women aren't using it at
work and worry about falling behind. To stay competitive, skill
building has to be accessible and women must be given
the resources and confidence to lead in this space. So

(02:57):
as we navigate so many interconnected challenges from representation and
retention to fair pay, workplace culture, and the ongoing transformation
brought by AI, our call to action is clear. We
celebrate pioneers like Helen Beiale and lift up those driving
change at every level, but the journey isn't over. Today
women in tech are rewriting the rules, demanding meaningful support,

(03:21):
and leading the innovation that's reshaping our world. Thanks for
tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe to Women in Business
for more insights and stories that empower, inform, and inspire.
This has been a Quiet Pleae production. For more check

(03:41):
out Quiet Please dot ai