Silicon Sisters: Navigating the Tech Terrain, One Byte at a Time

This is your Women in Business podcast.

Welcome to Women in Business. Today, as we look at women navigating the current economic landscape, our focus is on the tech industry—a sector both bursting with opportunity and still grappling with systemic barriers. The numbers reveal a mixed picture: according to the 2025 State of Tech Workforce Report, just 27.6 percent of the tech workforce identifies as female. This figure is a slow, steady improvement from only 9 percent in the early 2000s, but it’s still far from parity.

This leads us right into our first point: female representation in leadership. Nash Squared data shows that only fourteen percent of global tech leaders are women. For all the talk of breaking glass ceilings in Silicon Valley, the reality is fewer than one in five technology companies worldwide have a woman CEO. In fact, the percentage of women chief technology officers is even lower, at just eight percent. Yet, the positive impact of female leadership is clear—when women lead, companies see both financial and cultural benefits.

But it’s not just the C-suite where we see disparity. Let’s look at inclusion at every level. Women make up only 21 percent of American software developers, even as fields like data science have made more progress with a 46 percent female participation rate. However, across core technical roles such as software development and infrastructure, women are consistently represented at less than a quarter. This underrepresentation isn’t just about hiring, it’s about retention: about half of women who start in tech leave the field by age thirty-five, often citing a lack of advancement or workplace culture issues.

That brings us to pay equity and economic realities. The pay gap remains persistent, with women in computer science roles earning about 94 percent of what men earn. Even more concerning: men command higher salaries in 62 percent of tech roles, and during layoffs or tech downturns, women are 65 percent more likely to be affected. No surprise then, that burnout rates for women in tech stand nearly 20 percentage points higher than their male colleagues—a symptom of working harder for the same recognition.

A fourth major theme is the impact of emerging technology. The Skillsoft Women in Tech Report this year highlighted the urgency of upskilling, especially in artificial intelligence. Fewer than half of women surveyed currently use AI at work, yet those who do report significant gains in productivity and job satisfaction. Meanwhile, three-quarters of companies globally expect to ramp up their use of AI within the next three years. It’s clear: for women to shape the future of tech, early adoption of AI and other innovations is non-negotiable.

Finally, let’s talk geography and community. Women’s opportunities in tech vary widely by city. While San Jose, California, leads in earnings, cities in the American South like Little Rock, Arkansas, and Columbia, South Carolina, are showing dramatic progress in both pay and representation. This regional shift matters—because when we highlight cities investing in women, we show what’s possible everywhere.

The takeaway? Yes, the landscape is challenging, but women in tech today are not just surviving—they are recalibrating the status quo, inspiring each other, and driving crucial conversations on representation, pay, and the skills of tomorrow. Thank you for tuning in. Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes. 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 today. As we look at
women navigating the current economic landscape, our focus is on
the tech industry, a sector both bursting with opportunity and
still grappling with systemic barriers. The numbers reveal a mixed picture.
According to the twenty twenty five State of Tech Workforce Report,
just twenty seven point six percent of the tech workforce

(00:21):
identifies as female. This figure is a slow, steady improvement
from only nine percent in the early two thousand hundreds,
but it's still far from parity. This leads us right
into our first point, female representation in leadership. Nash Squared
data shows that only fourteen percent of global tech leaders
are women. For all the talk of breaking glass ceilings
in Silicon Valley, the reality is fewer than one in

(00:44):
five technology companies worldwide have a woman CEO. In fact,
the percentage of women Chief technology officers is even lower,
at just eight percent. Yet, the positive impact of female
leadership is clear. When women lead, companies see both financial
and cultural benefits. But it's not just the C suite
where we see disparity. Let's look at inclusion at every level.

(01:07):
Women make up only twenty one percent of American software developers,
even as fields like data science have made more progress
with a forty six percent female participation rate. However, across
core technical roles such as softer development and infrastructure, women
are consistently represented at less than a quarter. This under
representation isn't just about hiring, it's about retention. About half

(01:28):
of women who start in tech leave the field by
age thirty five, often citing a lack of advancement or
replaced culture issues that brings us to pay equity and
economic realities. The pay gap remains persistent, with women in
computer science roles earning about ninety four percent of what
men earn. Even more concerning, men command higher salaries in
sixty two percent of tech roles, and during layoffs or

(01:51):
tech downturns, women are sixty five percent more likely to
be affected. No surprise, then, the burnout rates for women
in tech stand nearly twenty percentage points higher than their
male colleagues, a symptom of working harder for the same recognition.
A fourth major theme is the impact of emerging technology.
The Skillsoft Women in Tech report this year highlighted the

(02:13):
urgency of upskilling, especially in artificial intelligence. Fewer than half
of women's surveyed currently use AI at work, yet those
who do report significant gains in productivity and job satisfaction. Meanwhile,
three quarters of companies globally expect to ramp up their
use of AI within the next three years. It's clear

(02:35):
for women to shape the future of tech. Early adoption
of AI and other innovations is non negotiable. Finally, let's
talk geography and community. Women's opportunities in tech vary widely
by city. While San Jose, California leads and earnings, cities
in the American Self like Little Rock, Arkansas and Columbia,
South Carolina, are showing dramatic progress in both pay and representation.

(02:58):
This regional shift matters because when we highlight cities investing
in women, we show what's possible everywhere. The takeaway, yes,
the landscape is challenging, but women in tech today are
not just surviving. They are recalibrating the status quo, inspiring
each other, and driving crucial conversations on representation, pay, and

(03:18):
the skills of tomorrow. Thank you for tuning in. Don't
forget to subscribe for more episodes. This has been a
quiet Please production. For more check out Quiet Please Dot
Ai