Women make up nearly half the global workforce but hold only 26 to 28% of tech roles. In AI, that figure drops to 22%. In cybersecurity, it sits closer to 24%. In Web3 and blockchain, one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, women still make up a small fraction of founders, developers, and decision makers.
This guide breaks down every major stat you need to know for 2026: workforce representation, salaries, AI adoption gaps, cybersecurity, and Web3. It is all here, sourced and cited.
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- Women hold 26.7% of global tech roles, a figure that has moved slowly over 25 years
- Women earn 84 cents for every dollar men earn in tech
- Only 22% of AI positions globally are held by women
- Women make up just 24% of the cybersecurity workforce
- Female participation in Web3 and blockchain has grown to 27%, up from 8% in 2021
- Only 2.3% of VC funding goes to all female founding teams
- Women hold just 16% of CTO roles at major tech companies
- 50% of women in tech leave the industry before age 35
- 91% of companies promoted women in tech in 2024, up from 76% in 2019
- Companies with gender diverse teams are 25% more likely to outperform on profitability
Overview
Where Do Women Actually Stand in the Tech Workforce in 2026?
What Do the Overall Numbers Look Like Right Now?
Women represent 26.7% of the global tech workforce in 2026, according to Deloitte. In the US, women hold roughly 28% of computing roles and 35% of the broader STEM workforce. That is an increase from 8% in 1970, though the pace of change has been gradual, roughly 20 percentage points gained over more than 50 years.
At the big five, Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, the average female workforce share sits at about 31%. Google is at 34.4%. Microsoft at 31.2%. Apple at 35%.
Is It Harder for Women to Climb the Tech Ladder?
There is a well documented pattern in tech called the “broken rung.” It refers to the first step up to management, which data shows is disproportionately harder for women to reach.
For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 87 women and 82 women of color receive the same promotion. That gap compounds at every subsequent level. By the time you reach the C suite, women hold just 29% of leadership roles in tech and only 16% of CTO positions.
| Career Level | Women in Tech (%) | Women of Color (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Level | 29% | Lower |
| Manager | ~26% | Significantly lower |
| Senior VP | 21% | 4 to 5% |
| C Suite | 29% | Rare |
| CTO and CIO specifically | 15 to 16% | Very rare |
Artificial Intelligence
How Underrepresented Are Women in Artificial Intelligence?
What Do the Numbers Say About Women in AI Today?
Women hold just 22% of global AI positions and only 18% of AI research roles. Only 14% of AI research papers have a female first author. And in academic AI, women hold just 16% of tenure track faculty positions.
There is also a daily usage gap worth noting. Only 34% of women use AI tools daily at work, compared to 43% of men. BCG found that 68% of women in tech use a generative AI tool at work more than once a week, slightly ahead of men at 66%, but daily adoption still lags.
Is the AI Reskilling Gap Affecting Women Disproportionately?
The data suggests the AI representation gap may be self reinforcing. Women are underrepresented in AI development, which means AI products are built with fewer female perspectives. Lower daily adoption rates also mean women may face greater exposure to automation related job displacement.
AI is the number one subject women in tech want to learn more about, yet 63% report a lack of adequate skills and training on the job, according to Skillsoft’s Women in Tech Report. C suite executives across industries expect that 46% of workers will need to be reskilled in the next three years because of AI, making closing this training gap a priority.
Cybersecurity
How Many Women Are Actually Working in Cybersecurity in 2026?
What Percentage of the Cybersecurity Workforce Is Female?
Cybersecurity has made genuine progress over the past decade, while still having room to grow.
Women now make up approximately 24% of the global cybersecurity workforce, up significantly from around 10% in 2013. (ISC)² places the figure closer to 12% in strict technical cybersecurity roles, which reflects how you define the field. Whether counting analysts, engineers, GRC professionals, or the full spectrum, women remain underrepresented at most levels.
Only 7% of women in cybersecurity reach C level positions like CISO or CTO. And approximately 16% of organizations still have zero female cybersecurity staff at all.
What Do Women Earn in Cybersecurity Compared to Men?
The pay gap in cybersecurity is smaller than in other tech fields, though a gap still exists. Women in cybersecurity earn an average of around $109,000 globally compared to $115,000 for men. In the US specifically, the gap widens: women earn roughly $141,000 versus $148,000 for men in equivalent roles.
On the opportunity side, demand for cybersecurity talent is surging. The global shortage of cybersecurity professionals means skilled women in this field, particularly those with certifications in cloud security, incident response, or penetration testing, have significant negotiating leverage right now.
Web3 and Blockchain
Are Women Getting a Fair Shot in Web3 and Blockchain?
How Many Women Are Actually Participating in Web3?
Web3 was envisioned as a more open, decentralized ecosystem accessible to everyone. Female participation in blockchain started at roughly 8% in 2021 and has since grown to 27% in 2025, according to BCG, a meaningful shift in a relatively short period.
Founding team representation tells a different story. Only 13% of Web3 founding teams include a woman. Just 3% are entirely female led. And only 8.6% of crypto startups are female founded. On the ownership side, 39% of women own crypto versus 61% of men.
How Big Is the Pay and Funding Gap in Web3?
In Web3 finance roles, women earn approximately 46% less than men, making it one of the steepest pay gaps across all tech sectors. Male led Web3 startups also receive roughly 4x more funding than female led ones.
Communities like HerDAO, SheFi, and Unstoppable Women of Web3 are actively working to close these gaps by onboarding women into the space and building the networks, skills, and visibility pipelines that the crypto ecosystem previously lacked.
Salaries
What Do Women in Tech Actually Earn in 2026?
How Big Is the Gender Pay Gap Across Tech Fields?
A pay gap persists across most tech disciplines, and it widens further when intersected with race.
Women in tech earn 84 cents for every dollar men earn, according to BLS data. The average gap translates to approximately $15,000 per year. In engineering roles, women earn 90 cents per dollar. In science and research fields, it drops further to 87 cents.
| Field and Group | Women’s Earnings vs. Men |
|---|---|
| Overall tech (all roles) | 84¢ per $1 |
| Engineering roles | 90¢ per $1 |
| Science and research | 87¢ per $1 |
| Latina women in tech | 54¢ per $1 |
| Black women in tech | 63¢ per $1 |
| Director level (narrowest gap) | 92¢ per $1 |
| Web3 and crypto finance roles | ~54¢ per $1 |
61% of women in tech report being paid less than peers in similar roles. The gap is 7% smaller at companies with pay transparency policies, suggesting that structural transparency has a measurable positive effect. However, only 25% of companies currently have full pay transparency in place.
Venture Capital
How Much Venture Capital Are Female Founders Actually Receiving?
Why Are Female Founded Startups Receiving a Smaller Share of Funding?
The VC funding gap remains one of the most persistent disparities in the startup ecosystem.
In 2025, all female founding teams received just 2.3% of total venture capital funding, according to PitchBook. Mixed gender teams did better at 15.6%, though the overall disparity remains significant. The average seed round for female founders was $1.1 million, compared to $2.1 million for male founded startups.
One data point stands out: female founded companies deliver 2.5x more revenue per dollar invested than male founded ones, according to BCG. The return on investment is measurably strong, which makes closing the funding gap both a diversity issue and a financial opportunity for investors.
Only 4.9% of VC partners are women. Research consistently shows that female VCs are twice as likely to fund female founders, indicating that increasing investor diversity could have a direct impact on founder funding outcomes.
Retention
Why Are So Many Women Leaving the Tech Industry?
What Is Actually Driving Women Out of Tech?
Attracting women into tech is only part of the equation. Retention remains a significant and well documented challenge.
50% of women leave the tech industry before age 35. Women leave tech at 45% higher rates than men. The average tenure for women in tech is 3.1 years, versus 4.2 years for men. And 56 to 57% of women in Technology, Media, and Telecom plan to leave their jobs within two years.
The primary drivers are consistent across surveys. 56% cite workplace culture as the main factor. 48% point to a lack of advancement opportunity. 45% cite poor work life balance. And 72% report experiencing environments where they feel they need to prove competence repeatedly in ways that their colleagues do not.
Layoff data also reveals a structural pattern. In the 2022 to 2023 tech layoff wave, women made up roughly 45% of those laid off while comprising only 26 to 28% of the workforce. This reflects where women are currently concentrated, in less senior and less technical roles that tend to be cut first during downturns.
Progress
What Is Actually Getting Better for Women in Tech?
Is the Industry Making Measurable Progress?
Yes. The data shows real, if incremental, improvement.
The clearest indicator: 91% of organizations promoted women in tech in 2024, up from 76% in 2019, a 15 point increase in five years. 75% of companies now conduct annual pay equity audits. And 68% of women in tech participate in Employee Resource Groups that are measurably improving retention outcomes.
| Metric | 2019 | 2024 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Companies that promoted women in tech | 76% | 91% |
| Companies conducting pay equity audits | ~40% | 75% |
| Women in ERGs | N/A | 68% |
| Female bootcamp enrollment | 25% | 36% |
| Women in Web3 (participation) | ~8% (2021) | 27% |
| Female Fortune 500 CEOs | ~6.6% | 8.8% |
Mentorship programs show measurable results as well. Women with mentors report 33% higher job satisfaction and see 25% faster promotions. They are also 38% more likely to stay in tech beyond 5 years.
Companies that have implemented structured hiring interventions, including blind resume reviews, diverse interview panels, and standardized assessments, have seen real results. Google’s combination of these approaches produced a 5% increase in female hires, which at scale translates to thousands of additional hires over time.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Women make up approximately 26.7% of the global tech workforce in 2026, according to Deloitte. In the US, the figure is around 28% of computing roles and 35% of the broader STEM workforce. Representation is lower in specialized fields: 22% in AI, 24% in cybersecurity, and 27% in Web3 and blockchain. At the CTO level specifically, women hold just 15 to 16% of positions globally.
Women in tech earn 84 cents for every dollar men earn overall, a gap of approximately $15,000 per year. In engineering roles, the gap is 10% (90¢ per dollar). In science and research fields, it is 13% (87¢ per dollar). Cybersecurity shows a smaller gap: women earn around $109K globally versus $115K for men. The widest gaps are in Web3 finance roles, where women earn roughly 46% less than their counterparts. For Latina women, the gap reaches 54 cents per dollar. For Black women, it is 63 cents per dollar.
The top barriers are workplace culture (72% of women report environments where they feel they need to prove competence more than peers), the broken rung to management (87 women promoted for every 100 men), lack of mentorship and role models, pay inequity, and disproportionate layoff exposure. In AI and Web3 specifically, women also face a reskilling gap, 63% report lacking AI training access at work. What is working: structured hiring interventions (blind resumes, diverse panels) have lifted female hiring rates by 5%+ at major companies. Mentorship programs improve retention by 38%. Companies linking executive goals to DEI outcomes are seeing measurable progress. And in Web3, grassroots communities like HerDAO and SheFi are building entry pipelines from the ground up.
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References
Sources and References
All statistics cited in this article are drawn from the following primary and secondary research sources. Where a report spans multiple years, the most recent available edition was used.
