International Women’s Day 2025: A Moment for Reflection

International Women’s Day arrives each year as both a celebration and a reckoning. In the technology industry—one of the most influential and fastest-growing sectors of the global economy—it’s an opportunity to honestly assess where we stand, acknowledge progress, confront setbacks, and recommit to meaningful change.

This year’s theme resonates deeply: progress requires action, not just intention. As we mark IWD 2025, let’s examine the state of women in technology and chart the path forward.

The Wins Worth Celebrating

Amidst persistent challenges, real progress has been made. These wins matter and deserve recognition:

Growing Pipelines

Women now represent 36% of entry-level tech hires, up from 25% a decade ago. This represents thousands more women entering the industry each year—future leaders, innovators, and role models.

Computer science education has seen similar gains. Women earned 22% of CS bachelor’s degrees in 2024, the highest percentage since the mid-1990s. Bootcamps and alternative education pathways have diversified the pipeline further, with women comprising 41% of coding bootcamp graduates.

Venture Capital Movement

While women-founded startups still receive a tiny fraction of venture funding, the conversation has shifted. More women-led VC firms are actively deploying capital. Limited partners are asking fund managers about portfolio diversity. Some progress is finally visible in early-stage funding, even as later stages lag.

Policy Advances

Several jurisdictions have implemented policies supporting women in tech:

• Pay transparency laws in California, Colorado, New York, and the EU force visibility into compensation equity
• Board diversity requirements in California and several European countries are increasing women’s presence in governance
• Expanded parental leave policies in many tech companies now offer 16+ weeks for all parents

Corporate Accountability

More companies are publishing diversity data, setting public goals, and tying executive compensation to diversity metrics. While accountability doesn’t guarantee results, it creates pressure for improvement that was absent a decade ago.

Community and Support

The ecosystem supporting women in tech has never been stronger. Organizations like WomenHack, now operating in over 125 cities worldwide, connect women with opportunities and with each other. Employee Resource Groups, professional networks, mentorship programs, and online communities provide support that previous generations of women in tech largely lacked.

The Setbacks We Must Acknowledge

Honest assessment requires acknowledging where we’ve fallen short or even regressed:

The Leadership Plateau

Despite entry-level gains, progress at senior levels has stalled. Women hold roughly the same percentage of technical leadership roles as five years ago. The “frozen middle”—the barrier between individual contributor and senior leadership—remains intact.

Tech Layoffs Impact

The 2022-2024 tech industry contraction hit diversity initiatives hard. DEI teams were often among the first cut. Early data suggests that diverse employees—particularly those in support and operational roles—were disproportionately affected by layoffs.

The AI Gap

As artificial intelligence becomes central to the technology industry’s future, women represent only 22% of AI professionals—below even overall tech averages. This underrepresentation means women have less influence over technologies that will shape society for decades.

Venture Capital Backslide

After modest gains, funding for women-founded startups actually declined in 2023-2024. Economic uncertainty led investors to retreat to “safe” bets, which often meant male-founded companies with traditional profiles.

Return-to-Office Pressures

The push to return to offices disproportionately challenges women, who were more likely to have relocated during the pandemic and who continue to bear primary caregiving responsibilities. Some women have left the industry rather than sacrifice the flexibility remote work provided.

The Path Forward: What Companies Can Do

Progress requires specific, sustained action. Here’s what forward-thinking companies are doing:

Fix the Hiring Pipeline

Building diverse teams starts with reaching diverse candidates:

• Partner with organizations like WomenHack that specialize in connecting employers with women in tech
• Audit job descriptions for biased language
• Require diverse candidate slates before making offers
• Train interviewers on structured, bias-resistant evaluation

Address the Retention Crisis

Hiring women into hostile environments doesn’t help anyone. Retention requires:

• Meaningful mentorship and sponsorship programs
• Clear, objective promotion criteria
• Regular pay equity audits with adjustment mechanisms
• Zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination

Invest in Development

Women often receive less access to high-visibility projects and stretch assignments. Counteract this by:

• Creating formal processes for opportunity distribution
• Funding external leadership development programs
• Providing executive coaching for high-potential women
• Supporting technical skill development and certifications

Measure and Report

What gets measured gets managed. Effective companies:

• Track diversity metrics at every level
• Analyze promotion and attrition rates by gender
• Conduct regular climate surveys with demographic breakdowns
• Report progress publicly and honestly

The Path Forward: What Individuals Can Do

Systemic change requires collective action, but individual choices matter too:

If You’re a Woman in Tech

• Build your network: Connect with other women in tech through organizations, events, and online communities
• Document your achievements: Keep records of your impact to support promotion conversations
• Negotiate: Research shows women negotiate less often than men—closing this gap closes the pay gap
• Mentor others: Your experience can help the women coming up behind you
• Speak up: When you see bias or discrimination, say something—and support others who do

If You’re an Ally

• Amplify women’s voices: Give credit, pass the mic, and ensure women are heard
• Check your referrals: If your referral network is homogeneous, actively diversify it
• Challenge bias: When you see problematic behavior, address it directly
• Sponsor, not just mentor: Use your influence to actively advocate for women’s advancement
• Be uncomfortable: Change requires discomfort; don’t let that stop you

The Role of Community

No one achieves change alone. Community provides support, accountability, and collective power.

WomenHack exists because community matters. Since our founding, we’ve connected thousands of women with opportunities at companies committed to diversity. Our events in 125+ cities create spaces where women in tech can find jobs, yes—but also find each other.

When women at WomenHack events exchange contact information, share advice, and cheer each other’s successes, they’re building the networks that will support them throughout their careers. That community is as valuable as any individual job connection.

Looking Ahead

International Women’s Day is one day. The work is every day.

Progress isn’t inevitable. It requires intention, investment, and persistence. It requires companies to prioritize diversity not just in speeches but in decisions. It requires individuals to take risks, speak up, and support each other. It requires holding ourselves and our organizations accountable.

The technology industry shapes the modern world. The products we build, the systems we create, the decisions we make—all of it affects billions of people. An industry without women’s perspectives will build a world that doesn’t serve women well.

That’s what’s at stake. That’s why this work matters.

Join the Movement

This International Women’s Day, take action:

• If you’re hiring, partner with WomenHack to build diverse teams
• If you’re job searching, attend a WomenHack event in your city
• If you want to help, share this article, mentor someone, or challenge bias when you see it

Progress is possible. But only if we act. Together.