Why there are few women in Europe's technology sector
Women make up 19% of employees in key tech roles across Europe in 2025, down 3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to a new report from consultancy McKinsey & Company.
“As AI changes the content of occupations and creates new value-added in the tech industry, gender gaps without targeted action could widen even further,” the document said.
The warning comes as organizations in the U.S. and Europe have begun winding down diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that in the 2010s encouraged women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields – science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Where does the gender gap begin?
The study analyzed 4 million profiles of LinkedIn users working in technology in EU countries. This data was compared with data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as HR statistics from Findem, a platform that uses AI for hiring.
It is noted that women begin to “drop out” of technology and related fields almost as soon as they leave school. In elementary and middle school, girls slightly outperform boys in STEM subjects, but only 32% of female students choose technology-related majors for undergraduate study. At the same time, women are even slightly more likely than men to earn a doctorate (PhD) in STEM fields.
Another obstacle is career advancement. The share of women in technology declines by 18 percentage points even before reaching the management level, resulting in only 13% of management positions. At the senior management level, the gap is even higher, as only 8% of executive and corporate positions are held by women.
In certain segments of the technology sector, the gap is particularly pronounced. In IT companies, the difference between the proportion of women in entry-level positions and those who eventually reach senior management is 15 percentage points.
Focused in a limited number of roles
Women are involved in a narrow set of specialties that are hit hardest by layoffs. They make up 39% of the workforce in product management and 54% in design. However, these positions are rarely a springboard to senior management and represent only a small share of the total employment structure in the European tech sector.
According to the authors, women are also underrepresented in AI. This is particularly worrying against the backdrop of the AI boom.
The study found that women face a gender gap in technology also in countries that are considered leaders in gender equality, such as Finland and Sweden. There, women make up 36% and 23% of the tech workforce, respectively.
The reason for women leaving IT is the corporate culture.
According to a McKinsey survey, almost every second woman has experienced sexism or prejudice in the past year, and 82% said they have to prove their professional worth more than male colleagues.
Women are more likely than men to take on additional unpaid work – they are often perceived as the “social glue” of the team. And parental support measures, such as flexible hours or remote working, can slow down career development for some women.
