Key data & emerging trends
Some of the most salient findings from recent reports:
- According to the Lovelace Report 2025 (by Oliver Wyman in collaboration with WeAreTechWomen), between 40,000 and 60,000 women leave tech roles in the UK each year. (UKTN)
- The cost to the UK economy is estimated at £2 billion to £3.5 billion annually — including losses from women exiting the industry and from churn between employers. (Women in Technology)
- Only around 20% of the UK tech workforce are women. (diversityuk.org)
- In terms of reasons for leaving:
- ~25% cited lack of career advancement. (Techopedia)
- ~17% cited lack of recognition. (Techopedia)
- ~15% cited pay inequity. (Techopedia)
- In contrast, only ~3% of women cited caring responsibilities (childcare/maternity) as their main reason for leaving. (Techopedia)
- Among women in the sector, many report being stuck in “the sticky middle” – after ~6-15 years of experience many look to leave. (Computing)
- From the Tech Talent Charter “Diversity in Tech 2024” report:
- 80% of women say dissatisfaction with career progression played a role in their leaving. (Tech Talent Charter)
- Equitable pay and transparency were flagged as key retention factors. (Tech Talent Charter)
Case studies
Here are three illustrative scenarios showing how and why women leave tech in the UK.
Case study 1: Mid-career engineer stuck at “senior” level
Profile: A woman with 11-20 years in a UK tech company.
Situation: She has undertaken additional certification/training, delivered high performance, but finds that her next promotion has been delayed—waiting more than 3 years for a step up. She senses male colleagues with similar tenure are being promoted more quickly.
Outcome: Feeling frustration at the opaque criteria for advancement, limited recognition of her work, she begins exploring roles outside tech (or in non-technical roles) and may leave entirely.
Key issue demonstrated: Stagnation in career path rather than childcare is the primary driver. This aligns with the Lovelace report finding that 75% of women with 11-20 years’ experience waited > 3 years for promotion. (fairplaytalks.com)
Case study 2: Senior-level female leader exits for non-tech role
Profile: A woman with 20+ years in tech, currently in a senior lead/manager role.
Situation: Despite deep expertise, she realises that her compensation is below the average for her level, and she’s not getting the high-visibility projects that feed into the next leadership tier. She sees fewer role models at C-suite level (female CTOs/CIOs) and feels the pathway to that level is blocked.
Outcome: She chooses to leave the tech company (either for a non-technical role or start‐up, or exit the sector entirely). This triggers churn cost for employer and loss of institutional knowledge.
Key issue: Pay inequity + lack of sponsorship + structural bias. Research: “more than 50% earn below average for their level” among women in tech. (Techopedia)
Case study 3: Younger woman early in career considers leaving
Profile: A woman with 3-10 years’ experience in software development.
Situation: She enjoys the technical role but finds the culture non-inclusive, lacks a clear career map, and sees that men are being channelled into “big strategic projects” while she is assigned “support tasks” or maintenance work. She contemplates moving to non-tech industries (e.g., fintech, data analytics outside core tech) or entirely leaving.
Outcome: She leaves before the “mid-career” window, contributing to the “leaky pipeline”. According to Tech Talent Charter: one in three women plan to leave tech. (GOV.UK Assets)
Key barriers & structural issues
Based on the data and case studies, these are the main barriers:
1. Career progression / “sticky middle”
- Many women get into tech roles but stall mid-career because promotion criteria are opaque, sponsorship is lacking, and high-impact assignments are less available.
- This results in frustration and exit decisions. (eligo.co.uk)
2. Compensation & recognition
- Gender pay gaps persist. Research shows women doing similar roles being under-paid vs peers.
- Women also often do “invisible work” (mentorship, internal committees) not recognised in promotion/pay systems. (Tech Talent Charter)
3. Cultural and structural factors
- Non-inclusive culture, fewer role models and sponsors, male-dominated teams, lack of belonging all contribute. The Tech Talent Charter report emphasises that culture is a significant attrition driver. (GOV.UK Assets)
- Workload expectations, side-tasks, “prove-it-again” biases. (See broader academic literature.) (arXiv)
4. Misattributed reasons (childcare/motherhood)
- Contrary to common belief, caring responsibilities are not the main reason women leave tech — only ~3% cited this in the Lovelace report. (Techopedia)
- However, work-life balance and flexible working do play a role, especially in culture and retention. Other studies (Tech Talent Charter) point to childcare cost/mental load in pay dissatisfaction. (Tech Talent Charter)
5. Talent pipeline & representation challenges
- With women making up only ~20% of tech workforce in the UK, each departure has a large impact on representation. (diversityuk.org)
- The sector is also facing major skills shortages; losing experienced women exacerbates that. (diversityuk.org)
Why this matters — implications
- Economic impact: Losing women from tech not only harms gender equity but also the UK economy via lost innovation, productivity, and increased churn. The £2-3.5 bn annual cost cited. (Women in Technology)
- Workforce/skills risk: With demand for tech/AI/cyber roles rising, losing a segment of the talent pool undermines ability to scale.
- Diversity & innovation: Fewer women in leadership means fewer diverse perspectives in designing products/systems — risk for bias in technology and exclusion of user groups. The Lovelace report notes: “we’re not just losing women… we’re building future systems that will fail to serve everyone.” (Computing)
- Corporate culture/brand risk: Tech firms with poor retention of women risk damage to employer brand, ability to recruit, and a less stable workforce.
- Equity & social justice: From a fairness standpoint, the structures disadvantage half the population, undermining social mobility and inclusion.
What can be done — recommendations
Based on the research and commentary, here are key levers for action:
For employers
- Transparent career pathways: Define and communicate how progression works, ensure women are given high-impact assignments and visible sponsorship.
- Pay equity audits: Review compensation structures, include recognition of non-traditional/“invisible” contributions, ensure pay parity.
- Sponsor & mentor women: Ensure senior leaders actively sponsor female talent into stretch roles and leadership pipelines.
- Inclusive culture & belonging: Build team norms, support networks/affinity groups, ensure women don’t feel isolated.
- Flexible working & return-to-tech initiatives: While childcare may not be the top reason for leaving, flexibility and enabling transitions matter for retention.
- Track metrics: Monitor attrition separately for women (and other under-represented groups), understand when/why they leave, set targets for retention not just entry.
- Role models & representation: Increase visibility of women in senior tech roles and encourage internal movement to leadership.
For policymakers & industry bodies
- Data transparency: Encourage or mandate reporting on gender retention/advancement in tech firms.
- Support programmes: Provide funding or support for mid-career women in tech to upskill, move into leadership, or return after breaks.
- Sector-wide standards: Encourage adoption of best practices for inclusion/retention in tech industry via frameworks (e.g., Tech Talent Charter).
- Skills pipeline investment: Ensure that efforts to increase women’s entry into tech are complemented by efforts to keep them.
- Economic incentives: Recognise the cost of losing talent and design policy accordingly (tax incentives, support for retention programmes, etc.).
Commentary — expert viewpoints
- According to the Lovelace report launch:
“Women are not leaving because of caregiving responsibilities – they are leaving because it’s broken.” (Computing)
- From Tech Talent Charter:
“If we’re not creating transparent and equitable opportunities for advancement, employers must expect women will leave.” (Tech Talent Charter)
- On economic ties:
“Each year between 40,000 and 60,000 women leave their technology jobs in UK. Far from just a statistic, this represents lost potential, lost innovation and lost opportunity for this country.” (fairplaytalks.com)
These comments underline that the issue is less about women choosing to leave, and more about the system failing to retain them.
Summary
In summary:
- The UK tech sector is facing a significant issue with women leaving (or planning to leave) in mid-career.
- The dominant drivers are structural: lack of advancement opportunities, pay/recognition inequities and non-inclusive culture — not primarily childcare/maternity.
- The economic and innovation cost is large, especially given skills shortages ahead.
- Effective solutions will require both employer action (career infrastructure, pay equity, culture) and policy/industry intervention (data, support, incentives).
- Improving entry pipelines (getting more women into tech) is essential—but without retention and progression, the “leaky pipeline” will continue to drain female talent.
- Here’s the case study and commentary version of “Concerns Over Women Leaving the UK Tech Sector”, based on industry data, reports, and first-hand company initiatives:
Case Studies
Case Study 1: Revolut’s Retention Struggles
Fintech giant Revolut faced internal criticism in 2023 for its “always-on” culture that disproportionately affected women balancing family and career. Despite having a 45% female workforce, retention at mid-management level dropped below 30%.
Response: In 2024, the company introduced a flexible hybrid model and parental support programmes, including a mentorship network for women returning after maternity leave. Within a year, Revolut reported a 15% improvement in female retention in tech and product roles.
Lesson: Cultural flexibility and supportive re-entry pathways are key to retaining women in competitive tech environments.
Case Study 2: BT Group’s ‘TechWomen’ Initiative
BT Group launched its ‘TechWomen’ initiative to address gender imbalance across engineering and digital roles. The programme provides structured career mentoring, technical training, and sponsorship opportunities.
Impact: Since 2022, the initiative helped increase women’s representation in digital roles by 18%, and improved progression rates to senior levels by 12%.
Lesson: Structured mentorship and active sponsorship help bridge gender gaps and prevent career stagnation.
Case Study 3: Small Startups and Burnout Barriers
A North East–based AI startup reported that women in developer roles left within 12 months due to burnout and lack of recognition. The founder admitted that while recruitment focused on gender diversity, workplace culture hadn’t evolved to support it.
Response: The startup introduced mental health support, clear promotion pathways, and team diversity audits.
Result: Employee satisfaction improved, and attrition dropped by 25% over six months.
Lesson: Inclusion requires more than hiring targets — culture and recognition mechanisms must follow.
Industry Comments
- TechUK (2025 report): “Women are 50% more likely to leave tech roles within the first five years compared to men. The causes are structural — unequal pay progression, limited mentorship, and lack of belonging in male-dominated teams.”
- Professor Sue Black, Durham University: “Retention isn’t just about hiring women into the sector; it’s about giving them reasons to stay — support, flexibility, and visible pathways to leadership.”
- Women in Tech UK spokesperson: “Companies focusing purely on recruitment metrics risk missing the bigger picture — psychological safety, community, and growth opportunities drive long-term equality.”
Key Takeaways
- Pay equity and promotion transparency remain top priorities for keeping women in the tech pipeline.
- Flexible and hybrid models have proven essential for post-pandemic retention.
- Mentorship, sponsorship, and inclusion policies need to move from HR-led initiatives to company-wide culture.