Learning from women who’ve made it to the top in tech: A BCG report

The technology industry has a challenge—but also an opportunity—when it comes to gender diversity. The challenge: just as they are in many sectors, women are underrepresented in tech leadership. Women make up almost half (47%) of the US workforce, but they hold less than one-third (28%) of the leadership positions in tech. That low level of representation predates COVID-19. Add the pandemic and women shouldering a disproportionate share of the increased childcare burden, and women’s career gains could be seriously undermined down the road.

But there’s also an opportunity here: tech companies that are able expand the roster of women leaders stand to reap tangible benefits. Firms where 30% of leaders are women have a 15% increase in profitability (a net profit margin that is more than 1 percentage point higher) compared with similar firms with no female leaders, according to research from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.¹

So, what propels women ahead in tech—and how can tech firms expand the ranks of female leaders? BCG and Heidrick & Struggles set out to answer those questions, surveying more than 750 female and male tech leaders and conducting in-depth interviews with more than 70 women in tech leadership positions. Among the findings:

• There is no ambition gap. Roughly the same percentage of women and men—62% and 67% respectively—were trying for a promotion.
• Women cite early promotions as critical—more so than men do.
• Women in our survey approached the risk associated with pursuing a promotion or new job differently from men—and women are more likely to see their technical skills as critical to their advancement than men do.
• Although both men and women surveyed agreed that changing employers was a powerful driver of advancement in tech, men changed jobs more frequently than women did.

Our research also identified actions that C-suite executives and hiring managers can take to support women in rising through the ranks at tech companies, as well as actions women themselves can take to improve the odds of advancement.

About the Authors

Neveen Awad (awad.neveen@bcg.com) is a managing director and partner in the Detroit office of Boston Consulting Group; she is a core member of the Technology Advantage practice. 

Alexis Hennessy (ajhennessy@heidrick.com) is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Heidrick & Struggles and a member of the Global Technology & Services practice.

Christine Kim Morse (cmorse@heidrick.com) is a principal in the San Francisco office of Heidrick & Struggles and a member of the Global Technology & Services practice.

Reference

¹  Marcus Noland, Tyler Moran, and Barbara Kotschwar, “Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Survey” (working paper 16-3; February 2016), Peterson Institute for International Economics.