‘This isn’t a pipeline problem; it’s a leadership one’: Women are leaving tech roles at the peak of their careers – and taking vital skills elsewhere

Nine-in-ten women leave the tech sector after ten years, taking vital skills and expertise to other sectors like finance and professional services.

That's according to new research from Akamai, which found that women are leaving tech roles at a pivotal point in their careers, prompting calls to offer better pay, career progression, and flexibility to buck the trend.

The survey of 1,500 women in the UK showed that 55% of women leave tech roles or tech companies after five years of being in the industry, with 87% departing within ten years.

They largely head to finance, education, professional services and healthcare, the report said.

"We lose women from cybersecurity at the exact moment their expertise becomes most valuable," said Zoe Mackenzie, President of Women in CyberSecurity UK. "This isn’t a pipeline problem; it’s a leadership one."

Why women leave tech

According to Akamai, more than a third left by choice and did not want to return to tech, while 31% said they left mostly by choice and now preferred their current situation.

The women polled said they departed the tech sector largely because they didn't feel a sense of belonging, cited by 52% of respondents.

Notably, a lack of gender diversity in company leadership was highlighted by 40% of women polled, suggesting drastic changes to corporate culture are needed to prevent continued attrition.

The poll was split into two sections: women who had left tech, and those who had left but then returned.

Four-in-ten women who had departed the sector said they would come back under the right conditions, notably flexible working arrangements, hybrid working, and improved work-life balance.

That echoes previous research that suggests half of women who left the tech sector did so due to conflicts with caring commitments, though it's worth noting hybrid working and other flexible arrangements are widely popular regardless of roles or gender.

Of those who had come back already, more than half said they were motivated by a higher salary, while four-in-ten said they needed better work-life balance and clear career progression.

"The findings provide a valuable picture of what mid‑career women are looking for in order to return to tech, and it’s encouraging to see that the majority could be persuaded to come back under the right conditions," said Hazel Little, the CEO of Career Returners.

"Progression pathways are crucial for retaining talent, but equally important is ensuring that women who want to return have clear, supported ways to re-enter the sector in the first place. When employers build both return pathways and progression pathways, they create an environment where women can come back, grow and stay."

Tech sector attrition

The Akamai report marks the latest in a string of studies pointing to a concerning trend of female attrition in the tech sector.

According to last year's Lovelace Report, between 40,000 and 60,000 women leave the sector each year. This level of attrition has a direct impact on economic growth, the study noted.

At current rates, the departure of women costs the UK tech sector an estimated £2 billion ($2.7bn) to £3.5 billion ($4.7bn) each year.

Other reports, meanwhile, suggest that women leave the tech sector at twice the rate of their male colleagues.

The gender diversity gap in tech leadership has become a recurring talking point for the sector. Akamai’s study specifically highlighted this issue as a key factor in why women leave the sector, and that tracks with figures on diversity rates in higher-level roles.

Between 20% to a quarter of the UK tech sector is made up of women, yet that isn’t reflected in leadership positions. Official government figures suggest women account for just 5% of leadership positions across the industry.

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