Women hold 25 percent of computing jobs in the United States. Half of women in tech leave their roles within ten years. The statistics that follow track participation from degree programs through leadership positions and identify the points of largest decline.
Key Takeaways
- 71% of women in CS cite lack of advancement as top challenge 2022 AnitaB
- Women CEOs in tech firms: 5% Fortune 500 tech 2023
- In 1984, women earned 37% of all Bachelor's degrees awarded in computer science in the United States, marking the historical peak
- Women's CS enrollment up 120% since 2014 interventions U.S.
- Women hold 25% of U.S. computing jobs per BLS 2022 data
Women are making important gains in computing, but substantial gaps still remain in leadership.
Related reading
01 · Category
Barriers And Challenges24 stats
01
71% of women in CS cite lack of advancement as top challenge 2022 AnitaB
02
50% of women leave tech within 10 years vs 17% men NCWIT 2021
03
Sexual harassment reported by 31% of women in tech 2022
04
Microaggressions experienced daily by 42% female tech workers 2023
05
Lack of belonging cited by 38% women in CS 2022 McKinsey
06
63% women in tech faced gender bias in performance reviews 2023
07
Imposter syndrome affects 56% of women in tech vs 42% men 2022
08
Family responsibilities cause 29% of women to leave tech 2021
09
Pay inequity: women earn 84% of male CS salaries U.S. 2022 AAUW
10
44% women avoid CS due to stereotype threat high school 2023
11
Online harassment in CS communities: 24% women affected 2022
12
Lack of female role models cited by 52% aspiring women 2023
13
35% women report exclusion from tech networks 2022
14
Maternal leave gap: only 23% companies offer equal paternity leave 2023
15
Ageism + sexism: women over 40 leave tech 2x faster 2022
16
28% women in CS experienced retaliation for reporting bias 2023
17
Cultural fit bias excludes 40% women hires in tech 2022
18
61% women say flexible work lacking in tech firms 2023 Gartner
19
Racial bias compounds: 67% Black women face dual discrimination 2022
20
49% women deterred by aggressive work culture in CS 2021
21
Mental health impact: 37% higher burnout for women in tech 2023
22
Visa challenges for international women in U.S. tech: 15% sponsorship gap 2022
23
55% women report no sponsorship for conferences 2023
24
Algorithmic bias in hiring tools disadvantages women 22% more 2022
Interpretation
Barriers And Challenges Interpretation
Across the barriers and challenges women in computer science face, the data shows persistent workplace exclusion and inequity, with 71% citing lack of advancement as a top issue and 63% reporting gender bias in performance reviews.
02 · Category
Career Progression27 stats
01
Women CEOs in tech firms: 5% Fortune 500 tech 2023
02
Female CTOs in U.S. public tech companies: 4.1% 2023
03
Women promoted to VP in tech: 28% less likely than men 2022 McKinsey
04
In tech leadership, women hold 10% of C-suite roles 2023
05
Female VPs in engineering at top tech: avg 8% 2022
06
Women reach senior manager in tech 87% slower than men 2023
07
Black women in tech exec roles: 1.6% 2022
08
Retention rate for women in tech leadership: 56% after 5 years vs 68% men
09
Women promoted from engineer to manager in tech: 12% rate 2023
10
In academia, women CS full professors: 19% U.S. 2022
11
Female CS associate professors: 25% U.S. 2022
12
Women department chairs in CS: 15% at U.S. universities 2023
13
Patent holders women in CS fields: 12% U.S. 2022 USPTO
14
Female principal investigators in CS NSF grants: 18% 2022
15
Women winning Turing Awards in CS: 3 out of 76 as of 2023
16
Female ACM Fellows from CS: 11% of total 2023
17
In VC funding, women-led tech startups get 2% of funds 2022
18
Promotion parity gap: women 20% less likely in tech mid-career 2023 Gartner
19
Women in tech board seats: 15% S&P 500 tech 2023
20
Female earnings in CS: 92 cents to male dollar U.S. 2022
21
Senior women leave tech at 2x rate of men after promotion 2022
22
Women mentors in tech: 25% of mentors are female 2023 LinkedIn
23
In open source, women contributors: 10% GitHub 2023
24
Female conference speakers in CS: 18% top conferences 2022
25
Women 35% less likely to negotiate salary in tech entry-level 2023
26
45% of women in tech aspire to C-suite vs 52% men 2022 Deloitte
27
Women report 27% more bias in promotions tech 2023
Interpretation
Career Progression Interpretation
Women’s advancement in tech is not just slower but increasingly limited at higher levels, with women promoted to VP 28% less likely than men, reaching senior manager 87% slower, and holding only about 10% of C-suite roles in 2023.
03 · Category
Educational Attainment29 stats
01
In 1984, women earned 37% of all Bachelor's degrees awarded in computer science in the United States, marking the historical peak
02
By 2019, women received only 22% of Bachelor's degrees in computer science from U.S. universities, a decline from previous decades
03
In 2021, women accounted for 25.5% of undergraduate degrees in computer and information sciences in the U.S., showing slight improvement
04
At the Master's level in 2020, women earned 29% of degrees in computer science across U.S. institutions
05
Women comprised 21.9% of PhD recipients in computer science in the U.S. in 2022
06
In 2018, only 19% of computer science AP exam takers in U.S. high schools were female
07
Female enrollment in introductory computer science courses at U.S. colleges rose to 32% in 2022 from 25% in 2017
08
In 2020, women made up 28% of computer science majors at top 50 U.S. universities
09
Black women earned 2.5% of computer science Bachelor's degrees in the U.S. in 2021
10
Hispanic women received 4.1% of CS Bachelor's in 2021 U.S.
11
Asian women earned 12.3% of CS Bachelor's degrees in U.S. 2021
12
White women held 64% of female CS Bachelor's recipients in 2021 U.S.
13
In 2019, women were 18% of CS graduates from Ivy League schools
14
Female CS enrollment at community colleges reached 27% in 2020 U.S.
15
In 2022, 24% of CS Associate degrees went to women in U.S.
16
Women pursuing CS certifications online grew 15% YoY in 2023 via Coursera data
17
In UK, women were 21% of CS undergraduates in 2021/22
18
Indian women earned 43% of CS engineering degrees in 2020
19
In Canada, women received 23% of CS Bachelor's in 2021
20
Australian women comprised 25% of ICT Bachelor's graduates in 2022
21
In 2021 U.S., women were 20% of CS PhD students at R1 universities
22
Female high school CS participation hit 35% in some U.S. states like Maryland in 2022
23
Women in CS bootcamps were 28% of enrollees in 2023 U.S.
24
In 2020, 26% of online CS degree completers were women globally via edX
25
EU women earned 22% of informatics degrees in 2019
26
In 2022, women were 30% of CS minors at U.S. liberal arts colleges
27
Brazilian women received 35% of CS Bachelor's in 2021
28
South African women were 24% of ICT graduates in 2020
29
In Japan, women earned 18% of information science degrees in 2021
Interpretation
Educational Attainment Interpretation
From the educational attainment perspective, women’s representation in U.S. computer science degrees has fallen sharply from the 37% peak in 1984 to 22% of bachelor’s degrees by 2019, with only a modest rebound to 25.5% at the undergraduate level by 2021 and 29% at the master’s level in 2020.
More related reading
04 · Category
Initiatives And Progress20 stats
01
Women's CS enrollment up 120% since 2014 interventions U.S.
02
Girls Who Code reached 500k girls, boosting CS interest 30% 2023
03
#YesWeCode trained 30k women of color in CS by 2022
04
Tech Inclusion Sweden doubled female CS grads 20% rise 2021
05
AnitaB.org Grace Hopper Celebration grew to 30k attendees 2023
06
CS50 CS50x female completers 25% Harvard online 2023
07
Black Girls Code served 20k girls, 40% pursue CS majors 2022
08
EU Women4Cyber initiative trained 10k women by 2023
09
India's Women in Tech policy increased female enrollment 15% 2022
10
U.S. NSF ADVANCE boosted women CS faculty 12% at grantee unis 2021
11
Code.org CS fundamentals 50% female participation in elem schools 2023
12
Women@Google internal programs retain 15% more women 2022
13
AspireIT NCWIT engaged 100k K-12 girls, 25% interest boost 2023
14
UK Tech Nation Women in Tech report shows 18% workforce gain 2022
15
She++ mentorship doubled female tech internships 20% 2023
16
Million Women Mentors reached 2M girls, CS pipeline up 10% 2022
17
Canada's Women in STEM strategy: 22% enrollment rise 2021
18
OpenAI diversity hiring increased female engineers 25% 2023
19
Techstars Women accelerators funded 500 startups 80% retention 2022
20
Kapor Center fixed 30 bugs causing 35% female dropout in CS courses 2023
Interpretation
Initiatives And Progress Interpretation
Across U.S. and global efforts, these initiatives are driving measurable momentum, such as Women’s CS enrollment rising 120% since 2014 and Girls Who Code reaching 500k girls, showing that sustained programs can translate into significant, category aligned progress.
05 · Category
Workforce Representation27 stats
01
Women hold 25% of U.S. computing jobs per BLS 2022 data
02
In software development, women are 21% of professionals in U.S. 2023
03
Women comprise 19% of IT managers in U.S. per BLS Q1 2023
04
In tech industry overall, women are 26% of workforce as of 2022
05
Female representation in cybersecurity jobs is 20% U.S. 2023
06
Women are 15% of AI/ML engineers in U.S. firms 2022
07
In Silicon Valley tech, women hold 17% of tech roles 2022
08
UK women in computing occupations: 20% in 2022 ONS data
09
Indian IT sector employs 34% women as of NASSCOM 2023
10
Canadian women in computer occupations: 25% per StatCan 2022
11
Australian women in ICT: 28% ABS 2022 data
12
In EU, women are 17% of ICT specialists 2022 Eurostat
13
U.S. women in data science roles: 27% 2023
14
Black women are 3% of U.S. tech workforce 2022
15
Hispanic women 5% of U.S. computing workforce 2022 BLS
16
Women over 50 in tech: 12% U.S. 2023
17
In startups, women founders in tech: 2.3% solo 2022
18
Female contractors in tech: 22% Upwork 2023 data
19
Women in cloud computing: 19% globally 2022
20
U.S. women in QA/testing: 40% 2023 Stack Overflow
21
Female DevOps engineers: 14% U.S. 2022
22
Women in big tech (FAANG): avg 30% overall, 15% tech roles 2023
23
In gaming industry, women devs 22% 2022 IGDA
24
Female UX/UI designers: 65% U.S. 2023
25
Women in blockchain/crypto tech: 8% 2023
26
U.S. women in help desk/IT support: 35% BLS 2022
27
In finance tech (fintech), women 32% 2022
Interpretation
Workforce Representation Interpretation
Women remain significantly underrepresented in the computer science workforce, ranging from 15% of AI and ML engineers to 25% of U.S. computing jobs, showing that gaps persist across multiple roles rather than improving uniformly.
report visual · Comparison
Barriers to advancement and retention for women in CS
Across multiple measures, women report higher rates of challenges, and women are more likely to leave or be blocked from advancement than men.
Women reach senior manager in tech 87% slower than men 202387%
71% of women in CS cite lack of advancement as top challenge 2022 AnitaB
71%
63% women in tech faced gender bias in performance reviews 2023
63%
50% of women leave tech within 10 years vs 17% men NCWIT 2021
50%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Women In Computer Science Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/women-in-computer-science-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Women In Computer Science Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/women-in-computer-science-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Women In Computer Science Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/women-in-computer-science-statistics.
Sources & references
84 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level