Women are climbing the ranks in tech. But more are considering walking away

The technology industry has spent years trying to get more women into leadership. But as more women climb the corporate ladder, a growing number are questioning whether the climb is worth it.

According to the Web Summit’s seventh annual Gender in Tech report, nearly half of the 1,000 women surveyed (42%) have considered reducing their working hours, stepping away from leadership roles, or leaving the technology industry altogether. Among women aged 35 to 44, that figure rises to 52%.

The findings highlight a growing contradiction in an industry that has made progress in female representation but continues to struggle with the barriers that prevent women from building sustainable careers.

Nearly nine in 10 respondents (84%) said women hold leadership positions at their companies, including 35% who reported female representation at the C-suite level, but longstanding inequalities remain deeply embedded within the workplace culture.

While the 2026 findings show progress, gender bias and balancing career and family still top the list of barriers. Half of respondents said they continue to experience sexism, while 58% believe they are not paid fairly compared with their male counterparts.

The consequences extend far beyond individual career decisions. More than half of respondents (56%) said they personally know a woman who has already scaled back her career or left the industry entirely. Burnout, health concerns and childcare responsibilities were cited as the most common reasons, reflecting the mounting pressure on women to balance demanding careers with family life and the expectation of “having it all.” The survey found that these pressures outweighed concerns about workplace culture.

The report suggests that the challenge technology faces is not simply getting women through the door or into the boardroom, but creating an environment that makes them want to stay.

The growing appeal of stepping back 

Some of the appeal of stepping away is not simply workplace-related. As women reconsider their careers, the survey also points to a broader cultural shift around work, family and gender roles.

The rise of influencers romanticizing homemaking and domestic life, often associated with the “tradwife” movement, has brought renewed attention to whether women can realistically balance career ambitions with family responsibilities. While some influencers have turned this lifestyle into a lucrative business through social media platforms and personal brands, others see the movement as a response to the pressures of modern work. Yet, 58% of respondents said the trend reinforces and encourages outdated gender expectations.

Beyond these societal pressures, many women second-guess or feel apprehensive about pursuing leadership opportunities.

“I believe one of the biggest challenges is building confidence in women from an early stage. We need to create more opportunities for women to develop not only technical skills, but also the confidence to speak up, take risks, ask for opportunities and see themselves as leaders,” said Grazi Sbardelotto, Marketing VP at Pmweb, Web Summit women in tech ambassador.

“Gender equality is not only about creating a seat at the table; it’s also about empowering women to believe they belong there, take their seat and make their voices heard,” Sbardelotto added.

AI was supposed to fix the gender gap

For half of the respondents, AI’s effect on gender equality is either absent or invisible. Last year, three in four women (75%) believed AI could help make tech more equal. A year on, just 31% say it has. The biggest group (34%) sees no impact at all, and another 16% can’t tell. There is less hope that AI could close the gender gap. Last year, three in four women (75%) believed AI could help make tech more equal. Asked this year whether it actually has, only 31% say yes. Half say it has made no difference at all, or that they cannot tell.

For years, artificial intelligence has been hailed as the technology that would help close the gender gap and create new opportunities as AI automates more tasks. But in the Web Summit’s 2026 Gender in Tech survey, that optimism appears to be fading.

Last year, 75% of respondents believed AI could help make the technology industry more equal. This year, that number fell to just over 30%, with half of respondents saying the technology had not contributed to greater equality at all.

For an industry racing to deploy AI across its operations, the findings raise questions about whether technological advancement is coming at the expense of meaningful progress in workplace culture for women.

“We need to address the barriers women face,” said Carolyn Quinlan, Web Summit’s vice president of community, calling on companies to do more to retain and advance female talent, better support parents and caregivers, and turn commitments to gender equality into meaningful action.

“At Web Summit, our commitment remains steadfast. We will continue to use our global platform to champion these crucial conversations, not shying away from acknowledging the challenges, and support the remarkable women who are redefining what leadership looks like.”

The findings come ahead of Web Summit 2026, which is expected to draw more than 70,000 attendees from over 100 countries to Lisbon in November, where gender equality and the future of women in tech will remain central to the conversation.

As the industry continues to push the boundaries of technological innovation, the challenge is ensuring that technological progress is matched by meaningful progress for the people building it.