Why 55% of Women Leave the UK Tech Sector Within Five Years — And What It's Costing the Economy
Talent Management / Employee Experience | 5 min read
New research commissioned by cybersecurity company Akamai and conducted by Censuswide — surveying 1,500 UK women who have left a technology role — has confirmed a pattern that has long been suspected but rarely quantified with this precision: 55% of women leave the UK tech sector within five years of entering it, and 87% have left within ten years. The research, published in April 2026, splits across two groups — 1,000 women who have left a tech job and 500 who returned to the sector after a career break — and captures the reasons behind their departure in detail. The headline findings are stark: 52% cited a lack of sense of belonging and 40% cited a lack of gender diversity in leadership as key reasons for leaving. These are not pipeline problems. They are retention failures — and they are costing the UK economy between £2 billion and £3.5 billion every year.
"Women aren't leaving tech because they can't do the work. They're leaving because the environment makes it harder to stay than to go."
— Ellie Smith, Research Director EMEA, Catalyst
It Is Not Caregiving — It Is Career Stagnation
One of the most significant findings across this and related research — including the Lovelace Report, published in collaboration between Oliver Wyman and WeAreTechWomen — is the demolition of the persistent myth that women leave tech because of childcare or family commitments. Only 3% of women surveyed in the Lovelace research cited caregiving as their main reason for leaving. The actual drivers are structural: 25% cited a lack of career advancement, 17% cited inadequate recognition, and 15% cited pay inequity. From the Akamai/Censuswide research, workplace culture is the dominant theme — with lack of belonging (52%) and lack of gender diversity in leadership (40%) ranking as the top two. The pattern is consistent: women are leaving at precisely the point their careers should be accelerating. The Lovelace Report found that attrition peaks between six and fifteen years of experience — the mid-career window when women should be stepping into senior leadership. More than 75% of women with 11–20 years of experience had waited over three years for a promotion; for those with more than 20 years, nearly 40% had waited more than five. The industry average wait for a promotion is two years — for men. Over 50% of women are being paid below the average for their level, despite 70% having invested in additional qualifications or leadership training.
The Scale of the Problem — and the Economic Cost
Between 40,000 and 60,000 women leave the UK tech sector every year — either exiting the industry entirely or moving to a new tech employer. The Lovelace Report estimates this costs the UK economy between £1.4 billion and £2.2 billion annually in lost economic value from those who leave the industry, with an additional £640 million to £1.3 billion in churn costs (lost productivity, recruitment, and onboarding expenses) from those who move between tech employers. From the Akamai/Censuswide data, those who have left have not left the workforce entirely: while 15% are currently not working, the remainder have moved into finance (13%), education (13%), professional services (12%), and healthcare (12%) — taking their skills, experience, and institutional knowledge with them. Women currently make up just 20–22% of UK tech specialists, and the overall proportion has fallen by approximately 7% over the last five years while the number of men in the sector has grown by 11.5%. This is happening at precisely the moment the UK needs to scale its tech workforce. The sector already faces a shortage of 98,000 to 120,000 professionals, and the government has committed to scaling the national AI workforce and increasing AI research capacity twentyfold by 2030.
"As an economist, the first reaction that comes to my mind is: what a costly inefficiency and persistent misallocation of talent, especially in sectors that can least afford it. In more than two decades of work across countries and industries, one pattern remains strikingly consistent: the tech sector has never been at the forefront of gender equity, and there are few signs that this is about to change."
— Aniela Unguresan, Founder, Edge Certified Foundation
What Women Need to Return — and What Leaders Must Do
The Akamai/Censuswide data on the 500 women who returned to the sector after a career break is instructive. The top reasons for returning were: higher salary (52%), better work-life balance (43%), and better career progression (43%). The research also found that the majority could be persuaded to return under the right conditions — pointing to the importance of formal re-entry pathways, support at the point of return, and clear advancement routes once back. For organisations seeking to address this, the research and expert commentary points to a consistent set of requirements: transparent gender pay gap reporting and genuine pay equity; structured, time-bound promotion pathways with gender metrics tracking to intervene when individuals are stalled; culture change that creates environments where it is genuinely acceptable to be a woman in leadership; sponsorship and access to high-impact work for mid-career women; and multi-brand flexible working policies shaped by employee feedback rather than managerial discretion. Ellie Smith of Catalyst notes that women in male-dominated fields face greater scrutiny, higher expectations, and increased discrimination — perceived as either too soft or too tough, but never quite right for leadership, and held to higher performance standards while being rewarded less.
Key Takeaways
- • Akamai/Censuswide research (1,500 UK women surveyed, March 2026; 1,000 who left a tech role, 500 who returned after a career break): 55% of women leave the UK tech sector within five years; 87% have left within ten years. Top reasons: lack of sense of belonging (52%) and lack of gender diversity in leadership (40%). Company culture — not caregiving — is the dominant driver of exit.
- • The caregiving myth is definitively disproven: only 3% of women cite caring responsibilities as their main reason for leaving (Lovelace Report, Oliver Wyman/WeAreTechWomen). The real drivers are structural — lack of career advancement (25%), inadequate recognition (17%), pay inequity (15%), poor culture and lack of support. Attrition peaks at six to fifteen years — the mid-career window when women should be stepping into senior leadership.
- • Scale and economics: 40,000–60,000 women leave UK tech every year. Cost to the economy: £2–£3.5 billion annually (£1.4–£2.2B from industry exits; £640M–£1.3B from churn). Women account for just 20–22% of UK tech specialists — down ~7% over five years while male tech headcount grew 11.5%. Of those who left, 15% are currently not working; the rest moved into finance, education, professional services, and healthcare.
- • Career stagnation data: 75%+ of women with 11–20 years experience waited 3+ years for promotion; ~40% with 20+ years waited 5+ years. Industry norm for men: ~2 years. 50%+ of women earn below average for their seniority level despite 70% having invested in extra qualifications or leadership training. 90% want to move into management; only 25% believe it will happen easily. Promotion pathways are unclear, access to high-impact work is limited, and systems reward familiarity over potential.
- • Why this matters now: UK faces a tech talent shortage of 98,000–120,000 professionals, and needs to scale the national AI workforce twentyfold by 2030. Women who returned cited higher salary (52%), work-life balance (43%), and better career progression (43%) as reasons for returning — signalling that the majority could be brought back under the right conditions. Structural fixes required: pay transparency, gender metrics on promotion tracking, formal re-entry pathways, culture change, and access to high-impact work at mid-career.