2020 Women in Tech Report

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This is the second annual Women in Tech Report published by TrustRadius to celebrate International Women’s day (and women in tech every day). The report addresses critical issues for women in the technology industry in 2020, and incorporates responses from over 700 tech professionals. 

Download the report

Topics explored in the report include:

The survey was open to everyone who works in the tech industry— women, men, and people of all other gender identities. TrustRadius invited its global audience and their networks to take part. We also made a  donation to nonprofit organization Girls Who Code on behalf of participants to thank them for their time.

Here are some of the key findings from the TrustRadius 2020 Women in Tech Report.

2020 Women in Tech Statistics

VC Funding Gap

There is a serious gap in venture capital funding for women-owned startups. Women-founded companies only received 2.3% of VC investment. 58% of women in tech find the VC funding gap very concerning, versus just 31% of men.

Women are 36% more likely to cite underrepresentation at VC firms as a factor. Women are 18% more likely to cite sexism/discrimination as a reason for the VC funding gap.

Gender Pay Gap

The gender pay gap is a persistent issue that affects the personal finances of women in the tech industry. Women who experience the gender pay gap often struggle to negotiate and get visibility into male peers’ salaries. 

In 2019, women working in the tech industry earned 94.6 cents for every dollar earned by a man working in the tech industry. The gender pay gap exists across industries with tech coming in below average.

The average for all industries is women earning 95.1 cents on the dollar.

Men’s and women’s perceptions differ on the wage gap. 45% more women think discrimination and bias is the cause of the wage gap in tech. Men are 3x as likely as women to think that the wage gap is because of a difference in job performance. Only 8% of women agree! 

Visibility of Women in Tech

In recent years, there has been a push for more women to enter STEM fields and join the technology industry. More than 2 out of 3 tech professionals say they’ve noticed more women in the industry, compared to a few years ago. 

But women are still outnumbered by men in the tech industry, and in technical roles especially. Beyond employment numbers, gender dynamics in close working relationships are imbalanced. The typical meeting in the tech industry includes at least three men for every one woman. Less than 1 in 4 women experience equal gender representation in meetings.

The ratio of men to women is highest in Engineering departments. 51% of women engineers say a typical meeting includes five or more men for every one woman.

44% of women say there are almost always other women in meetings with them. 11% of women say there are almost never other women in meetings with them. 2 in 5 say there are sometimes other women in meetings with them.

Benefits

Around 3 in 4 tech professionals say parental leave benefits are a fairly or very important factor in deciding where they want to work. Women are 28% more likely to weigh parental leave benefits very strongly in their employment decisions.

Flexible scheduling is a unique benefit offered by much of the tech industry. The majority of women said flexible scheduling is very important to them. Women are 20% more likely than men to consider flexible scheduling a must-have.

Company Culture

The majority of women in tech have experienced “bro culture.” (Bro culture is the technology industry’s version of the corporate boy’s club, which can make women feel uncomfortable, excluded, or unsafe.)

The perceptions of men and women in the tech industry differ when it comes to how diverse, or how monoculture, a workplace feels. 63% of men consider their companies fairly or very diverse (in terms of gender, race, age, etc.). Only 47% of women agree. Women are more likely to consider less diverse.

Some employers have implemented recruiting programs to increase diversity, and cultural programs to support women and other minorities. 56% of men say their company is making good efforts to recruit women and address gender inequality in the tech industry. Only 48% of women agree. Women are more likely than men to say they’re not sure their company is trying (or trying hard enough) to address gender equality in recruiting.

Confidence

3 out of 4 tech professionals have experienced imposter syndrome at work. Imposter syndrome doesn’t impact every tech professional equally. More women experience feeling out of place or under-qualified compared to coworkers.

The tech industry has a reputation for long hours and overtime. “Always-on” is the norm at some tech companies. Yet women feel more pressure to put in extra work than male colleagues.

Women in tech are optimistic about opportunities for growth in the tech industry. The majority of women are confident they will earn a promotion within the next two years. Despite any added self-doubt or pressure they may feel, women perceive opportunities for growth at around the same rate as men.Whether they grow into higher titles and larger salaries at their current companies, or by moving to a new employer, women in tech see a path forward. 

Mentorship for Women in Tech

It’s more difficult for women to find mentors and role models in the tech industry than it is for men. Just under half (44%) of women found it fairly or very difficult to find mentors/role models in their field. Only 28% of men (less than 1 in 3) found it fairly or very difficult.

Many women said they’ve never had a female mentor in the industry. 

Women of Color in Tech

People of color, women of color and black women especially, are underrepresented in the tech industry. Women of color are less confident in their opportunities for growth in the field than white women. They may face discrimination not just because they’re in a gender minority, but also a racial minority. 

This concern extends to women of color founders. Entrepreneurial women of color face additional obstacles based on their gender and race. Women of color are 13% more concerned about the gender gap in VC funding than white women.

Other forms of job security and compensation are also particularly important to women of color. For example, women of color are 23% more likely than white women to weigh parental leave benefits very strongly in employment decisions.

The challenges and priorities of women of color in tech have been under-acknowledged historically. Women are more likely to identify lack of representation from people of color in their workplace. Nearly half (47%) of women say their companies have below average representation from people of color. 68% of men say their companies are at or above the tech industry average for representation from people of color. Men perceive their companies as more diverse than women, across a range of dimensions including race.

Celebrating Women in Tech  

For more stats about women in tech, and lots of quotes describing the specific experiences of women executives, Black women in tech, women in technical roles, and many others, read the full report.

Download the report

This research was made possible by the employees at IBM, Expedia, Dell, HPE, Microsoft, Indeed, Zenefits, Palo Alto Networks, eBay, Groupon, Clari, WP Engine, Autodesk, Dun & Bradstreet, Sprinklr, Nokia, HEB Digital, Payscale, Bazaarvoice, Accenture, Calendly, SurveyMonkey, Lifesize, Workday, Epicor, BigCommerce, Act-On, LeanData, and many more companies. 

Thank you to the more than 700 tech professionals who took our 2020 Women in Tech survey. 

For questions, comments, and press inquiries, please email pr@trustradius.com.