ISACA Reveal AI & IT's Role in Balancing Tech's Gender Gap
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital transformation, the technology sector faces a profound challenge that threatens its potential for innovation: persistent gender imbalance.
Recent studies, including SAP's research "More Women in Tech: Industry Fuels Trend to a New Innovation Culture", reveal the critical gaps hindering technological progress.
The rise of AI is creating unprecedented opportunities and challenges for workforce diversity. Emerging roles such as data scientist, prompt engineer, ethics expert, and user experience designer are expanding beyond traditional programming paradigms.
However, this technological evolution comes with a significant caveat: AI systems risk perpetuating existing societal biases through their training data.
Current statistics underscore the magnitude of this challenge. Women currently hold only a quarter of tech-related jobs, with even smaller representations in emerging technological domains like cloud computing and data roles.
The gender imbalance is not merely an ethical concern but a fundamental impediment to technological innovation. By excluding diverse perspectives, the tech industry limits its potential for breakthrough solutions and comprehensive problem-solving.
“AI inherits bias from the humans who program it, who, more often than not, are white men”, as Eva Zauke, Global Head of SAP Enterprise Adoption pointed out.
Adding to SAP's research is ISACA's comprehensive Tech Workplace and Culture report, which shed new light on this enduring issue, this time revealing a striking disconnect between industry awareness and actionable change.
Barriers to women's growing in tech
ISACA's comprehensive research reveals a stark contradiction in the technology sector's approach to gender diversity.
Despite widespread recognition of the gender imbalance, with 87% of IT professionals acknowledging the lack of diversity, only 41% of organisations have developed concrete strategies to address this critical issue.
This profound disconnect highlights a significant challenge in the tech industry. While companies universally recognise the problem, their actionable commitment remains disappointingly limited.
The implications extend far beyond mere statistics: diverse teams have consistently demonstrated superior innovation, more robust problem-solving capabilities, and enhanced financial performance.
- 87% of IT professionals agree that there is a lack of gender diversity in the sector, yet only 41% of businesses have programmes in place to hire more women
- 43% of women respondents (and 21% of men) say the lack of representation of women in tech roles is because most IT role models and leaders are male
- 42% of women respondents said this is because of pay inequality, compared to 15% of men who responded
A striking 43% of female respondents identified the overwhelming male representation in leadership roles as a significant professional barrier, a perspective acknowledged by 21% of their male counterparts.
Pay inequality emerged as another critical concern, with 42% of women highlighting financial discrepancies compared to merely 15% of men. This substantial perception gap underscores the urgent need for transparent compensation strategies and genuine commitment to equity.
The research further revealed nuanced differences in professional self-perception. Male participants consistently reported higher levels of perceived workplace authority, with particularly pronounced variations in strategic decision-making. Specifically, men rated their influence 13% higher in purchasing decisions and 10% higher in contributing to company strategy, revealing systemic confidence and opportunity disparities that extend beyond mere representation statistics.
Assuaging though education
Looking into what can be done about the issue, ISACA primarily highlights educational institutions having a crucial role to play in fostering gender inclusion in tech and survey respondents drew several strategies that could make a difference.
- 52% recommended providing mentors or role models for women in tech
- 42% suggested establishing tech clubs and networking organisations for women
- 31% advocated for hiring more female tech professors
“The representation of women in the IT and technology sector” and what “needs to be done to welcome their leadership and influence," says Julia Kanouse, Chief Membership Officer at ISACA. "This will not only help to address the global skills gap and boost productivity in the sector – it will also create a more inclusive and diverse working environment.”
Progress a priority
Despite the persistent challenges facing women in technology, the ISACA survey revealed some encouraging signs of professional satisfaction and progression. Approximately 68% of women and 72% of men reported being extremely or very satisfied with their career advancement, suggesting a degree of optimism within the sector.
Moreover, the research indicated that 73% of women and 71% of men had received a salary increase or promotion within the past two years, pointing to potential opportunities for professional growth. However, these seemingly positive figures must be contextualised against the broader industry landscape, where women currently occupy just 26.7% of tech-related positions.
This statistic, drawn from multiple sources including comprehensive US tech industry data, underscores the significant structural barriers that remain. While individual experiences may be positive, the systemic underrepresentation of women in technology continues to represent a critical challenge for the industry's long-term innovation and diversity objectives.
This is highlighted by the fact the percentage of women in all tech-related careers has actually decreased over the last two years.
Global gender disparities
Regional variations in gender representation within technology reveal a complex global landscape. Nordic countries have emerged as leaders in female tech participation, demonstrating more progressive workplace cultures and structural support for women's professional advancement.
Despite these geographical differences, the fundamental challenges facing women in technology remain strikingly consistent across international boundaries. This suggests a systemic issue that transcends local contexts, demanding coordinated global strategies for meaningful change.
The intersectionality of gender and race further amplifies these disparities. Women of colour experience particularly stark economic inequities, with Latina and Black women earning approximately US$52,000 annually, compared to US$85,000 for white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. These figures not only highlight wage gaps but also underscore the multilayered barriers preventing full professional representation and advancement in the technology sector.
“Having a workforce of people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to bring to the table is not only the right thing to do – it's also a business imperative that makes an organisation more innovative and its work that much more efficient and effective," says Sarah Orton, UK and Europe lead for ISACA's SheLeadsTech initiative.
Yet Sarah also highlights the progression that has been made: “Encouragingly, women have near-equal career progression satisfaction to their male counterparts and are slightly more likely to have received a raise or a promotion in the last two years.
“Progress has been made – but the sector has more work to do, and ISACA is supporting this important work.”
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