A new survey of women working in the technology sector highlights continuing concerns over workplace harassment, gender bias, career progression and the growing impact of artificial intelligence.
A survey of 634 women working in technology has revealed a mixed picture of the industry, with many respondents reporting career satisfaction and fair treatment while also describing persistent sexism, harassment and growing disillusionment with the sector.
The survey, conducted by WIRED, found that 70% of respondents believed they were paid fairly, while 64% said they were satisfied with their careers in technology. Some 63% were confident that their employers promoted and compensated women fairly, and 76% said their companies took harassment and discrimination seriously.
However, when asked whether the technology sector had become a better place for women compared with five years ago, 47% said it was either unchanged or worse. More than one-third of respondents said they had experienced or witnessed gender-based harassment or bias at work.
Harassment and bias remain widespread
Respondents described a range of experiences, including being talked down to by male colleagues, being passed over for promotions, being paid less than male peers and having their expertise questioned because they were women.
Some also reported more serious incidents, including sexual harassment by supervisors and inappropriate behaviour by senior executives.
One respondent with three decades of experience said colleagues continued to speak to her as though she were incompetent. Another said male clients had assumed she was a secretary or dispatcher before discovering she was the company’s CEO.
The survey also highlighted the persistence of workplace cultures in which women’s contributions can be overlooked. One respondent said that some male colleagues automatically treated women’s opinions as less valuable, adding that the situation had not improved in the past 10 to 15 years.
AI adds a new layer of uncertainty
Artificial intelligence has become another source of concern. Some 86% of respondents said they used AI for work at least several times a week.
While some women said AI had reduced their workload, others described spending significant amounts of time checking and correcting AI-generated material. Respondents also raised concerns that AI could reproduce or amplify existing workplace biases.
Some said they were being pressured to use AI tools even when they believed the resulting work was poor. Others expressed concerns about job losses, environmental costs, intellectual property issues and the concentration of wealth associated with the AI boom.
The survey also found that attitudes toward AI varied significantly depending on respondents’ roles and circumstances, with some viewing the technology as a useful productivity tool and others seeing it as a source of job insecurity.
Diversity efforts face a changing landscape
The survey comes amid a broader retreat from corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the US technology industry.
WIRED noted that Google, Meta and Microsoft have stopped publicly reporting some of the workforce diversity data they previously disclosed. Nvidia continues to publish workforce figures. Its 2026 sustainability report shows women account for 17.4% of its technical workforce, 19.4% of managers and 14.8% of leadership positions. Women make up 40% of its executive officers.
The technology industry’s gender gap is not new. Earlier efforts to improve transparency, including public diversity reports introduced by major technology companies in the 2010s, helped put workforce composition under greater scrutiny. But the latest survey suggests that progress in representation has not necessarily eliminated problems within workplace culture.
A sector facing growing disillusionment
Despite the negative experiences reported by many respondents, the survey also found that women continue to build careers and find opportunities in technology.
The responses nevertheless point to a growing sense of frustration with an industry increasingly dominated by rapid AI adoption, restructuring and pressure to deliver more with fewer resources.
Some respondents described feeling overworked and disconnected from senior management, while others said they had become increasingly cynical about the industry’s leadership and direction.
The findings suggest that, for many women in technology, the debate is no longer simply about getting more women into the industry. It is also about whether the culture and working conditions they encounter once they arrive have changed enough to make long-term careers sustainable.
Be First to Comment