Cracking the Code: Women in Tech Navigate Economic Shifts

This is your Women in Business podcast. Welcome back to Women in Business. Let’s get right into how women are navigating today’s economic landscape in the tech industry. Right now, the tech world is in a strange moment: cost-cutting, hiring freezes, and constant talk of AI replacing jobs. Yet according to StrongDM and CompTIA, women still hold only about 27 percent of tech roles in the United States, even though women are nearly half of the overall workforce. That gap means every economic shock hits women in tech harder, because we’re still underrepresented when decisions are made about who gets hired, promoted, or laid off. According to McKinsey and Company’s Women in the Workplace research, women are more likely than men to be stuck at the “broken rung” between entry level and first-time manager. In tech, StrongDM reports that about half of women who enter the field leave by age 35. That’s not a pipeline problem; that’s a workplace problem. So the first discussion point is this: in a tightening economy, how do women negotiate not just to get in the door, but to secure stretch roles, leadership titles, and equity so they can afford to stay? The second conversation we need is about the gender pay gap in tech. Data compiled by AIPRM from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows women in computer and mathematical occupations earn roughly 85 to 87 cents on the dollar compared with men. In an inflationary economy, that gap is not abstract; it’s rent, childcare, and savings. So how do women in tech use salary data from places like Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and Blind, and the transparency reports from companies like Salesforce and Adobe, to go into performance reviews armed with real market numbers and the confidence to say, “This is what this role is worth”? Third, we have to talk about AI and next‑generation tech. High5Test and the World Economic Forum report that women hold only about a quarter of roles in AI and data, and closer to 12 percent in cloud computing. Yet these are exactly the areas attracting investment even when companies are cutting back elsewhere. For women in software engineering, product management, UX, or cybersecurity, the strategic move in this economy is reskilling toward AI, data, and cloud certifications from providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, so you’re aligned with the parts of tech that are still growing. Fourth, there is the rise of remote and hybrid work. Research summarized by StrongDM shows that remote options helped many women stay in tech, but also sometimes widened wage gaps when women accepted lower pay for flexibility. In a tighter economy, organizations may call people back to the office. That makes it urgent for women to define their non‑negotiables: which flexibility is essential, and what they will walk away from. It also opens the door to remote‑first companies and global teams where women can compete for roles across borders, not just in Silicon Valley or Bangalore. Fina This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.