What’s Holding Back Women in Tech?

Technology companies have disrupted other industries with apps that dispatch cars, housekeepers or pizzas in a matter of minutes. But tech firms lag behind those old-line businesses when it comes to advancing women. That is the main finding of a McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.Org report on the status of women in tech.

Not only are women underrepresented at all levels of technology firms, particularly in key engineering, product and finance roles, researchers found, but plenty of those women also believe that their gender is holding them back at work. The data, gathered from 26 tech companies and a survey of about 9,000 male and female employees, suggests that women currently in tech feel pessimistic about the climate in their companies. Some 29.9% of female tech employees polled said they felt gender played a role in their missing a promotion or raise, and 37.1% of female tech employees said they felt their gender would disadvantage them in the future. In nontech fields, a smaller share of women—21.6% and 22.8% respectively—felt that way. Some female executives say that stems from a paucity of women leading tech companies. “If you can’t see an example of what you could be, you really aren’t going to have that extra incentive to break through any types of barriers,” said Julia Hartz, co-founder and president of online ticketing platform Eventbrite Inc. The predominantly male cultures at many tech companies can make them lonely places for women, said Caroline Simard, senior director of research at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, which works with companies to identify and root out gender bias .“When you’re the only woman in the room, such as in a top leadership position in a tech company, that feeling of isolation on a day-to-day basis can be difficult,” Simard said.