This year marks 11 years since Satya Nadella told women to have "faith that the system will actually give you the right raises".
Many studies have shown that women are underpaid compared to their male counterparts. Collective karma will not save us.
In the United States, the share of women in software developer roles has remained around 20% between 2014 and 2024. Despite ongoing conversations about gender equity in tech, available labor statistics show only modest change over the decade.
Quick Comparison: 2014 vs 2024 (U.S.)
| Year | % Women in Software Developer Roles | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ~20% | Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2014 edition) reports the share of women in software developer occupations (BLS 2014). |
| 2024 | ~20% (≈19.7–20.3%) | Current BLS CPS detailed occupation tables and the Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (most recent edition) show software developers are roughly 20% women (BLS 2022) (CPS Table 11). |
Comparison of Women in Technical/STEM Jobs
| Measure | Approx. 2014 | Approx. 2024 | Notes / Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s share of STEM workforce (overall) | ~27% (ACS estimates) | ~35% (ACS estimates in 2021/2024 reports) | Women historically ~27% of STEM workers as of 2019. By early 2020s estimates have risen closer to ~35% (Census.gov). |
| Women in computer & mathematical occupations | ~26% | ~25–26% | Reports show women ~25–26% of computing roles recently; similar shares appeared throughout 2010s (National Girls Collaborative Project). |
| Women in engineering occupations | ~15% | ~15–17% | Engineering remains male‑dominated with modest increases; ~15–17% women in engineering roles (Pew Research Center). |
Note: Percentages reflect the share of workers in software developer roles (including systems and applications software development) who identify as women. These figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey (CPS) and related “Women in the Labor Force” reports.
What the Numbers Tell Us
Little Change Over a Decade
Although the absolute number of women in tech roles may have increased (due to overall job growth), the proportion has been largely stable.
Factors Affecting Representation
Occupational Definitions
- Government occupational categories may vary over time; however, consistent CPS reporting helps compare across years.
What This Doesn’t Mean
- These numbers do not capture variations by company, region, or subfield (e.g., front-end vs back-end, systems vs application engineering).
- They do not reflect intersectional data (e.g., how race and gender interact), which can reveal even greater disparities.
- Peer-reviewed research on developer communities (e.g., Stack Overflow, GitHub) may show lower female participation in some samples — but those are specific communities, not national workforce estimates.
So what do we do?
Well... We still don't know. Whatever we're doing for hiring and retention isn't working. It's not realizing into material changes in the percentage of women in software engineering. We have to try new things instead of trotting out the tired "go to a bootcamp", "get a CS degree (or Master's degree if already holding a Bachelors)", or "make a women's ERG at work".
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