Why Women in Tech Are No Longer Gaining Ground in Switzerland

In 2022, I wrote about the return of women to tech in Switzerland. Since 2023, the numbers have stagnated. On the trail of possible causes.

Let’s share the good news first: the change of (political) climate around diversity and inclusion hasn’t yet had catastrophic consequences on the tech industry in Switzerland — at least when we look at the raw data, particularly the representation of women in tech.

Interestingly though, the clear upwards trend since 2018, that I wrote about here, has come to a halt in 2023. The numbers have stagnated at around 20.5% in the last two years. What has changed?

In the following, I am laying out three potential causes for stagnation based on research and data, and I will propose what could help:

• Entry pipeline limitations: Pivot from retention to attraction
• Perception of tech: Support teachers with STEM education
• Economic climate: Continuous commitments to inclusion

Let’s dive in…

Entry pipeline limitations

The steady increase of women in tech between 2018–2022 was attributed to boot camps, career changers, tech communities, foreign talent, and new roles in tech — focusing on retention and reskilling of women that are already in the job market.

The stagnation we are seeing now might mean that these rather “low-hanging fruits” have been captured now, and further growth requires deeper societal change; at the entry level of the pipeline.

Research shows that young women still avoid professions requiring technical skills. A 2025 study of the University of St. Gallen found that “young women tend to reject occupations with high technological requirements” due to self-perception of competence and interest.

The result of this is visible at the Computer Science department at ETH Zurich: 16% of Bachelor’s students who start in this field are women, and the numbers haven’t increased much over the last years, despite continuous efforts from the university.

💡What could help?

If the core entry rate is limited, even good retention and return efforts can only go so far. It’s time to pivot from retention to attraction, which means access to, experimentation with, and exposure to tech should be fostered from a young age (the younger, the better).

Initiatives like GirlsCodeToo have after-school and holiday programs for girls specifically on tech topics like programming, 3D printing, robotics, and so on. At a Hello 50:50 World meetup we learned from them that girls-only group settings worked best. To close the STEM education gap, the team at GirlsCodeToo decided to design workshops tailored to girls, typically with more opportunities for collaboration and creativity.

🚀 Tip for companies: The National Futures Day is a great opportunity to open your doors for kids to learn about what you do. The vision and mission of the initiative is not just to welcome kids to your workplace, but to specifically swap gender roles, e.g. giving girls insights into male-dominated industries like tech — just as a reminder 😉

❤ ️Tip for communities: If you are a non-profit on a mission to increase diversity in tech, it might be easier for you to organize meetups and events for professionals aka adults — mostly because they can be reached through common communication channels. However, creating events (or content) for the next generation can be an interesting challenge to break out of your routine and make a sustainable impact. Organizations like Elevate Tech and Peppermintas have done it for years if you’re looking for guidance and inspiration.

Perception of tech

The STEM perception barometer 2025 of gfs.bern shows that gender differences appear both in self-perception and in the assessment of children: men and sons are consistently rated as more competent than women and daughters when it comes to technical skills. Ouch!

There is still no scientific evidence for actual gender differences in tech skills, but the myth persists and continuous to spread.

Sadly, the same applies to the image of tech (I wrote about this at length here) which the study above confirmed. Tech professions continue to be perceived as male-dominating (not only), highly-demanding (sometimes), lacking team work and collaboration (definitely not) and limiting creativity (not true at all).

With technology impacting our lives, relationships, society, and likely the future of humanity, nobody can afford not having tech skills. But where do kids acquire these skills if they aren’t naturally exposed to or curious about them?

Schools are increasingly becoming focal points for a variety of developments going sideways — whether it’s the mental health crisis, social media and cyberbullying, or AI companions. Teachers — and parents — are struggling to keep up with technology because they are busy firefighting.

💡What could help?

Instead of demanding from teachers to just “embrace technology” and include it in their curriculum, why not give them actual support on how to do it?

This is what Little Scientists are offering. Their mission is to equip teachers with the tools and confidence to create engaging and innovative STEM lessons — so that all children have access to high-quality STEM education.

STEM education in public schools levels the playing field, and it’s where gender bias can be actively addressed and mitigated.

🚀 Tip for companies: Help change the image of tech in society. Highlight the collaborative and creative sides of tech roles. Show what it’s really like to work in tech through inspiring stories, exemplary projects, and innovative products. And at the very least, please avoid using reinforcing stereotypes when advertising roles (e.g., “we are looking for nerds/pirates/hackers”). 🙏

❤ Tip for communities: We all love role models, but how do we make sure they reach the audience they are intended for? Publishing role model interviews with the goal of inspiring the next generation is a noble cause, but it’s unlikely that a 10-year-old girl will find and read a blog post. More effective might be sending your role models to schools to speak with girls directly, creating funny videos for social media, or making a collection of engaging role model stories as a children’s book (e.g., like Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls).

Economic climate

Economic conditions (e.g., hiring freezes, layoffs) have additionally reduced overall growth in tech employment, which can limit — or even terminate — opportunities for women specifically.

Data from the US shows that layoffs in tech tend to hit women especially hard, indicating that they made up 45% to 65% of laid off positions in recent years, while their total share in the tech workforce is only 26%.

The data in Switzerland (above) shows that the growth of the tech industry has also reached a bit of a plateau in 2023. Whereas the overall unemployment rate in Switzerland is at 2.8%, the tech industry is marginally higher at 3.8–4.0% (SECO, September 2025).

💡What could help?

With large tech companies and their employees only slowly recovering from layoffs and hiring freezes, and a market that is filled with tech talent, there’s real gain in fostering a healthy and inclusive work culture — both for retention and hiring. Invest in inclusive leadership as a key practice for innovation, better team collaboration, and increased employee satisfaction.

At Hello 50:50 World, we recently started a new initiative called Inclusive Leadership Circle, a unique new event series for tech leaders and people managers where they can learn how to foster an environment where everyone thrives to build high-performing teams. Our next event is coming up soon!

🚀 Tip for companies: If you are hiring, create early-career opportunities for internships and apprenticeships to bring in new and fresh perspectives. And if you’re not, foster internal mobility and back-to-work programs to retain diverse talent.

❤ Tip for communities: In the current climate, companies need to prioritize. Don’t rely solely on corporate partnerships. Diversify your strategy and start accessing various potential income streams. Build new initiatives and experiment. Instead of waiting and seeing, plan and act for maximum impact.

Conclusion

The stagnation of women in tech in Switzerland is not a sign that progress has failed, but that the next chapter requires deeper, more structural change. We’re past the phase of easy wins — now we need long-term efforts that attract young women early, reshape how society sees tech, and build workplaces where women can thrive even in tougher economic times.

None of this will happen overnight, but it will happen if companies, communities, society, you and me — if we all pull in the same direction.

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Thank you for reading! ❤ I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, or connect with me here, on LinkedIn or Substack to continue the discussion.