This IWD and beyond, let's elevate women into IT leadership

With International Women's Day (IWD) coming up on 8th March 2026, I wanted to share with you some of the challenges and opportunities currently facing female leaders in the technology and IT world. The theme for this year's IWD is 'Give To Gain'. This theme is very timely given the importance of women (and men) elevating women into positions of IT leadership in 2026 and beyond.

In this article, I delve into some of my reflections on gender in the workplace, spanning across my 25+ years in people, culture, and senior IT leadership. As a senior HR leader with experience in this space, I have observed several key trends in female representation over time. As always, there is room for further improvement to achieve true gender equality.

Increasing female representation in IT

During my time in the financial services and media sectors, I worked with many inspiring senior women across diverse business functions, including technology. When organisations have prominent and visible female role models, progress is more likely to gain momentum – the saying 'you can't be what you can't see' rings especially true for females in technology and IT.

In recent years, I have seen great progress on female representation at both the board level and within IT executive teams. I have also seen positive change within the workplace. Some examples of positive change are increases to paid carers leave including universal parental leave starting to become the norm, domestic and family violence leave is now a protected leave entitlement, and there is more balanced representation on specialised panels at industry events. These are just a few positive examples in policy and workplace best practice.

My own career path up to now as a female IT leader, has certainly not been linear. The side trails I have taken have been both been fun and, in hindsight, drivers to my various executive roles over time.

Going forward, I hope to see more young women entering the technology space. My advice to girls and women out there is not to let others derail a path that might not look typical but can provide you with a broader set of business skills and opportunities. I assure you that seemingly out-of-the-way paths will pay off in the long run.

Women as creative problem-solvers in leadership

I believe that a key reason why women are so valuable in IT is that they excel at creative problem-solving. Women often contribute valuable, diverse perspectives on challenges that technology can address for both clients and consumers. 

Broad technology skills are essential for girls and women, whether it is before they enter the workforce, within their workplaces, or in tech and software development. I would love to see more women involved in the development of new and innovative technologies. 

Overall, I have no doubt that increasing women's participation in the technology and IT sectors will help drive future innovation that is more reflective of our whole society.

'Give to Gain' this International Women's Day 

For me, this year's IWD theme of 'Give to Gain' is all about my belief that I am standing on the shoulders of my mum, my sisters, my aunts, and my early career female mentor who were/are incredibly strong and inspiring. 

I now feel a deep legacy to pay this opportunity forward and carve out spaces for my daughters and my peers at work. I want them to experience a world better than what I experienced; especially in the early days of my career when I faced challenges to equal opportunity in the workplace.

In practice, making positive change at work looks like:

1. Consistently analysing data to identify and address your organisational gaps to inclusive practice.
2. Questioning hiring decisions (for example, are our souring pools too male-centric?).
3. Focusing on leadership development opportunities for our female leaders.
4. Seeking out platforms to showcase our female talent, emerging and established.
5. Contributing to a culture of safety and inclusion for women (and men).

Another step in the right direction is to provide men with the opportunity to be present, engaged fathers through universal paid parental leave and hybrid working arrangements. This has the added benefit of lightening the load for women. Enabling present dads is a critical driver of long-term gender equity for everyone.

My advice to future leaders

If you are a young girl or woman considering a future career in technology, I encourage you to go for it. IT is a great industry with a wide variety of roles and specialisations available. 

As you start out, find a like-minded tribe that will support you to navigate through any complexities and challenges that arise. I guarantee you will find your place in time.

If you are a man working in this industry, please remember that you, too, have a responsibility to enable positive change for women in technology, and to elevate women into positions of higher authority and responsibility. 

Remember that male allyship is not merely about giving advice or mentoring. Strong male sponsorship looks like using your voice, your position, and your influence to strategically position female talent in senior leadership roles.  

This IWD and beyond, I hope to see more conversations about how we can broaden and expand the scope for female talent in technology – and these conversations must bring both women and men along on the journey.