IWD 2026 - Progress isn't accidental: What it takes to keep women in tech

International Women's Day always makes me think about legacy - not the polished kind you write on a company website, but the everyday legacy shaped in meetings, in hiring decisions, and in the moments you choose to speak up and give feedback.

It makes me pause and think about what I am modelling as a woman and mother in tech. I have two daughters who also work in tech, so I see this from both sides as a leader, while my daughters are building careers within the industry my generation helped create. That's a powerful mirror - and a responsibility.

From maths class to tech floor

I was the youngest of four girls, and all my older sisters studied engineering. STEM was 'in our family' but I also loved maths because I enjoyed solving problems, and that stayed with me.

I began my career in technical roles and then moved into commercial and go-to-market leadership across global organisations - largely because I was drawn to work that didn't come with a neat playbook. Over time, I built my career at the intersection of strategy and execution in cybersecurity. The crossover into a go-to-market role also formed the basis for my understanding around how to align sales and marketing goals – uniting two parts of the organisation that oftentimes have competing objectives – and turn that alignment into business growth. That's where the real power lives: in the synergy, especially when driven by leadership that's aligned on a common goal. 

Along the way, I learnt something that's shaped how I lead: progress isn't accidental. It doesn't happen because we hope the right people get seen, or because we assume merit always rises. Progress happens when leaders design the conditions for it - when pathways are clear and opportunities are created deliberately. That means setting clear goals, being explicit about what success looks like in each role, taking ownership of decisions, and staying agile enough to pivot quickly when the situation changes.

Progress and bias are both real - but not always equal

We can't talk about women in tech without being honest about the numbers. Australia's private sector gender pay gap is still 21.1%, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) and that is slightly higher at 22.8% in digital and technology roles, according to Women in Digital.

That's not a "women need more confidence" problem. It's a systemic problem - and changing systems takes intention, not time.

In conversations with my daughters, they've noticed something that many women recognise immediately: women are frequently valued for our interpersonal skills - collaborative, supportive, a "team player" - while men are more often measured on outcomes and results.

Because women are typically seen as approachable, we can get defaulted into administrative work - and you end up doing two jobs. The role you were hired for, plus the emotional and operational glue that keeps everyone else moving.

WGEA's work on recruitment and promotion calls out how persistent bias can be in employment decisions - often subtly shaping who is seen as the right person for a role. That aligns with what we see on the ground: bias isn't always loud, but it's consistent.

The "missing middle" is where good careers quietly stall

One of the most important insights in the Women in Digital report is what it calls the "Missing Middle" - the mid-career years when momentum slows, not because ambition disappears, but because structures don't support the realities of caregiving, flexibility and the stop-start seasons many parents (especially mothers) navigate.

Their data is blunt: 49% of women believe having children hinders career progression, and 35% agree it has or will limit opportunities for promotions, leadership or new responsibilities. 

That's why I don't love the narrative that women simply "opt out". More often, women opt away from a system that's quietly opting out of them.

Give to gain: the leadership habit that actually changes outcomes

Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to have mentors and sponsors who genuinely backed my progression. Mentors advise and help you think bigger. Sponsors advocate for you when you're not in the room. When women have both, the outcomes can be significant: more strategic projects, more visibility, greater job satisfaction - and often stronger compensation over time.

That's why I believe in a "give to gain" approach to leadership. The more we invest in helping others progress, the stronger the teams we build, the more capable our future leaders become, and the more momentum we create across the organisation.

Do women in leadership serve as role models for the next generation? Absolutely. But the most impactful role models don't just succeed - they share the playbook.

It must be more than just one-on-one mentoring relationships though. Leaders need to reduce guesswork at scale. For the next generation of women to progress faster than we did, career pathways have to be visible and concrete. We need to communicate what roles exist, outline expectations, map the skills required, and create development plans that aren't dependent on being "noticed" at the right moment.

If we want more women to rise, we can't keep the rules unwritten.

For women following in our footsteps - including my daughters - the advice is equally practical: be confident in your work, clear about boundaries, and assertive with respect. Define what sits within your team's responsibilities and what doesn't. That kind of assertiveness isn't aggression - it's professionalism - and it gives other women confidence to stand their ground and focus on the work that drives their careers forward.

International Women's Day shouldn't be a moment of celebration followed by business as usual. It should be a checkpoint: are we building workplaces where women can thrive across every stage of life and career?

The next generation is watching what we reward, what we tolerate, and how we help others rise.

If we practise give to gain with intention, we don't just move women forward. We move the whole industry forward - and that's a legacy worth building.