Fewer women are choosing to work in the high-tech industry today compared to 20 years ago, even as job opportunities are expanding. Is the continued male dominance of high-tech a real concern? After all, the industry is among the most robust in the world, contributing to economic development, worker productivity and worldwide prosperity. If women are under-represented does it really matter to the industry’s performance?

There is ample data available, which indicates that maximising the talents of 50 per cent of the workforce is a business imperative, not social re-engineering. Comprehensive surveys by research firms provide sufficient data to assess the contributions of women and the barriers they face in the industry.