Another week, another report highlighting the stark reality of women in technology.
The Tech Council of Australia’s new Women in Highly Technical Occupations report tells a story we’ve heard many times before: Australia is facing a critical tech worker shortage, yet the pipeline for women is leaking at every joint.
The report rightly points out that women make up just 20% of the highly technical workforce and, alarmingly, leave at nearly twice the rate of men after the age of 40. It correctly identifies that this is a matter of not just equity, but of national strength.
While I applaud the Tech Council for calling attention to this persistent crisis, well-intentioned words are not deeds.
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Reports that diagnose the problem without demanding a binding commitment to a cure are the equivalent of offering thoughts and prayers after a catastrophe. They make us feel like we’re doing something, while changing nothing. The dial has barely moved.
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This is not a problem of awareness. It is a problem of action.
During the Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review, which I chaired, we heard from hundreds of people and organisations. The message was unequivocal: the system is the problem, not the people. Efforts to improve diversity are wasted if people face bullying, harassment, and discrimination in their workplaces.
The Tech Council’s own report found almost half of women in STEM (49%) report harassment, five times the rate of men.
This is not a pipeline problem; it’s a culture problem. And culture is set from the top.
The tech sector loves to position itself as a meritocracy that is leading the world. It’s time it led the way on this. Last year, the Tech Council itself endorsed the T-EDI (Technology, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Standards. It’s a great framework. So, my question to every Tech Council member is simple: where is your public commitment to adopting it?
If this issue were taken seriously, the commitment would be non-negotiable and visible to everyone. It wouldn’t be a side project run by passionate volunteers and counted as part of the ‘S’ in ESG. It’s either a core business priority or it isn’t.
Real commitment looks like this:
It’s in the CEO’s and C-Suite’s KPIs, tied directly to their at-risk performance bonuses.
The board receives regular, audited reports on progress, just as they would for financial performance.
It’s in the company’s strategic roadmap with a dedicated, long-term budget — not just for one-off programs, but for sustained systemic change.
It’s in the executives’ calendars, demonstrating that time and attention are being paid to creating safe, inclusive workplaces where talent can thrive.
Until we see these actions, we are simply STEM-washing. We are creating an illusion of progress while women continue to be pushed out of a sector that desperately needs their talent to reach its goal of 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030.
The time for reports and roundtables is over.
We have the data, and we have the frameworks for what works.
The tech sector must now choose: will it be more thoughts and prayers, or will it be deeds and actions?
This article was first published by Startup Daily.
