If we want more young women to choose technology as a career, they must be able to see women shaping AI strategy, leading cybersecurity programmes, running partner ecosystems and sitting at executive tables, writes Shannon Harris.
New Zealand’s technology sector is going from strength to strength, shaping how we work, export and compete globally. But one structural challenge remains stubbornly unchanged: Women make up just over a quarter of domestic IT students and around 29% of the IT workforce nationally,
At a time when businesses consistently cite digital skills shortages, AI capability gaps, and productivity, pressure that narrows the recruitment pipeline should concern every leader, not just those in tech.
Because the issue isn’t simply about representation. It’s about capacity and accessing the skills we need to progress.
The pipeline narrows earlier than we think
When we talk about women in tech, the conversation often focuses on retention or leadership representation. Yes, these are important factors. Yet the imbalance begins much earlier – at subject selection, career awareness, and how young women perceive the industry.
Technology is still too often framed as solitary coding or deeply technical engineering. In reality, modern tech careers span a wide range of roles across business, creative, and technical disciplines, from customer-facing positions to cybersecurity, data, and product development.
If young women don’t have visibility of the vast opportunities that exist that could be right for them, they won’t step through the door in the first place. And once participation at education level stalls, workforce representation inevitably mirrors it.
Shannon Harris.
Are women less interested, or just looking elsewhere?
In many cases, women are already working alongside technology, in marketing, operations, finance, healthcare, education and professional services, but not always inside the core tech sector. Digital skills are embedded across every industry now. The question is whether we are positioning the tech sector itself as a viable and attractive career pathway.
I don’t believe this is about capability. There is no evidence whatsoever that women are less technically adept than men. What does persist, however, is perception.
Stereotypes about who “belongs” in technical roles can subtly influence subject choices, career advice, and even self-belief. Those signals compound over time. When girls don’t see women in visible technical leadership roles, or when the industry appears culturally narrow, many opt for paths where they can more clearly see themselves.
That is not a talent issue. It is a visibility and culture issue.
This is a leadership responsibility
For business leaders, widening the pipeline is not a nice to do. It is a strategic and commercial one.
If demand for AI capability, cybersecurity expertise and digital transformation skills continue to rise, and we continue drawing from the same limited demographic base, the skills gap will not close. It will expand.
At HP, this informs how we think about our responsibility as an employer and ecosystem partner.
We are proud that 39.6% of our global workforce is female, but we know there’s still more work to do. Representation alone is not enough. The focus must be on creating visible pathways into the industry and clear progression within it.
Our Women’s Business Resource Group supports female talent across HP and within our partner ecosystem, helping build leadership capability and peer networks. Our Multicultural Business Resource Group is also progressing scholarship initiatives aimed at increasing exposure to technology careers for Māori and Pasifika communities, because diversity in tech must extend beyond gender alone.
These efforts are not standalone programmes. They are part of a broader strategy to ensure the future workforce reflects the communities we serve.
Addressing the perception gap
Addressing these perceptions requires deliberate leadership. Building a more balanced technology workforce does not happen by accident, it requires organisations to create environments where people feel they belong and can see clear opportunities to progress.
At HP, we believe inclusive cultures are a competitive advantage. When organisations draw from a wider range of perspectives, they make better decisions, challenge assumptions, and design solutions that work for more people.
For leaders, that means looking closely at the signals their organisations send – from the visibility of role models and career pathways to the culture teams experience day-to-day. When people can see themselves reflected in the industry and understand how they can grow within it, the pipeline begins to widen.
The multiplier effect matters
There is also a multiplier effect at play. When more women enter and advance in technology, visibility increases. That visibility influences subject choices, career conversations, and ambition for the next generation.
If we want more young women to choose technology, they must be able to see women shaping AI strategy, leading cybersecurity programmes, running partner ecosystems and sitting at executive tables.
The tech sector is central to New Zealand’s economic future. It underpins productivity, export growth, and innovation across every industry.
Expanding the pipeline will require collaboration between schools, tertiary providers, employers, and industry bodies. It will require clearer storytelling about the diversity of tech careers. And it will require leaders to examine whether their own organisations are sending the right signals.
The pipeline will not widen on its own.
But if we intentionally broaden the front door and ensure the environment beyond it is inclusive and ambitious, New Zealand’s tech sector will be stronger for it.
Shannon Harris is HP New Zealand’s Managing Director.
