Why Attracting Women into Tech Requires More Than Good Intentions

Most organisations genuinely want to attract more women into tech roles. The intention is there. The commitment is voiced. The employer branding says the right things.

And yet, the numbers continue to tell a different story.

Women remain under-represented across technical roles, particularly at senior and leadership levels. Progress has been made, but it has been slow and uneven. That tells us something important: good intentions alone are not enough.

At ARC, we see time and again that attracting women into tech requires deliberate design, not just diversity statements. It demands a closer look at how roles are defined, how hiring decisions are made, and how inclusive those environments truly are once someone joins.

The gap between intention and impact

If intention translated directly into outcomes, we wouldn’t still be having this conversation.

Many organisations believe they are inclusive because they support the idea of diversity. In practice, though, they often rely on legacy hiring models, informal decision-making and outdated assumptions around what “good” looks like in a tech professional.

Attraction issues are rarely about a lack of capable women in the market. They are about systems that unintentionally filter them out.

Job design still shapes who applies

The hiring journey starts long before an interview, and job descriptions play a much bigger role than many employers realise.

We still see roles overloaded with requirements, written as rigid wish lists rather than realistic reflections of what is essential. Women are statistically more likely to apply only when they meet most or all of the criteria, while men are more inclined to apply based on potential.

Language also matters. Subtle cues around culture, pace, hierarchy and “fit” signal who belongs. When job design is narrow or inflated, strong female candidates quietly opt out before the process has even begun.

Hiring processes reward confidence over capability

Unstructured hiring remains one of the biggest barriers to inclusive outcomes.

Interview processes that favour self-promotion, fast thinking and informal rapport can disadvantage candidates who are more reflective or who have taken non-linear career paths. This does not reflect capability or long-term performance, yet it strongly influences decisions.

Without clarity on what success actually looks like in a role, hiring often defaults to familiarity. That tendency alone can stall progress.

Structured interviews, consistent scoring and diverse interview panels do not remove judgement; they improve it.

Employer branding must match lived reality

Many organisations invest heavily in their external brand, but attraction fails quickly when the reality does not match the message.

Women in tech are often more selective, not because of lower ambition, but because they are assessing risk. Culture, leadership behaviour, flexibility and progression are explored early, sometimes within the first conversation.

If what is experienced during hiring contradicts what was promised online, trust is lost before an offer is even made. Authenticity matters more than polish.

Flexibility attracts stronger talent when it is designed in

Flexible working continues to be framed as a benefit, rather than a fundamental part of how modern tech teams operate.

When flexibility is positioned as an exception or a concession, it signals risk. When it is designed into roles from the outset, it broadens talent pools and improves engagement across the board.

This is not about lowering standards or diluting performance. In our experience, flexibility attracts more diverse, more experienced and more committed professionals.

Progression is part of attraction, not a future conversation

Women do not just assess the role they are joining. They assess where that role can lead.

A lack of visible progression pathways, limited technical leadership diversity and unclear sponsorship all impact attraction at the front end. If women cannot see themselves progressing, they are less likely to join in the first place.

Long-term representation challenges are often rooted in short-term hiring decisions.

Accountability turns intention into progress

The organisations that make real progress treat gender balance as a business outcome, not a side initiative.

They measure what is happening. They review where candidates fall out of the process. They hold leaders accountable for outcomes, not just effort.

Good intentions create awareness. Accountability creates change.

Moving from intention to action

Attracting more women into tech is not about quick fixes or isolated initiatives. It is about designing better systems, asking hard questions and being willing to change how things have “always been done”.

At ARC, we work closely with organisations to: