The tech industry has made noticeable strides in hiring more women at entry level. Coding bootcamps, mentorship schemes and junior-level diversity pledges have helped bring more women through the door. But five to ten years in, many of these same women are leaving, often just as they are reaching seniority.
So, why are mid-level women in tech still walking away? And what needs to change to keep them?
The mid-level cliff: a data-backed drop-off
A 2023 McKinsey report showed that while women make up around 35% of entry-level tech roles, they represent only 14% of senior leadership positions. The real drop-off happens during the mid-career phase, when years of experience should be launching women upward, not pushing them out.
Companies may be hiring more women, but if they are not retaining them beyond the five-year mark, it is time to shift the focus from diversity recruitment to long-term inclusion.
Why are mid-level women leaving tech?
1. The promotion bottleneck
For many women, the problem is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of opportunity. Research shows that men are more likely to be promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on proven performance.
Mid-level women in tech often find themselves plateauing in the same role while male colleagues move up more quickly, not because they are more capable, but because they are perceived differently.
“I kept hitting walls. Feedback would be vague, while my male colleagues were fast-tracked. Eventually, I started looking elsewhere,” said one former software engineer in our community.
2. Burnout and culture fatigue
After years of microaggressions, being the only woman in the room and shouldering unpaid emotional labour (mentoring, DEI work, team morale), many women feel exhausted.
This is compounded when companies celebrate women for staying resilient rather than addressing why resilience is even required in the first place.
Burnout is not just about workload, it is also about culture. And culture fatigue is driving many women to rethink whether tech is worth it.
3. Lack of sponsorship (not just mentorship)
Mentorship is valuable. But sponsorship, where someone actively advocates for you in rooms you are not in, is what truly propels careers forward.
Mid-level women in tech often receive mentoring, but far fewer get access to sponsors who will recommend them for stretch projects, promotions or leadership training. Without this, career progression stalls.
4. Family penalty and flexibility gaps
The motherhood penalty is still alive and well in tech. While many companies now offer flexible hours or remote options, true flexibility is not just about policy, it is about culture.
If women feel judged for using parental leave or logging off at 5pm, they will not stay. Mid-career is often the point when family considerations become more pressing, and if the workplace is not supportive, women will leave.
5. No visible role models
It is difficult to imagine yourself climbing higher when there is no one like you at the top. If leadership is overwhelmingly male (and often white), the message is clear: this is not a place where people like you tend to succeed.
Representation matters, not just for diversity statistics, but for motivation and belief.
What needs to change: retaining mid-level women in tech
Start by measuring the right things
It is not enough to track how many women are hired. Companies need to measure:
- Promotion rates by gender
- Retention rates at the 5–10 year mark
- Who gets put forward for leadership training
- Exit interview themes segmented by gender
Data is where change starts, but only if you are asking the right questions.
Build a culture that rewards equally
Women should not have to be exceptional to be promoted while average performance is enough for others.
Managers need structured promotion criteria, performance reviews free of bias and training on how to assess potential fairly across genders.
Companies should conduct bias audits on their performance review systems to root out patterns that disadvantage women.
Move from mentorship to sponsorship
Do not just connect women with mentors, assign them senior-level sponsors with influence.
Sponsors actively advocate for talent, recommend them for high-visibility work and push their name forward for advancement.
Women who have sponsors are 27% more likely to ask for a raise and 22% more likely to get promoted, according to a study by the Centre for Talent Innovation.
Redesign flexible work to actually work
It is not enough to offer flexibility in theory. The company must:
- Normalise remote or flexible hours for everyone, not just caregivers
- Ensure remote workers are not passed over for promotions
- Provide leadership training that is accessible around flexible schedules
- Address meeting overload and ensure asynchronous work is viable
This removes the stigma that flexible work equals lack of ambition.
Elevate mid-level women before they exit
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is assuming women leave for personal reasons. In reality, most women leave tech for professional reasons; lack of growth, lack of respect and lack of support.
To counter this, tech companies need to proactively:
- Interview mid-level women before they consider leaving
- Offer career coaching or leadership tracks
- Promote women into technical leadership, not just people management
- Actively re-engage returners or those who have stepped back temporarily
What women in tech can do too
While the onus is on companies to change, here are a few things mid-career women in tech can do to advocate for themselves:
Document your wins
Track your projects, KPIs and wins over time – a good tip is to keep a ‘wins’ folder on your desktop and screenshot any great feedback you get. Make your value visible, especially when preparing for performance reviews or asking for a promotion.
Ask for sponsorship
It is OK to ask a leader, “Would you be open to sponsoring me for upcoming opportunities?” Frame it around visibility, impact and readiness.
Speak to other women before you leave tech
If you are considering exiting the industry, speak to other women who have been there. It might not be you, it might be your current environment. Sometimes a new team or company can make all the difference.
Final thoughts - fix the middle, fix the pipeline
The tech industry does not just have a leaky pipeline, it has a broken rung in the middle.
Retaining mid-level women in tech is not only a moral imperative, it is a business one. Diverse leadership creates better products, more resilient teams and more profitable outcomes.
Until the mid-level cliff is addressed, we will keep losing talented women just as they are about to soar.
