Women's presence in new technologies drops to 19%

The representation of women in the realm of new technologies and AI is structurally low, with the gap compared to men worsening in the European Union. Female presence in the sector has fallen from 22% in 2022 to 19% in 2025, according to the new study “Women in Tech and AI in Europe” by McKinsey & Company, which assesses female representation in technology and Artificial Intelligence. Portugal mirrors this trend, highlighting a misalignment between education and presence in the sector. A greater disparity between women and men is observed in top positions: only 8% of senior leadership roles in technology are held by women. The study comes at a time when McKinsey estimates that the adoption of sovereign AI could add over €480 billion annually to the European economy by 2030. However, realising this potential will depend on mobilising qualified talent and expanding the technological leadership base, including women. Despite an increase in female participation in STEM courses, which currently represent 33% of degrees and 39% of doctorates in these areas, this evolution does not translate into proportional presence in the tech job market. Additionally, only 13% of management positions in technology are held by women, a percentage that drops to 8% in executive and C-level roles. The study also identifies a structural effect of AI on the redistribution of roles. Women are overrepresented in areas such as product management (39%) and design (53%), which represent only a small fraction of the tech workforce and where demand has been decreasing due to task automation, meaning women are more likely to be replaced. In contrast, growth is concentrated in areas such as AI, data, infrastructure, and software engineering, where female representation remains significantly lower.