Next Wave | Women in Tech
Unlocking Australia’s Tech Potential
Next Wave is the Tech Council of Australia’s program to accelerate the participation and progression of women in the tech sector.
By bringing industry together, Next Wave shines a light on diverse tech careers, supports the adoption of fair workplace practices, and drives collective action on the reforms needed to build an inclusive, future-ready workforce.
Through storytelling, industry standards and high-impact forums, Next Wave helps the tech sector move faster and more consistently on diversity, equity and inclusion — so more women can enter, thrive and lead in tech.
The Next Wave: Women in Tech program is funded by the Federal Government’s Building Women’s Careers Program.
Inspire
Sharing real stories to demystify tech careers and highlight diverse, non-traditional pathways so more women can see themselves in tech.
Connect
Convening industry leaders to align on solutions and advance reforms like normalising care, equitable parental leave and inclusive skills pathways.
Embed
Driving adoption of the T-EDI Standards to support fair, inclusive and high-performing workplaces across the sector.
Why It Matters
Our report, Women in Highly Technical Occupations: The Leaky Pipeline, shows that women leave technical roles at higher rates than men. Next Wave turns insight into action — inspiring women to enter tech, supporting career transitions, and helping organisations build workplaces where women can thrive.
This is not a women’s issue. It is an innovation, productivity and national capability issue.
Women make up just 20% of the highly technical workforce, dropping to 16% after age 40.
After age 40, women leave the highly technical workforce at almost double the rate of men.
Despite equal performance, girls’ confidence in STEM subjects overall is 17% lower than boys.
In Engineering subjects, girls’ confidence drops to 25% less than boys.
Australia lags behind other developed nations - only 20% of engineering & technology students are women.
Australia needs a 75% lift in women’s technical degree enrolments to match top countries.
Nearly half of women in STEM report harassment (49%) - five times the rate of men.
This hostile climate is a major barrier to retention and progression.
Skilled migrants make up over half of Australia’s highly technical workforce.
Increased migration pathways could close today’s gender gap in tech & build role models for tomorrow’s pipeline.
Targeted action at high school, university and mid-career could triple the number of women in pipeline.
Unlocking women’s potential in the AI era requires a coordinated long-term strategy.
By 2030, 8 of the top 10 fastest growing jobs will be highly technical, from AI and big data to cybersecurity, FinTech, and software development.
By 2030, 8 of the top 10 fastest growing jobs will be highly technical, from AI and big data to cyber-security, FinTech, and software development.
Read the full Women in Highly Technical Occupations: The Leaky Pipeline to find out more.
Whether you’re an employer looking to build your pipeline, a partner program ready to scale, or a woman considering a career shift — there’s a role for you in Next Wave.
Join as a Member — access talent, toolkits, and recognition.
Partner with Us — help build pathways that work.
Take the Next Step — explore opportunities to transition into tech.
For more information on how you can get involved, please reach out to adair@techcouncil.com.au