Executive Summary

• Statistics reveal that in 2026, there is still a lack of representation for women in data centres, and while entry into the industry is still challenging, the primary hurdles are career progression, retention and equitable access to leadership.
•  20% of men in tech believe women are less suited to work in tech, thus proving the “tech bros” culture has the tech and data centre industry in chokeholds and conscious and unconscious bias runs rife in workplace culture.
• Data centres are short-staffed boy’s clubs, as women make up 21% of tech teams (not just data centres) and 21% of data centres have no female employees.

Operators take pride in their N+1 redundancy to prevent single points of failure, but the industry’s real point of failure is the lack of diversity, because the industry’s human architecture relies on a single demographic across almost every business unit.

Women are heavily underrepresented in the industry and not just in engineering and technical roles. This trend has persisted in staffing for years, confirming that data centres are short-staffed boys’ clubs. Back in 2023, the Uptime Institue dubs this and three years later, it’s still true. Take a look at speaker lineups for most conferences and big industry events, and you’ll see what they mean. But in 2025, the Government’s Diversity in UK Tech and Women in Tech publishes some worrying statistics:

• Women make up 21% of tech teams (not just data centres)
• 21% of data centres have no women in their technical function
• 21% of senior UK tech roles are held by women
• 29% of women in tech reach the C-suite level
• 18% of board roles in UK tech scale-ups are held by women, but over one-third have no female board representation
• 20% of men in tech believe women are less suited to work in tech

The last statistic thus perpetuates the “tech bro” culture that has the tech industry by the throat, paired with inadequate workplace flexibility, which disproportionately impacts women, caregivers, and those who require accommodations.

According to the Women in Tech Taskforce in their Women in Technology & STEM in the UK 2026 Overview, women make up 29% of the UK tech workforce, 25% of the wider STEM workforce and 17% of engineering and technology roles. There’s some progress, but it isn’t enough. Women are missing from executive leadership, land acquisition, power procurement, ESG strategy and commercial development across UK facilities.

There’s a huge retention and progression gap

Entry-level hiring has its own set of issues, but it’s not the only hurdle. Women across tech and infrastructure leave mid-career because of an array of reasons (and no, not just caregiving!):

• lack of clear progression
• inclusion gaps
• unsupportive workplace cultures
• lack of transparent pay structures
• unconscious and conscious biases that influence the workplace
• only small proportion reach senior technical or decision-making roles

A national study examining why people voluntarily left their tech roles uncovered that underrepresented people were twice as likely to leave due to unfair treatment, which includes unjust management practices, stereotyping, sexual harassment, bullying and hostility.

What the industry needs to do

We’ve seen some companies raise awareness in the data centre space, but awareness is only the first step; accountability and action speak louder than any marketing campaign. The UK Women in Tech Taskforce is looking to bring in mandatory accountability and operate as a bridge between policy and industry leaders to plug the “leaky pipeline” and advocate for standardised, transparent reporting on gender retention and mid-career progression.

There are three priorities right now for leaders to start making change:

• Broader access to STEM pathways for women, and earlier on in their education and careers
• Strong progression routes and sponsorships that can fast-track women
• Organisational accountability for leadership diversity

Whilst entry into tech has opened up more opportunities for women, that’s no longer the central challenge (though it still exists). Now, it’s progression, retention and equitable access to leadership that are the largest hurdles to overcome.