UK Loses 3.5 Billion Annually as Women Exit Technology Sector

• The 2025 Lovelace Report puts the financial loss to the UK each year at £2–3.5 billion because of women exiting the tech field 

• 40,000 to 60,000 women leave the field annually, impacting the nation's ambitions in AI and digital innovation 

The 2025 Lovelace Report: Unleashing £2–3.5 Billion, published on Tuesday, points out that between 40,000 and 60,000 women exit the UK tech sector annually.  

The trend risks undercutting the nation's plans to emerge as a world leader in artificial intelligence and digital innovation, experts caution. 

Just 20 percent of the technology industry is female, but they are leaving at twice the rate of men. Those in mid-career, who constitute a central element of Britain's digital economy, suffer most. The report comments that the problem is not getting women into the industry, but keeping them there.  

More than three-quarters of women with 11–20 years of service said they had waited longer than three years for a promotion, and half had received sub-average salaries for their level of seniority. 

Despite the 90 percent of women in tech wanting leadership positions, just one in four has confidence that they can attain them. Hindrances mentioned are a shortage of sponsors, ambiguous promotion routes, and company cultures that devalue women's work. 

It estimates the cost to productivity of women falling out of technology at a net £1.4–2.2 billion annually and another £640 million–1.3 billion lost through turnover as women switch employers in search of improved remuneration or prospects. 

Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, described how digital exclusion and structural inequality are feeding each other.  

Women are 14–22 percent more likely than men to be digitally poor, which stops them from participating entirely in the labor market. She highlighted that technology, connectivity, and digital literacy access is essential as digital exclusion threatens to restrict education, healthcare, and financial access. 

The report also warned that the UK stands at a crossroads. The government's Strategy on AI and Digital Skills has the aim of doubling the national total number of AI professionals to work towards 2030, but the industry already faces a shortage of 98,000–120,000 skilled AI, cyber, and infrastructure professionals.  

Industry captains predict that if the country does not address workplace inequality and turn around retention rates, it will fall behind countries like the US, Canada, and Singapore. 

The report acknowledges that Ada Lovelace Day honors the groundbreaking mathematician who envisioned in the 19th century, machines that could compute numbers and ideas. Yet, 184 years later, the UK still does not have an inclusive innovation ecosystem. 

The authors conclude that the UK will continue to lose talent and opportunity for industry change in career stagnation and diverse gender representation.  

The report calls for action so women can succeed in technology to help power innovation and economic growth in the digital economy.