Tech leaders urge action to lift women into senior roles

Technology leaders across Asia, Europe and the United States are using International Women's Day 2026 to call for more structured support, clearer pathways and stronger collaboration to lift women into senior roles in technology and cybersecurity.

Executives at Ping Identity, SIOS Technology, ITRS and Trend Micro said visibility, sponsorship and policy coordination now sit alongside skills pipelines as central issues in the next phase of gender diversity.

This year's official International Women's Day theme is "Give to Gain", reflecting a growing focus on sponsorship and mutual support rather than individual advancement alone.

Leadership visibility

Jasie Fon, Regional Vice President of Asia at identity security firm Ping Identity, said moving into senior roles sharpened her focus on direct intervention and sponsorship for women earlier in their careers.

"As I advanced into leadership, I made a conscious decision to pay it forward. I mentor across functions and regions, and work with communities supporting women in tech and those re-entering the workforce, because I've seen firsthand what happens when talented women are given not just advice, but access. When someone is invited into the room, put forward for a stretch role, or given specific feedback they can act on, hesitation turns into momentum.

In industries where representation is still uneven, visibility matters. When women see other women leading, contributing, and being recognized for real impact, it expands what feels possible. My goal is simple: create space, raise the bar, and help more women step into leadership with clarity and confidence-until we no longer need the qualifier 'women leaders', just leaders."

Fon works with groups including the Singapore Computer Society's Women in Tech network, and supports programmes for university students, young women entering technology and women returning to the sector.

Historical progress

In the United States, Margaret Hoagland, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at high availability software firm SIOS Technology, linked International Women's Day to earlier milestones in legal and social reform.

She cited US lawyer and academic Anita Hill, former US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and education activist Malala Yousafzai as examples of individual action driving structural change.

"On International Women's Day, we honor the courage of women like Anita Hill, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Malala Yousafzai-whose bravery and sacrifice reshaped the future for women everywhere. Their leadership expanded rights, opportunity, and voice. But progress is not permanent. Without our continued vigilance and action, the gains they fought for can be eroded. Let us honor their legacy not only with words, but with sustained action to protect and advance equality for the next generation."

Access and sponsorship

In financial technology and capital markets, industry participants said visible barriers often obscure deeper issues around access and sponsorship.

Chatrine Åkerström, Strategic Project Manager at observability and monitoring specialist ITRS, said the "Give to Gain" theme reflects how teams perform when support and information flow more evenly.

"To me, 'Give to Gain' is about how much better things work when people genuinely support each other. Sharing knowledge, giving someone a chance, pulling people into the conversation-it all adds up. It's not just good for the individual, it makes the whole team stronger."

Åkerström said formal equality can mask informal patterns in who receives backing for high-responsibility roles.

"A lot of the barriers women face in tech aren't always visible on the surface. It often comes down to access and sponsorship: who gets the chances to step up, who gets heard in the room, who gets backed for leadership roles. And I think women are still more likely to be judged on what they've already done, rather than what they could grow into."

She added that recruitment pipelines in fintech and capital markets start well before graduate hiring, and said companies benefit when they present a broader picture of technical work.

"A big part of this starts in school. If fewer girls choose technical subjects at school or university, the pipeline is already smaller by the time companies are hiring. At the same time, the industry needs to be honest about what the work actually looks like. Tech and fintech aren't one narrow path. There are technical roles, product roles, commercial roles, and strategic roles. And you don't have to fit a stereotype to belong."

Moving into senior positions takes more than informal mentoring, she said, and requires clear expectations and visible ownership.

"Progression usually comes down to trust and responsibility. If you're given ownership of something important and visible, you build credibility. That matters more than just having a mentor.

"It also helps when expectations are clear. If people understand what good looks like and what's required to move forward, progression feels more fair and less dependent on being in the right place at the right time."

She said normalising women in technical and commercial leadership over time could reduce the need for constant focus on gender.

"I hope it becomes less of a conversation. Not because it stops mattering, but because it's genuinely normal to see women in technical leadership and decision-making roles."

Cybersecurity pipeline

In cybersecurity, where industry data indicates women account for about 24% of the global workforce, attention is turning to structural cooperation between the public and private sectors.

Rachel Jin, Chief Platform and Business Officer at Trend Micro's enterprise unit TrendAI, said the sector sits at the intersection of AI, risk oversight and corporate governance-creating new pressure for inclusion at senior decision-making levels.

"International Women's Day is an opportunity to highlight the contribution that women make to the cybersecurity industry and encourage inclusive pathways for attracting new talent and enabling female leaders to thrive.

The threat landscape has become complex and more sophisticated. AI systems need to be treated as critical infrastructure and proactive security is critical. With AI risk now considered a business risk, cybersecurity is a board-level governance issue and diverse representation on our boards and executive positions is needed to drive innovative collaboration.

It would be great to see industry and government working together to address systemic barriers and biases that impact equal representation and build capability of women in this era of AI disruption."