Why women in tech are leaving, and how better leadership could stop the exodus

In the race to build, launch, and scale, early stage startups obsess over product, funding, and speed. But beneath the surface of the UK tech ecosystem, a quieter crisis is unfolding, one that threatens innovation, culture, and long term growth. New research released in April 2026 by Akamai reveals that 52% of women in tech leave their roles because they don’t feel a sense of belonging. Combined with government analysis estimating that the UK economy loses £2–3.5 billion a year due to women exiting tech roles, the message is clear: this isn’t a pipeline problem. It’s a leadership problem.

And it starts earlier than most founders realise.

McKinsey’s long running Women in the Workplace study adds another layer: 70% of women say they don’t receive the support they need to build confidence as leaders. In fast moving startup environments, where leadership capability is often assumed rather than developed, this gap becomes even more pronounced. Women aren’t leaving because they lack skill or ambition. They’re leaving because the environments around them aren’t designed to support them to lead.

“Women aren’t leaving tech because they can’t do the work. They’re leaving because the environments they’re in don’t support them to lead with confidence.”

This is the leadership gap no one is talking about, and it’s costing startups dearly.

The accidental leadership problem

In early stage companies, leadership often happens by default rather than design. Founders step into CEO roles because they had the idea, not because they’ve been equipped to lead people. Teams are built quickly, often based on familiarity or availability rather than complementary strengths. Culture forms organically, and sometimes chaotically,  long before anyone realises it’s happening.

This is understandable. When you’re fighting for survival, leadership development rarely makes the priority list. But the consequences are real:

• Decision making becomes reactive rather than intentional
• Communication breaks down under pressure
• Psychological safety erodes
• Diverse voices, especially women’s, become quieter
• Confidence gaps widen
• Belonging becomes fragile

In this environment, women who already report lower levels of support and visibility are disproportionately affected. The very conditions that make startups exciting, pace, ambiguity, constant change, can also amplify self doubt when leaders haven’t been equipped to navigate them.

The confidence gap is a leadership gap

The narrative that women lack confidence has been repeated so often it’s become accepted wisdom. But the data tells a different story. Women don’t enter the workforce lacking confidence. They lose it over time, often at the exact moments when leadership expectations rise and support quietly falls away.

Women in tech consistently report:

• A lack of belonging
• A lack of psychological safety
• A lack of clarity around their leadership identity
• A lack of support during transitions (promotion, maternity, redundancy, return to work)
• A lack of visible role models

These aren’t personal shortcomings. They are symptoms of environments that haven’t been intentionally designed to support diverse leadership.

I’ve lived this myself. Earlier in my career, I was a confident, visible events director, speaking on panels, featured in magazines, leading high profile work. Even after having children, I continued to thrive, working with one of the Dragons from Dragon’s Den and later within a government funded startup. But when that funding ended and the company had to pivot, everything shifted. My confidence dipped. My sense of purpose blurred. I found myself questioning who would hire a mum of two who could only work three days a week. I was showing up, but not as myself.

It wasn’t until I trained as a Resilient Leaders Consultant that I finally understood my strengths, my real superpowers, I had clarity of direction and had rebuilt my leadership identity. That experience now shapes the work I do with women across all industries.

And it’s why I believe so strongly that confidence isn’t something women need to “fix”. It’s something leaders need to support.

What transformation looks like when women are supported

When women receive the support they’ve been missing, the shift is profound, not superficial confidence, but deep, grounded self belief that changes how they lead, communicate and show up in every part of life.

One leader from our recent cohort shared: “I always knew I was capable, but I didn’t always trust my voice, especially in high pressure situations. This programme fundamentally shifted that. I now show up fully as a leader, speak with clarity, trust my judgement, and no longer question whether I deserve to be in the room. I know that I do.”

Another described the ripple effect beyond the workplace: “Leadership doesn’t stop at work, it carries into every part of life. I’m more present with my family, more intentional with my team, and more confident in who I am. I’ve stopped trying to fit a mould and started leading as myself.”

These aren’t isolated stories. They are pattern, evidence that when women are given structured support to understand their strengths, build resilience and develop a leadership identity they can stand in, everything changes.

And startups benefit directly from that transformation.

The commercial case for resilient, diverse leadership

For founders and investors, the argument for supporting women leaders isn’t just moral, it’s commercial.

Research consistently shows that diverse leadership teams:

• Make better decisions
• Innovate more effectively
• Build stronger cultures
• Deliver higher financial performance

Resilience and self awareness, often dismissed as “soft skills,” are in fact performance multipliers. They enable leaders to navigate uncertainty, manage pressure, and make decisions with clarity rather than reactivity. In early stage environments, these capabilities are not optional. They are foundational.

To make this practical, I often use a simple framework called the Resilient Leadership Elements Framework, which outlines the four capabilities leaders need to navigate uncertainty and lead with clarity:

• Clarity of direction: having a vision and a realistic strategy for the future, communicating effectively to align people to your vision and having the determination to keep going in the face of adversity
• Awareness: appreciation of your own and others’ motivations, cultures, strengths and weaknesses and using this knowledge to adapt to the forces that affect your changing environment
• Leadership presence: being true to yourself, your values and ethical code, being in service to others and bringing a focus and bias for achievement to your organisation and others around you
• Resilient decision making: being able to take a valuable idea from concept to reality, challenging your own and others biases and considering the impact, pace and style of your decision making

What startups can do today (without big budgets)

The good news is that building leadership capability doesn’t require huge investment. It requires intention.

1. Build leadership capability early

Don’t wait until you’re 50 people and firefighting culture issues. Leadership development should start at the founding team.

2. Create belonging intentionally

Belonging doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built through clarity, communication, psychological safety and inclusive decision making.

3. Support women through transitions

The moments when women are most likely to lose confidence, promotion, maternity, redundancy, return to work,  are the moments when support matters most.

4. Develop resilience as a leadership muscle

Resilience isn’t about “coping”. It’s about clarity, adaptability and grounded decision making. These are teachable skills.

5. Design teams based on strengths, not convenience

Avoid “accidental teams”. Use strengths based approaches to build cognitive diversity and reduce blind spots.

6. Encourage reflective practice

Leaders who understand themselves lead more effectively. Reflection should be a regular part of leadership, not a luxury.

“Leadership capability isn’t a luxury for later. It’s the foundation that determines whether a startup thrives or burns out.”

The future of tech depends on who stays, not just who starts

The UK is investing heavily in getting more women into tech, from school age programmes to returner schemes. But unless we support women to lead in tech, the pipeline will continue to leak. Startups, with their agility and pace, are uniquely positioned to change this.

The question is whether they will.

Because the future of tech won’t be shaped by who enters the industry. It will be shaped by who feels supported enough to stay, grow and lead.

And right now, too many women are walking away, not because they lack capability, but because they lack the leadership support they deserve.

If early stage founders want to build resilient, innovative, high performing companies, the solution is clear: invest in leadership capability early, intentionally and inclusively. The return on that investment is not just cultural. It’s commercial. And it’s urgent.