Akamai Research: Why are Women Leaving Cybersecurity?

Women have been facing an uphill battle in the tech industry, with many of them leaving cybersecurity roles at pivotal points in their careers. 

A UK-wide report commissioned by Akamai sheds light on this issue and is based on answers from 1,500 women across the UK, 1,000 of who have left a tech role and 500 have returned to tech after a career break.

According to Akamai, 55% of women leave tech roles or tech companies within five years of being in the industry and 87% leave within 10 years.

“Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting hundreds of brilliant women working in technology, but I’ve also known many who have walked away from their careers,” writes Natalie Billingham, EMEA Managing Director at Akamai, in the report introduction.

“Their stories have stayed with me. These are not women who lacked ambition, talent or resilience.

“They are women who hit a wall: a culture that didn’t see them, a career path that narrowed rather than opened or simply a working pattern that couldn’t flex around the rest of their lives.”

The research suggests that company culture played a key role in women leaving the sector, with 52% of those surveyed lacking a sense of belonging and 40% stating they experienced a lack of gender diversity in leadership.

Inflexible working hours was also cited by 56% of women, who say they struggled with work-life balance.

“What we wanted to understand better is when women leave, why they leave and critically, what it would take for them to come back,” Natalie says. “That is what this research sets out to answer.”

A critical security workforce gap

Of the 1,500 women surveyed, 192 identify cybersecurity as their primary tech specialism.

This exodus from security roles could have significant implications for organisations at a time when cyber threats continue to escalate and the demand for skilled security professionals outpaces supply.

“We lose women from cybersecurity at the exact moment their expertise becomes most valuable,” says Zoe Mackenzie, President of Women in CyberSecurity for UK and Ireland.

“This isn’t a pipeline problem, it's a leadership one.

“Diverse teams build stronger defences. Until organisations commit to inclusive leadership, not just diversity hiring, they are actively weakening their own security posture.”

Of the women who have left the tech sector, only 15% left the job market and are not currently working.

They moved from tech into finance (13%), education (13%), professional services (12%) and healthcare (12%).

This suggests that experienced security professionals are taking their expertise to other sectors, potentially leaving organisations vulnerable as they lose institutional knowledge and technical capabilities.

Seeking meaningful work

A significant majority of the cybersecurity professionals surveyed (75%) said that opportunities to work on meaningful security challenges positively impacted their satisfaction.

This finding could indicate that organisations focusing solely on perks and benefits may be missing what truly engages their security workforce.

Close to four in ten (39%) women who have left tech said they would be likely to consider returning under the right conditions, including higher salary, work-life balance and better career progression.

Flexible working arrangements – like part-time, a compressed workweek or job share opportunities – were cited by 37% as options toward a better work-life balance.

Creating pathways for security talent

“Knowing that many of the barriers to full female participation in the technology workforce have been structural means that we can be intentional and strategic about change – the structures that were built for yesterday can be rebuilt to fully engage and retain the entire workforce of today and tomorrow,” says Khalil Smith, Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement at Akamai.

Natalie says: “By providing opportunities for progression, flexible work and appropriate remuneration, tech leaders on the precipice of technological innovation have the chance to create impactful change on the tech workforce, fostering longer-lasting tenures, diverse leadership and an environment where women can thrive.”

Internal policy shifts are also vital but external experts argue that the industry must also focus on the practical logistics of the return-to-work journey.

“The findings provide a valuable picture of what mid‑career women are looking for in order to return to tech and it’s encouraging to see that the majority could be persuaded to come back under the right conditions,” says Hazel Little, CEO of Career Returners.

“Progression pathways are crucial for retaining talent, but equally important is ensuring that women who want to return have clear, supported ways to re-enter the sector in the first place.

“When employers build both return pathways and progression pathways, they create an environment where women can come back, grow and stay.”