Australia’s tech workforce is growing at twice the national average. Tech exports have doubled in the past decade, making the sector one of Australia’s fastest-growing economic drivers — but there’s a disconnect. Demand for tech workers has never been higher, and the talent is out there, yet outdated hiring practices and biases are keeping them apart.
According to the Australian Computer Society’s (ACS) Digital Pulse 2024 report, there are more than one million people in Australia’s technology workforce, but to meet the country’s future tech demands, we will need 1.3 million tech workers by 2030 — that’s 1,000 new recruits every week.
“We’ve got a chronic skills shortage, yet for years now too many businesses seem to be blinkered,” says ACS president Helen McHugh. “Surely it’s just common sense that we make proper use of our existing talent pool and build a workforce that actually reflects the world we live in.”
Overcoming bias in tech
One of the biggest misconceptions — amongst both men and women — is that working in ICT means becoming a programmer or needing a computer science degree.
In-demand ICT roles require analytical thinkers, risk managers, project managers and problem solvers. These skills are common in industries such as finance, mathematics, business, law, and psychology — and can be transferred to ICT relatively easily.
The Digital Pulse report has identified a potential talent pool of 1.1 million Australian workers with skills that align with ICT roles. But for some reason, companies are not only continuing to ignore them, they are actively discouraging them — because they are female.
The report identifies several barriers for women in tech-related fields. They still earn $12,600 less per year than men in equivalent roles. Job ads often use male-coded language, discouraging female applicants. Few ICT roles are advertised as flexible or part-time, despite many tasks being remote-friendly. Too often, women are not seen as capable of doing the job, even when they have proven to be at least as capable, if not more capable, than their male colleagues.
Ms McHugh explains how she has experienced this bias throughout her career, which includes advancing to her current position as ACS president. She is now on a mission to change the status quo.
When discussions began at the ACS about who could take on the role of president, initially Ms McHugh wasn’t even considered. “I had to draw attention to the fact that I was a viable candidate,” she said. “The first reaction to that was hesitation — ‘Are you sure?’,” they asked me.
Now, Ms McHugh is committed to breaking down barriers for other women in ICT by elevating their visibility and leadership. She knows first-hand how biases can hold women back — not just from leadership roles, but from entering the industry in the first place.
‘Project Rescue’
Despite better pay and stronger career prospects, thousands of capable non-coding professionals who could excel in ICT aren’t entering the sector due to misconceptions and hiring biases.
“Women aren’t just missing out on opportunities — the industry is missing out on them,” says Ms McHugh. She has seen this first hand throughout her career, where women were typically assigned projects that were already a disaster. She calls this “Project Rescue’.
“The men would get the great projects, and the women would most often get the boring projects. Until something broke. Then suddenly, they’d give it to a female — because it ‘couldn’t hurt’.”
The problem isn’t a lack of talent, but rather there are structural barriers keeping women out of leadership, out of higher-paid roles, and out of the industry altogether, according to Ms McHugh. “It’s ludicrous that women are often brought in to fix failing projects but are not given leadership roles from the start,” she says.
Research from McKinsey shows that companies with more diverse teams consistently outperform their competitors, innovate faster, and make more money. Businesses with more women in leadership are 39 per cent more likely to be financially successful, and companies with diverse boards are 27 per cent more likely to perform better.
The penalties for failing to diversify are just as stark — companies with the least diversity are 66 per cent more likely to struggle financially. In an industry facing a critical skills shortage, ignoring diversity isn’t just limiting — it’s a business risk.
Cybersecurity: A high-growth opportunity for women
Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing and highest-paid sectors in ICT. Australia will need at least 20,000 additional cybersecurity professionals by 2030. Cybersecurity professionals earn 27 per cent more than equivalent positions in other industries. Yet only 17 per cent of cybersecurity professionals are women.
“Many cybersecurity roles need skills in risk management, policy, and problem-solving,” says Ms McHugh. “If we keep shutting women out, we’re not just losing talent — we’re weakening our cybersecurity defenses.”
Australia’s moment to lead
Cybersecurity is one example of how fixing hiring biases can close the ICT talent gap while giving women access to high-paying, high-growth careers. But the bigger picture paints an even clearer sense of urgency.
Projections suggest that if Australia’s tech sector matches global peers, it could contribute at least $244 billion annually to GDP in the next decade. “This isn’t just about the tech industry; it’s about the entire Australian economy,” says Ms McHugh. “Embracing diversity and inclusivity in ICT is an economic imperative that will drive innovation, productivity, and national prosperity.”
As Google, Meta and the US government scale back diversity efforts, Australia has a choice: let diversity decline — risking deeper skills shortages and stagnation — or take action to build a stronger, more competitive ICT industry. This is the best opportunity for Australia to attract some of the top displaced talent from the US.
“Diversifying Australia’s ICT workforce isn’t just smart—it’s necessary. Businesses need to step up, or policymakers should step in,” added Ms McHugh.
This article was produced by InnovationAus.com in partnership with ACS and published as part of its sponsorship of the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence 2024
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.