Top 5 in-demand IT careers for women in 2025

AI Engineer

The advent of Open AI, ChatGPT in particular, brought AI into our everyday lives. As this industry has expanded, the workforce hasn’t been able to keep up with the demand, and it’s forecast to continue growing by 27% over the next 5 years.

Yet, currently, women only occupy 22% of roles within the data and AI field. Whilst this does leave a huge gap to bridge, it is one of the higher shares and provides a solid foundation to build upon. More and more, we see tech companies aiming to defeat the gender bias found across AI platforms, as well as bring different skills and nuance to their workforce.

With the deficit in skills and determined need for more workers in AI to maintain the industry’s expansion, there will be sustained opportunities for women to enter and advance in the workforce.

Data

Quite often the starting point for anyone looking to move into AI, Data Analysis and Data Science offer their own in-demand, highly paid, and diverse roles. From oceanography to statistics, and from sports to insurance, the reliance on data and data models has opened up a multitude of roles across a plethora of sectors.

As previously mentioned, Data and AI already has one of the highest proportion of women working in these roles, and the growing gap between need and availability of skilled workers has resulted in further opportunities to increase that share.

With average salaries of more than £46,000, and over 50% of roles offering remote or hybrid work, data provides a flexibility that is far beyond most. A freedom of life choices and work commitment that’s hard to find elsewhere.

Software/IT Project Manager

One of the higher representations of women, Project Management currently has a 30:70 gender split. This is closing to parity, however, with projects like the Home Builder’s Federation pushing for more women in construction and a drive within tech for more female CEOs.

Project Management offers remote and flexible working, as well as some of the highest non-technical salaries in the tech field. It has seen huge growth in the last few years, and this is expected to continue by as much as 19%, to 2.3 million project professionals.

This still isn’t enough to keep up with the business needs, however, and there is a rapidly developing skills shortage.

Software Development

Becoming a Software Developer requires a love of problem solving and dedication. The benefits of a career in coding are worth it, though, with some of the highest salaries in the tech industry, fast progression, and the very real opportunity to work from anywhere in the world.

Statistics show that the gender gap in coding begins at school, and by university, only 3% of an initial 64% of women are studying a STEM subject. Yet, with over 27% of Learning People’s coding students identifying as female, the industry is also seeing a rise in career changers moving into the sector.

Government regulations and incentives are also pushing this drive because it’s not just software development that needs to fill the workforce gap. UI/UX, DevOps and Cloud Engineering are just a few examples of direct progression routes from a coding foundation and have people-power shortages.

Cybersecurity Specialist

The risk of cyberattacks has increased exponentially in recent years, with companies such as Sony and X (formerly Twitter) being taken out of action and costing them millions. This is a critical field, and a skilled cybersecurity team is essential to any organisation.

There’s also a massive demand for more cybersecurity specialists, as the demand outstrips the supply. This has made cybersecurity one of the most accessible roles for women, despite it making up just 17% of the current workforce. This massive gender imbalance is being rectified, with a 67% increase in recent years, seeing one of the sharpest rises of any tech area.