# Women in tech speak out on harassment and bias

> A survey of 634 women reveals persistent sexism, harassment, and discrimination that contradicts tech leadership's claims of progress.
- Title: Women in tech speak out on harassment and bias · WIRED
- Summary: A survey of 634 women reveals persistent sexism, harassment, and discrimination that contradicts tech leadership's claims of progress. Despite decades of…
- Keywords: women in tech, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, diversity initiatives, tech culture, silicon valley, pay gap, workplace bias, dei programs, tech leadership, Women, tech
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/women-in-tech-survey
- Author: Sandra Upson
- Published: 2026-09-21T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: women in tech, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, diversity initiatives, tech culture, silicon valley, pay gap, workplace bias, dei programs, tech leadership
## Tech leaders celebrate masculine culture
A tech executive recently praised aggressive, masculine energy in corporate culture, timing his comments to coincide with Trump's return to office and Meta's elimination of DEI programs.

> Masculine energy is good. Having a culture that celebrates the aggression a bit more has its own merits.
## Women report widespread harassment
More than a third of 634 women surveyed experienced gender-based harassment or bias, including being talked down to, sexually harassed by supervisors, and accused of sleeping with colleagues for promotions.

> Colleagues talk down to me like I'm an idiot. I've had 30 years of experience in my field.
## Sexism thrives in everyday interactions
Women described male colleagues ranking their body parts on Slack, executives forcing them to sit on their laps, and bosses demanding they walk in front of them to improve the view.

> One of the executives would dress as Santa at the holiday party and make the young women sit on his lap.
## Career advancement blocked by gender
Women reported being passed over for promotions, paid less than male peers, and denied opportunities because men supposedly handle pressure better. Ideas from women get ignored until a man repeats them.

> My favorite coworkers are men, but some of them will always default to assuming a woman's opinion is automatically less valuable.
## Diversity progress has stalled
After Tracy Chou's 2013 push for transparency, companies began publishing diversity data and numbers improved. But Trump's anti-DEI agenda reversed this, with Google, Facebook, and Microsoft stopping public disclosure.
## Women in tech remain underrepresented
Nvidia's June 2026 diversity report shows women hold only 17.4 percent of technical roles, with similar percentages for managers and leaders. Only two of five executives are women.
## AI boom intensifies workplace alienation
Women report spending time cleaning up AI-generated work while men get praised for sloppy AI output. Women and men alike cite concerns about environmental damage, job loss, and wealth inequality from AI.

> I spend so much of my time cleaning up AI slop and AI mess.
## Workers feel trapped and disillusioned
Employees who once believed they were solving humanity's problems now feel disillusioned by their leaders and the industry. A poor job market keeps workers trapped and reluctant to speak up about problems.
## Key takeaway

Despite decades of diversity initiatives and public commitments, women in tech continue to face widespread gender-based harassment, pay gaps, and career obstacles that have barely improved.