Southeast Asia: More women in tech, but who gets to lead?

Women-in-tech initiatives across Southeast Asia have made measurable gains in bringing women into the industry. But what happens after they get there?

Women account for between 34% and 40% of the technology workforce in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority. Yet women held only 23% of senior positions in the 50 technology companies examined, and just 8% of technical leadership roles. The study also found that 70% of respondents working in technology companies said their employer had initiatives to recruit, retain or advance women, up from 49% in a similar 2020 survey.

The Sentinel spoke with Valerie Won Lee, WomenTech Network’s Global Leader for APAC, about what those numbers mean, why participation has not translated equally into leadership, and what companies seeking to advance women in technology can learn from the gap.

“The transition from participation to leadership remains incomplete,” Lee said. “Visibility matters, but it should not be confused with structural progress. Progress becomes genuine when women gain decision-making authority, economic opportunity and ownership, not simply public recognition.”

The challenges vary across Southeast Asia. Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand have different technology economies, making it difficult to treat the region as a single market.

A 2025 study of women leaders in Vietnam’s manufacturing and technology sectors, based on 37 in-depth interviews, found that family support, mentorship and professional relationships played important roles in career development. It also documented persistent gender stereotypes and the difficulty of balancing professional ambition with family responsibilities.

The broader regional data point to challenges beyond recruitment. The BCG–IMDA research found that women made up less than 30% of applicants for both entry-level and executive technical roles across the six markets. Fewer than half of women with technology-related degrees moved into technical jobs, while nearly half of the women already in technical roles were considering switching to non-technical work.

Employers often treat the issue as one of hiring or branding, Lee said, when it is equally about culture, authority and advancement. One distinction she emphasizes is between mentoring and sponsorship: a mentor offers advice, while a sponsor uses influence to put someone forward for a consequential role.

“Women do not always need another training session,” Lee said. “They may need someone to recommend them for a leadership role, introduce them to an investor, include them in an important project or help them secure their first major client.”

Artificial intelligence presents another question for women-in-tech initiatives. For Lee, the issue is not simply whether women learn to use the technology, but what role they have in shaping it.

“Women need more than training in how to use AI,” Lee said. “They also need opportunities to develop it, invest in it, govern it and own the businesses it creates.”

Lee is careful not to claim that one person or one regional organisation can define the priorities of women across Southeast Asia. Her model for WomenTech Network is deliberately decentralised: connect people across borders, but let women with local knowledge lead national chapters and determine what their communities need. One example of that approach is the network’s Singapore chapter, now led by Lee See Ting, whose work focuses on Gen Z engagement and the future of work.

Putting women on the conference stage is easy enough. For organizations that want women to play a greater role in leadership, handing over the budget, the product and the investment decision is the harder test.