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Women made up 16% of the UK cyber security sector workforce and 12% of its senior workforce, according to a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) study published on 29 September 2026. The figures show underrepresentation, but DSIT cautions that its workforce estimates cannot establish a statistically significant year-on-year decline.
What the latest UK figures show
DSIT’s Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2026 is based on quantitative survey fieldwork conducted from 8 August to 27 October 2025. It estimates that women were 16% of the cyber security sector workforce and 12% of its senior workforce. DSIT defines senior workers as typically having six or more years of experience.
The comparison figures below come from different data periods and populations; they should not be read as a single like-for-like survey.
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|---|---|---|
| UK cyber security sector workforce | 16% | DSIT survey data collected in 2025 |
| Senior UK cyber security sector workforce | 12% | DSIT 2025 survey; typically six or more years’ experience |
| UK digital sector workforce | 29% | January–December 2024 comparator data in the DSIT report |
| Whole UK workforce | 48% | January–December 2024 comparator data in the DSIT report |
The 16% estimate concerns people employed by cyber security businesses, not everyone across the UK workforce who performs any security-related task. DSIT estimates those businesses employed 69,589 people. Its broader estimate of 145,900 people in the cyber security talent base includes a wider range of roles and career pathways, so it is not the denominator for the 16% figure.
The report notes that the 16% share maintains the previous year’s pattern. The Register described it as the lowest level since 2021, but that is its reading of the trend: DSIT says workforce-level estimates such as this one are not expected to show statistically significant change over time because of sample-size limitations. The evidence therefore supports a finding of persistent underrepresentation, not a confirmed statistically significant fall.
Women’s representation is lower in the senior group
Women’s estimated share is four percentage points lower among senior workers than across the cyber security sector workforce as a whole: 12% compared with 16%. The senior category is based on experience, not a single job title or management status, so it should not be treated as a direct count of women in executive positions.
That gap describes representation; it does not establish why fewer women are in the senior group. The study’s accounts of possible barriers come from interviews, not a representative survey measuring how often each barrier occurs or proving what caused the workforce figures.
What the student figures say about the pipeline
Higher-education data in the DSIT report show that women were 14% of undergraduate cyber security students and 28% of postgraduate cyber security students in academic year 2023/24. The corresponding shares in computer science were 21% and 37%.
| Course level, 2023/24 | Cyber security students | Computer science students |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | 14% women | 21% women |
| Postgraduate | 28% women | 37% women |
These figures show that women were a minority in both fields, with a lower share in cyber security than in computer science at each level. They do not show how student representation translates into recruitment or progression, and they do not prove what caused the workforce gap.
What interviewees said may hold women back
DSIT’s qualitative findings draw on 51 in-depth interviews conducted from 15 September to 1 December 2025. The report says the interview sample was not representative. Its themes and examples can help explain how some people experience the sector, but they cannot measure how widespread a view or practice is.
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Assumptions about pregnancy and family plans
Interviewees described employers assuming women might leave to start families or would not want demanding leadership roles. One recruitment agent interviewed for the study recounted a concern they said they had heard from businesses:
“When I’ve spoken to a business and said to them ‘why don’t you hire a more diverse workforce?’ You’ll get the normal common ones of ‘well if we hire a female, she’ll get pregnant, she’ll be off for 12 months,’ which isn’t right.”
This is an interviewee’s account, not a finding about every employer or a measure of how often such assumptions affect hiring.
Assumptions about technical ability and who belongs
Participants also described assumptions about women’s technical skill or interest, and a perception of cyber security as an “old boys’ club.” One small cyber security business interviewed for the study recalled a careers adviser’s response when asked why five girls had left:
“I went to the careers lady ‘what was the story with the five girls that left?’ And she went ‘oh, cyber security is not really a girl’s job’.”
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The account illustrates a stereotype an interviewee encountered; it is not a nationally measured estimate of teachers’ views.
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Hiring and applying for senior roles
Interviewees discussed historical gaps in women’s representation and continuing reluctance to hire women into senior roles. Some also perceived that women may be less likely to apply when they do not meet every requirement listed in a job advert. These are reported perceptions and experiences, not quantified explanations for the 12% senior-workforce estimate.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the report says employers are doing
In the 2025 survey, 68% of cyber security firms reported engaging with at least one of the diversity or skills initiatives covered in the study during the prior year. The most commonly reported activities included school or college talks and workshops (32%) and work placements (30%). These figures describe reported activity, not evidence that a particular initiative improves recruitment or retention.
The interviews also recorded examples and suggestions: some large employers had mentoring or coaching schemes; one employer used targets for women in senior leadership and among head-hunters; and participants suggested targeted development routes or recruiting from other technology and business areas. Most participants did not offer concrete suggestions. The report does not establish these measures’ effectiveness.
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Acas says pregnancy and maternity are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Unfavourable treatment because someone is pregnant, on maternity leave, or entitled to maternity leave can be discrimination, including during recruitment. Acas’s guidance, What the law says: Pregnancy and maternity discrimination, was last updated on 10 June 2026. Whether a particular situation breaches the law depends on its facts; an interview account alone does not establish that a specific employer acted unlawfully.
How to read the headline
The Register’s 1 October 2026 headline, “Fewer women than ever in UK’s ‘old boys’ club’ cyber industry,” frames the figures as a new low since 2021. The official report gives a more qualified picture: women remain a small share of the sector workforce, and their estimated share is lower in the senior group, but DSIT cautions against treating workforce-level estimates as proof of a statistically significant change over time.
A separate figure in the report estimates that women were 14% of full-time SOC 2135 cyber security professionals in 2025, using the Annual Population Survey. DSIT warns that this is not an accredited Official Statistic and has response-rate and occupational-coding limitations. It describes a different population and method from the cyber security business survey, so it should not be combined with the 16% estimate.
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