By Levy Masiteng
As South Africa marks Women’s Month, new data from tech education provider HyperionDev shows women are approaching parity in its student enrolment, even as they remain significantly underrepresented in technical jobs.
Women now make up 49% of HyperionDev’s student body, up from 33.7% in 2022, pointing to growing female participation in technology education.
“We’ve seen a steady increase in female participation over the past few years, and it reflects a positive trend towards greater gender diversity in technology education,” said Simone Botes, Director of Education Operations and Learning Impact at HyperionDev.
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However, HyperionDev said women still hold just 23% of technical roles in South Africa, or roughly 56,000 of the country’s 236,000 technology jobs.
According to the latest Commission for Employment Equity data cited by HyperionDev, women make up around 45% of employees in South Africa’s ICT sector, up from 39.5% three years earlier.
Their representation falls to roughly a quarter in core technical positions such as software engineering, infrastructure and cybersecurity.
HyperionDev also cited the 2024 IITPSA ICT Skills Survey, which found that just 13% of South Africa’s STEM graduates are women, compared with a global average of 35%.
This comes against the backdrop of an estimated shortage of more than 100,000 unfilled digital roles across software development, data and IT.
Botes said the challenges faced by female students were often linked to responsibilities outside their studies rather than their ability to learn.
“Where challenges arise for female students, they’re often related to external responsibilities rather than learning ability. Many are balancing careers, caregiving or family commitments alongside their studies.”
“We’ve intentionally designed our learning model – flexible online study, self-paced learning, live mentorship and dedicated student support – so that learners can fit their education around their lives without compromising on quality.”
HyperionDev reported that 88% of its graduates receive a job offer within six months and 86% successfully transition into technology careers, with graduates recording a median salary increase of 178%.
Botes said salary outcomes for male and female graduates were also closely aligned.
“In terms of salary outcomes, we’re pleased to see that they are highly comparable.”
“The average reported starting salary for female graduates is approximately 0.5% higher than for male graduates, indicating strong parity in employment outcomes.”
Dr Anjali Ramburn, Senior Vice President: Commercial at HyperionDev, said employers continued to have a business incentive to broaden the pool of women entering the sector.
“A few years ago, many companies had explicit diversity hiring targets. Today, some organisations have become less vocal about DEI, but the underlying business need hasn’t gone away,” she said.
“When employers look to hire more women in tech, I don’t think it’s about meeting quotas anymore. It’s about expanding an already constrained talent pool and asking: how do we reach capable people we’re currently missing?”
Ramburn said the biggest challenge was no longer simply attracting women into technology education, but ensuring that they were able to enter the workforce, remain in the sector and progress into leadership positions.
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“The most significant drop-offs occur during the transition into the first tech job, followed by retention and progression into leadership,” she said.
“The ‘leaky pipeline’ is most pronounced after women enter the workforce rather than at the point of education. It’s one thing to learn to code and land your first job, but it’s another to feel supported, continue growing, and eventually move into leadership. Too many women don’t have mentors, sponsors, or role models who’ve walked the path before them, and that can make the journey feel a lot harder than it needs to be.”
Ramburn said progress should ultimately be measured not only by the number of women entering technology education, but by how many remain in the industry and advance into senior roles.
“Success isn’t just about seeing more women enrol in coding programmes. It’s about seeing more women stay in tech, lead teams, build innovative solutions, and inspire the next generation. That’s when we’ll know we’ve really started to break down the barriers.”
