Women Shaping Tech’s Future: Pipeline, Power & Capital
Friday, 19 June 2026
09:00 - 14:00
Stage 5
Despite significant advancements in the technology industry, women continue to face systemic challenges that hinder their full participation and growth. One of the most prominent issues is the persistent gender gap in representation. Women hold a fraction of technical and leadership roles in the tech industry. This underrepresentation starts early, with societal norms and educational barriers discouraging many girls from pursuing tech-related studies.
When half the population is underrepresented in building tomorrow’s systems, we ensure the architectures of power, creativity, and equity reflect only half the world. This track is not about sympathy, but about agency. It spotlights women not as beneficiaries, but as essential designers, decision-makers, and disruptors in technology.
From early education to boardroom capital, the barriers remain steep: biased systems, pay inequity, burnout pressure, and funding asymmetries. But the solutions are equally bold: alternative pathways, organizational redesign, hybrid life models, and investing differently.
Here, four sessions weave the journey of women’s leadership across tech — from discovery to influence, from retention to investment. Each session will confront real trade-offs, ask hard questions, and force us to recalibrate what equity in innovation really means.
Keynote Speech
09:30 - 10:00
Session 1: Assuring the Talent Pipeline for Women in Tech
10:00 – 11:30
This session will examine the fundamentals for talent development at the early stages of education and career development. The emphasis is on practical, tangible tools and best practise that can be learned from and adapted by educational institutions as well as employers. How can STEM Education become more attractive for Women in Technology? What other factors count at the secondary, upper secondary and tertiary levels? What role do mentoring, counselling and apprenticeship schemes play in expanding the talent pipeline? What other policy or employment issues affect early-stage talent development and career choices?
Coordinator, EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative
Founder, Emerald Zebra
Morning Break
11:30 - 12:00
Session 2: Access to Finance / Investing in Women-led Startups
12:00 – 13:30
This session will share the experience of four investors in tech startups founded and led by women. It will explore their decision-making criteria; investment priorities and strategies; and other features of their investment approach. It will also review other opportunities and challenges in terms of general access to finance.
Co-Founder, W11 Ventures & EIC Ambassador