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Dear readers,

Happy International Women’s Day! Today is the day when the world pauses to celebrate the achievements of women everywhere. Yet, in tech, the celebration often raises a bigger, tougher question: what is the real state of women in this industry today?

Across Europe, countless panels, mentorship programs, and initiatives aimed at supporting women in tech exist - but the numbers tell a different story. In many places, progress is stagnating, or even slipping backward. The gap between the visibility of these programs and their real impact is what our speaker in this special issue calls the real puzzle.

Therefore, this International Women’s Day, we wanted to go beyond the headlines and the polished lists - this time, our focus is on the women who are not just succeeding in tech, but actively shaping it.

Here's to the women building our SEE tech ecosystems!
Bojan Stojkovski
Editor-in-Chief, IT Logs

The paradox of women in tech: More programs, fewer results

Steliana Moraru

Every year around International Women’s Day, editors ask roughly the same thing: publish a list of the most influential women in tech. The format is familiar: ten founders, ten engineers, ten executives. The articles usually feature a mention or a highlight from their impressive careers, inspirational quotes, and polished portraits.

But after doing this long enough, a deeper question creeps in: does it actually change anything?

The uncomfortable truth is that despite the countless panels, mentorship programs, and “women in tech” initiatives across Europe, the numbers in many places are either stagnating, or quietly moving backward. The gap between the narrative and reality is something that Steliana Moraru, a Romanian entrepreneur and advocate for women’s rights, has been thinking about a lot lately.

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“The way I see it, there are a lot of initiatives for women. Every day there are events dedicated to women, mentorship programs, communities, campaigns. There is a lot of push and a lot of supportive initiatives.” Steliana told me.

Yet, the reality behind the statistics is much less optimistic.

“But when you look at the numbers,” she continued, “they are stalling. Or, in the worst case, they are decreasing in certain ways, especially in STEM - in technology and other sciences.”

That gap between effort and outcome is the real puzzle. If the ecosystem has more programs, more conversations, and more visibility than ever before, why are fewer women choosing to stay in these fields?

For Moraru, the answer lies in layers of structural, cultural, and political factors. Some of them are visible, while others subtle. Once you start unpacking them, the issue begins to resemble what she calls an onion.

“You start peeling it. You start with culture, then traditional roles, then different behaviors in society. There are so many layers.” she explains.

Steliana Moraru

The pressure gap

One of the first layers is the difference in how women and men in leadership are treated. Moraru points to a pattern she sees not only in tech, but also in politics and other public sectors.

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“Women are facing more pressure and more scrutiny than men. They hear things like: your hair is not in the right place, what about your husband or your children, are you able to do your job?” she says.

Men, she notes, rarely face the same questions. “Nobody asks a man about childcare when he takes a leadership position,” Steliana adds. That imbalance can have long-term consequences. Over time, it discourages women from staying in high-pressure fields: especially ones like technology, where the culture is already demanding.

In Romania, she says, the signs are visible even outside the tech sector. “For example, in politics we now have only two female ministers. The representation of women in parliament, government, and public bodies is at one of the lowest levels.” Moraru points out.

Technology, she argues, may be heading in a similar direction if the underlying pressures remain unchanged. Another troubling signal appears much earlier in the pipeline - at universities. “In the universities, a lot of young women are joining STEM faculties. But fewer of them graduate or remain in the field.” Steliana notes.

The drop-off happens somewhere between enrollment and long-term careers, and there are several reasons for that. Part of it is the lack of visible role models, and part of it is workplace culture. But another factor, she believes, is the type of role models young women are exposed to online.

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“If you search on social media, the main female role models are more in cosmetics, fashion, or lifestyle. Those things are nice, I like them too, but they are just parts of reality.” she says.

What is missing are visible examples of women building companies, leading research teams, or shaping technological breakthroughs. “You have many incredible women in STEM,” Steliana emphasizes. “But they stay in their offices and do great work, and nobody knows about them.”

That invisibility can shape career choices more than people realize. “Young girls don’t always see other types of models. So they think the stereotype is the only path.” she said.

The tech bro effect

The culture of the startup world doesn’t always help either. At one point during our conversation, I mentioned something a colleague once told me - that after years of covering startups, she began noticing a pattern among founders.

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“Most of them were the same. Late twenties, early thirties, male, with a bit of a god complex.” she said at the time. Steliana laughed when I brought this up. “You’re right,” she said. “When you talk about diversity, this is exactly the pattern we see.”

The broader tech ecosystem has long been influenced by what many describe as “tech bro” culture, a style of leadership often associated with aggressive ambition and hyper-competitive environments.

“We see a lot of male CEOs displaying a certain behavior or way of doing things. And I don’t think that is something many of us aspire to.” Steliana says.

For many women entering the tech world, that lack of relatable leadership models can make the environment feel alien. Adding another layer to the issue is a growing backlash against diversity and inclusion initiatives - particularly influenced by debates in the US.

“I think one of the reasons is this anti-diversity and inclusion current coming from the American side,” Moraru said. In some cases, she has even seen supportive male colleagues distance themselves from public discussions around diversity. She has felt this on a personal level, through a story of a friend.

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“He is extremely supportive of women. He mentors them, hires them, helps them grow.” she recalls. Yet when she asked him to publicly support a campaign about diversity, he declined.

“He told me he didn’t want to associate himself with it. Because as a white European male he felt the conversation had become very sensitive.” For her, that reaction was revealing. “People might support equality in practice, but they are afraid to speak about it publicly,” Steliana sighs.

Intersectionality and invisible barriers

She also emphasizes that gender inequality rarely exists in isolation. Instead, it overlaps with other structural barriers. “It means discrimination can happen on multiple levels,” she explained.

In Romania, geography and economic background often play major roles. “Half of Romania is rural,” she said. “In rural areas you still have more traditional roles. Women marry earlier, have children earlier, and have fewer opportunities for education.”

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Even when education is technically free, hidden costs create barriers. “You need money for transportation, clothes, food, books. If you live in a village and need to travel to the next city for school, that is already a challenge.” she explains.

Then there is the reality of domestic labor. “In many cases, women are expected to have a job but also take care of the household duties,” Steliana says, adding that this includes raising children, managing the home, and often caring for elderly family members.

In fast-paced sectors like tech, where hustle culture still dominates, those expectations can push women out of the workforce entirely. Flexible work policies and affordable childcare, she argues, are essential if the industry wants to retain female talent.

“It’s not only a tech problem. But tech companies do need to think about these things.” she adds.

Which begs another question: If mentoring alone hasn’t solved the problem, what will?

Moraru believes the next step is sponsorship - or actively promoting women when leadership roles and opportunities appear. “Mentoring is good, but sponsorship moves the needle.”

Another important step is reframing the conversation around diversity. “We talk a lot about diversity as something morally good. But we should also talk about the economic benefits.” Steliana argues.

Studies consistently show that diverse teams perform better, are more stable, and often generate higher financial returns. “There are very concrete advantages, but we don’t emphasize them enough.”

Ultimately, Steliana rejects the idea that gender equality is a zero-sum game. Instead, she argues that the entire ecosystem benefits when more women participate in technology and innovation.

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“If we reintegrate even 10 percent of women who are currently outside the workforce, the GDP would increase significantly.” she explains, noting that the impact goes beyond economics. “If a woman works, she brings more stability to the family. The family has a better lifestyle, the community has a better lifestyle, and society improves.”

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Our list of women shaping SEE tech

Still, lists do matter - but only if they reflect the deeper reality behind the conversation, and that is exactly what we tried to do this year.

Our selection is about highlighting women who, together with Steliana, embody what meaningful participation in the tech ecosystem actually looks like: building companies, leading research, mentoring younger generations, and loudly pushing the industry forward.

So, here’s our take!