What we're learning about the gender gap in Computer Science

When we set out to design the STEM Horizons programme, one of our key motivations was to inspire more girls into tech careers. The gender imbalance in tech begins early and the data has been consistent over recent years: for every girl sitting Computer Science GCSE in the UK, there are roughly four boys.

In 2025, Ofqual and JCQ data shows a slight improvement to a ratio of 1:3.5, although the improvement was mainly due to a sharper fall in male entries rather than a large increase in girls. This remains one of the largest disparities of any GCSE subject. Interestingly, despite lower participation, girls consistently outperform boys: in 2025, 36% of girls achieved grade 7 or above compared with 28% of boys in England. This pattern has been stable for several years.

What we're seeing in our cohort

Since starting the core programme in February 2026, we're seeing a similar picture across our partner schools. Each week, our teachers work with Year 10 Computer Science classes in state schools, largely in areas with above-average free school meal eligibility. Of our current cohort of around 480 students, the ratio is roughly 1:5 girls to boys, suggesting that the gender disparity may be even more pronounced in lower-income areas.

Part of our mission is to improve this imbalance. We still have a lot to learn from listening to these young people, and we'll share more on how we plan to tackle this in future posts.

How this connects to the tech workforce

Research commissioned by the Hg Foundation, The Tech Pipeline (NFER, 2025), shows a strikingly similar gender imbalance in tech careers. Across the UK tech workforce, women make up around one-fifth to one-quarter of workers, a ratio of roughly 4:1 male to female overall. This imbalance has changed little over the past decade, despite sustained growth in tech employment and skills demand. The broad conclusions of The Tech Pipeline are consistent with similar historic analyses.

As a programme working with and alongside 42 schools, we are well placed to learn more, and ultimately, to make a difference. If you want to find out more about our work, explore the rest of the STEM Horizons website