As 2023 drew to a close, the software sectors focus on gender diversity within its leadership ranks was vividly brought to light. This final segment of our series, backed by the powerful analytics of TALNTs Executive Moves Platform, examines the gender composition of senior hires in the software industry. Despite an 81% increase in the number of senior female hires from Q4 2022, achieving proportional representation amidst sector growth presents a multifaceted challenge. This report, grounded in TALNTs AI-driven insights from over 150,000 global sources, charts the progress and ongoing efforts towards gender parity. Highlighting significant trends, regional contributions, and the standout performance of sub-sectors like Enterprise Software, we offer

<div>As 2023 drew to a close, the software sectors focus on gender diversity within its leadership ranks was vividly brought to light. This final segment of our series, backed by the powerful analytics of TALNTs Executive Moves Platform, examines the gender composition of senior hires in the software industry. Despite an 81% increase in the number of senior female hires from Q4 2022, achieving proportional representation amidst sector growth presents a multifaceted challenge. This report, grounded in TALNTs AI-driven insights from over 150,000 global sources, charts the progress and ongoing efforts towards gender parity. Highlighting significant trends, regional contributions, and the standout performance of sub-sectors like Enterprise Software, we offer a comprehensive view of the strides made and the path ahead for gender diversity in executive roles.</div>
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Part 3 of 3: Senior moves by gender
Welcome to this inSights report reviewing the biggest hiring trends within senior roles across the global Software sector. It will compare publicly available data to tell the story of what’s going on a quarterly basis. What year-on-year trends will we see and how significant are they for the year ahead?
In part one, we examined the overall numbers and assess senior level moves by region and sector. In part two, we analysed senior appointments by company and move type. Now, in part three, we take a deeper dive into the gender trends.  
Gender diversity in senior hires in Q4 2023 vs Q4 2022
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNHI4a1hUOG43b3JPaWF2R2xjeTR2a0tJWm9iK25ubjd3OU0wWTR1dkVqdTd4Z0l2WDA4Yi8xa2FqNHAwUTZpNDFJYWw4bElrM1BETnFnRzJZNVhYdWQ0PQ==" alt="" width="752" height="436">
The above pie charts show that the proportion of senior female hires in Software in Q4 2023 was a little lower than during the same period the previous year, even though the number of senior female hires increased by 81% from 89 to 161. This is actually fairly impressive, because when the numbers of hires increase, the proportion of senior female appointments usually declines. The consistent percentage and absolute increase in the face of increasing overall senior level appointments therefore suggests a sector which takes female diversity seriously at the senior level.
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNGdueVF1U2JpYnFSTUNMTkRoNGRvVHNKMTVpR2VVaFVEZW5wb2c0UXZSSkRzb0p3Z1p0R3dpd1JCZUlZTEt2QVcwSTd6TWs1eWp3OGNNV0J3dEVaNjJVPQ==" alt="" width="752" height="526">
Indeed, looking at the proportions of senior female hires throughout 2023, we see that the real growth in female appointments happened from Q3 onwards, when the numbers grew from less tan 100 to 120, and then to 161.  
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNHExK0VpTnhtWHhYRTdRUG5YZ2hrd29Mb1cvcFdLTjZUZ1J2ZndCOVJ3QVhCbVBNSmJTRjlPTjVzUElBZVhDZ0NLcXJlOWF5cEJ6b2hoZGwrWHRZaFhvPQ==" alt="" width="752" height="494">
Looking at the charts above, we can see the gender hiring gap was variable throughout Q4 2023, with a couple of spikes in November and early December when overall senior hires went up significantly and female hiring failed to keep pace.  
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNHAwWU9PTDVWc2d2Smpkd3llcjU3L0RRM2Y1bkRaaE9kK2xpdXZlcmg2VGM2aGd0Zm8vZGFKdG5rb251Y1dGeWF5ZlpRRUREeVFLeURkelJBdXRGNktVPQ==" alt="" width="752" height="240">
That said, the chart above for Q1 – Q4 2023 shows that the female senior hires rose consistently while overall demand kept outpacing it. We can certainly see why the percentages of female hires in Q2 2023 was at its highest for the year.
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNGllTldBVGg3dldWRXlXR2lONDlXM1BveG9sVUF6bzZvcjZ5VENjSVR3UDdNbXQ1STBRQnloTEtoSEsxVEtSYk1Xa0ZCaEtNWkJVaUdQalcxU0pTMUk0PQ==" alt="" width="752" height="459">
The above charts which break down the gender hiring gap by region in Q4 2023 vs Q4 2022 show that the most hires and biggest gaps were seen in the Americas when compared with EMEA or APAC.
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNHFCWlRxc1czN3AxRkhXMjJVNGhzdlF4SGd4M0Q2Qyt5VG9TbXNiQ0hpNGhHcERmMVhYWnZnN1V4alJSYW5XMlg0ekdKcCs5SzNrak5MMlRNcHFCNnN3PQ==" alt="" width="752" height="494">
The charts above show which subsectors performed better in Q4 2023 in terms of gender diversity, compared with Q4 2022. For a start, we can see that the percentages of senior female appointments were higher in Q4 2022 than in the same period in 2023. This is a reflection of the lower numbers; as already explained, when overall numbers are lower, the percentage of female hires tends to be higher. We can also see that the numbers of senior female appointments were significantly higher year-on-year, ad so that fact that the overall proportion of senior female hires was down by only 0.6 of a percentage point year-on-year is a positive reflection on the sector.  
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNGt2dkVmQ3NXMjhac29LOTlRUjJmbmUrMU5kRmowOUpQeVl4ZitkKzVEamN3ZnFoT1BxcnRLdFFxY1AwdXNINDhScDNyZ3UzMDdiTTNYV1pBWWtGOUcwPQ==" alt="">
Looking back through the rest of 2023, we see consistently higher percentages of senior female hires in each quarter where the overall numbers are lower – Q2, for example. Enterprise Software is the subsector which has performed best for gender diversity throughout the year:
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNHZuczk5RkE0WkM4bU5jdjNZbHJkWUlwT2hqMHhXMEhIdDA3UjBjeXVIakloUGpCR3VEblREbzZ4a0ltSHN1NU8xanozdHhCR0ZXVDYwNDU1eGFmd2trPQ==" alt="" width="752" height="179">
Gender diversity at top 10 companies and top 10 positions, Q4 2023 vs Q4 2022
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNGlKaS9XZEhQL3c3QTZhYTl5MjdSbnJqUjN6TmN0bDZyTkNOOE10NkxrSmNudVFIWTlVaGNOaGVSdTlVa0VxY0hjcVJwRUxmNzZKTHNma25GUDFndjdRPQ==" alt="" width="752" height="348">
It’s revealing to see that every single one of the top 10 companies in Q4 2023 hired at least one woman into a senior position, though it’s even more revealing that this is true of all senior roles bar one in the same period the previous year. This does suggest a sector that is not structurally sexist but yet could be doing more to be proactive when hiring more women into senior positions.
<img src="https://api.talnt.sh/v1/images/THlRa0hvQ2NqaytmZGg0Ukx6aTlHWmQ0MDI5VHdUWmJ0NjlDRjlCZ1JYWjdpU2dvZHdyWE4zMmgzWWtoTFFJS2x2T2RSWUNFdHZZeGErOTNPdW9TNGhtRjlNWkRpYjQvTitiTGZxYVZZQnJSSmdxT25zc0o3UU1FMHdaTG9ROWt3cUhXelpCKzdMZnMzZXZxSi9PWkR2MCttRGZJTUpUWG5LZXlsRUEyT2xVPQ==" alt="" width="752" height="302">
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Advancing Equality: A Closer Look at Gender Diversity in Software Leadership, Q4 2023

Advancing Equality: A Closer Look at Gender Diversity in Software Leadership, Q4 2023

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