FOMO at Work: 82% of Women in Tech Say More Female Leaders Would Improve Workplace Culture, Acronis Report Reveals

Acronis’ 2025 Women in Tech Report uncovers gender gap perceptions in career development and leadership opportunities

SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland, Oct. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acronis, a global leader in cybersecurity and data protection, today released its 2025 Women in Tech Report, “FOMO at Work: The Opportunity Gap Between Men and Women in Tech,” uncovering striking differences in how men and women perceive career opportunities, workplace challenges, and barriers to advancement in the technology sector.

The 2025 survey highlights a consistent perception gap between men and women on the state of career opportunities in technology. While men generally view the industry as more equitable, women report significant barriers tied to bias, work-life balance, and leadership opportunities. This divergence underscores the hidden challenges women continue to face. Women in tech encounter obstacles ranging from concerns about missing career-defining events due to family responsibilities to the pressure of working longer hours just to keep pace.

Key Findings:

• Equal opportunities: Only 60% of women believe men and women have equal access to career development and growth, compared to 75% of men.
• Work-life balance: 63% of women say work-life balance challenges significantly impact career progression for women, while only 49% of men agree.
• Time at work: 67% of women believe they must work longer hours to advance, compared with 56% of men who think the same.
• Bias in the workplace: 41% of women vs. 33% of men cite bias and stereotypes as the main barrier to women starting cybersecurity careers.
• Leadership challenges: 41% of women vs. 36% of men identify bias as the biggest barrier to women pursuing leadership roles in tech.
• Leadership opportunities: 70% of women prioritize leadership development programs tailored to women vs 56% of men.
• FOMO at work: 52% of women are very or extremely concerned about missing career opportunities due to family responsibilities, compared to 42% of men.
  

“Our new survey findings shine a spotlight on just how differently men and women experience working in the tech industry,” said Alona Geckler, SVP Business Operations and Chief of Staff at Acronis. “Closing the gender gap requires more than good intentions. Organizations must recognize these disparities and design programs that expand leadership opportunities, confront bias head-on, and create environments where work-life balance doesn’t present any barriers that may potentially derail women’s careers.”

The broader survey analysis reinforces this call to action. Despite progress, inequities remain deeply embedded in workplace culture, particularly in technology fields. Women see greater value in targeted initiatives such as leadership development and advocacy, while men tend to underestimate the weight of systemic barriers. These contrasting perspectives not only reveal where organizations are falling short but also point to clear opportunities for companies to close gaps, strengthen inclusivity, and unlock the full potential of their workforce to build more inclusive workplaces that fully leverage diverse talent.

“This report highlights the critical need for companies to listen more closely to women’s experiences in technology career paths,” said Melyssa Banda, Senior Vice President, Edge Storage and Services at Seagate Technology. “For companies across the tech sector, highlighting women role models, addressing bias directly, and fostering inclusive cultures can benefit the entire industry. The opportunity now is to turn these insights into action that can drive innovation and create a workplace where everyone can thrive.”

The “FOMO at Work: The Opportunity Gap Between Men and Women in Tech” report is based on a global survey of more than 650 IT professionals across eight countries - the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Singapore, and Japan. Women represent just 29% of the global tech workforce, a figure mirrored in the survey’s methodology to ensure accuracy and relevance.

The 2025 report builds on Acronis’ 2024 Women in Tech Report, “The New FOMO: Females Fear Missing Opportunities in IT”, which first explored women’s fear of missing out (FOMO) on technology-focused career opportunities. This year’s study broadened its scope by including both men and women, covered more countries for broader global insights, and doubled the overall respondent pool to more closely reflect the realities of today’s tech workforce.

To view the full report, visit: https://www.acronis.com/en/resource-center/resource/fomo-at-work-the-opportunity-gap-between-men-and-women-in-tech/

For more information about the report and its findings with additional insights, visit the blog: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/the-gender-perception-gap-survey-shows-how-men-and-women-see-womens-tech-careers-differently/

About Acronis:
Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. Acronis solutions are highly efficient and designed to identify, prevent, detect, respond, remediate, and recover from modern cyberthreats with minimal downtime, ensuring data integrity and business continuity. Acronis offers the most comprehensive security solution on the market for MSPs with its unique ability to meet the needs of diverse and distributed IT environments. 

A Swiss company founded in Singapore in 2003, Acronis has 15 offices worldwide and employees in 50+ countries. Acronis Cyber Protect is available in 26 languages in 150 countries and is used by over 21,000 service providers to protect over 750,000 businesses. Learn more at www.acronis.com. 

Acronis Press Contact:
Julia Carfagno
Senior Global Communications Manager
Julia.Carfagno@acronis.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/41a6a849-9795-43f3-876c-a41ff0298803