Every tech company in Australia has a diversity page on their website. Most have an ERG or two. Many sponsor a Women in Tech event once a year. Almost none will tell you how many women left their engineering team in the last 12 months.
That gap between what companies say and what they actually do is where careers go to stall. And the only person who can close that gap for you is you, by asking the right questions before you accept an offer.
The Numbers Tell the Real Story
Women make up just 29.2% of Australia's STEM workforce. That number has barely moved in a decade. The pipeline isn't the problem. Women are enrolling in STEM degrees in growing numbers. They're entering the workforce. And then they're leaving.
The majority of Australian tech organisations now acknowledge they aren't gender-equitable. That's progress of a sort. Acknowledging a problem is step one. But acknowledgment without structural change is just good PR.
The issue isn't hiring women. Most companies have figured out that part, at least at junior levels. The issue is keeping them. And the issue after that is promoting them into leadership at the same rate as their male peers.
What Good Looks Like
Companies like ThoughtWorks have taken a structural approach to gender equity that goes beyond hiring targets. They've implemented systematic changes to how work is allocated, how performance is reviewed, and how promotion decisions are made. The key word is structural. Not cultural, not aspirational. Structural.
That means examining whether women are consistently assigned to "office housework" like note-taking and event planning while men get the high-visibility technical projects. It means auditing whether performance reviews use language that penalises assertiveness in women while rewarding it in men. It means tracking promotion velocity by gender and publishing the results internally.
Most companies don't do any of this. They hire women, pat themselves on the back, and then wonder why attrition is 40% higher for female engineers than male ones.
The Questions to Ask
You're in the final interview stage. You like the role. The salary is right. Now is the time to ask these questions. Not aggressively. Conversationally. But directly.
1. "What's your retention rate for women in technical roles over the last two years?"
If they can answer this with a specific number, that's a good sign. It means they're tracking it. If they fumble, deflect, or say "we don't break it down that way," that tells you everything. Companies that care about retention measure retention.
2. "What percentage of your engineering or product leadership is women?"
Hiring women at graduate level is easy. Retaining them through to senior and leadership positions is where the real test is. If the answer is below 20%, ask what they're doing about it. If they don't have a specific plan, they're not doing anything about it.
3. "How do you allocate high-visibility projects?"
This sounds like a generic question but it reveals a lot. In many teams, the best projects go to whoever shouts loudest or whoever the tech lead has the strongest rapport with. That pattern systematically disadvantages women and minorities. Companies that have thought about this will have a deliberate process. Companies that haven't will give you a vague answer about meritocracy.
4. "Can I speak to a woman on the team before I accept?"
This is the most powerful question on this list. If they hesitate, that's your answer. If they connect you enthusiastically, ask that person what their experience has actually been like. Not the rehearsed version. The real one.
5. "What does your parental leave policy look like, and how many people have actually used it in the last year?"
Policy and practice are different things. A company might offer 16 weeks of paid parental leave, but if the culture punishes people who take it through missed promotions or reduced responsibilities on return, the policy is decoration. Ask how many people took leave and came back to equivalent or better roles.
Red Flags to Watch For
- "We're a meritocracy" without any evidence of how merit is measured. Meritocracy is often code for "we don't examine our biases."
- "We treat everyone the same." Equality and equity are different things. Treating everyone the same in an unequal system just perpetuates the inequality.
- A diversity page with stock photos but no actual data. Numbers matter. If they won't share them, assume the numbers are bad.
- An all-male leadership team with a "Head of Diversity" who reports to HR, not the CEO. That structure tells you where diversity sits in the actual priority list.
Green Flags Worth Noticing
- Published gender pay gap data, even if the gap isn't zero yet. Transparency signals intent.
- Sponsorship programs (not just mentorship) where senior leaders actively advocate for women's promotions.
- Flexible work policies that are actually used by men and women equally, including senior leaders.
- Structured interview processes that reduce bias rather than relying on "culture fit" assessments.
The best companies don't just hire for diversity. They build systems that make diverse teams sustainable. Ask about the systems, not the slogans.
Your Career Is Too Important for Guesswork
You wouldn't accept a role without knowing the salary. You wouldn't start a job without understanding the tech stack. So don't join a company without understanding whether it's a place where you can actually grow.
Asking these questions isn't confrontational. It's professional due diligence. And any company that reacts badly to a candidate asking about retention and equity is telling you exactly what kind of workplace it is.
The 29.2% figure won't change because of better hiring campaigns. It will change when companies build environments where women stay, advance, and lead. Your job is to find those companies. These questions will help you do it.