Almost half of women, or 44%, feel that they have been overlooked for promotions due to their gender, according to a report from Australian recruitment firm Talent International.

The report, ‘Women in Tech: Are we there yet?’ is based on a survey taken across Australia, New Zealand, UK and the US.

Key findings showed that 38% cite ‘self-deselecting based on feeling that they don’t meet 100% of the criteria’ as the biggest hurdle they face in the hiring process.

Meanwhile, 56% don’t see a clear path for their career at their current employer while 45% feel that they are not paid the same as male colleagues at their level.

More than half, or 57%, believe that family responsibilities either have a negative or strongly negative impact on women’s careers in tech. At the same time, 35% cite ‘not having a seat at the table/being included in decision-making conversations’ as the biggest challenge encountered in the workplace.

Emma Jones, CEO & Founder of Project F, an organisation helping companies achieve gender-diverse tech teams, said, “Women are quite often the ones who are working more flexibly or part-time, and what that means is they often don’t have access to opportunities for development or promotion. We need to look more closely at systems and processes to disrupt that.”

Talent’s research also found the top three things’ women in tech want organisations to start doing to make positive change. These included: 28% cited promoting more women in leadership, 22% cited providing more mentorship/sponsorship opportunities and 18% noted fixing pay disparities.