Girls in high-tech: Why there aren't enough and how to change it
Choosing a high school track that combines mathematics, physics, and computer science is a springboard for a career in high-tech. Despite the clear benefits, not enough girls choose this path: it starts as early as kindergarten where they are sent to play with dolls rather than robots, but schools also fail to convey a message of capability. Education experts and students who have taken on the challenge share what needs to happen for more girls to join the worlds of technology.
High school studies of STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — are key to achieving prestigious professions in the army, the labor market, and economic success. However, although everyone recognizes their importance, most of those who choose these tracks and persist are boys. Data shows the gap is not related to ability. The general eligibility rate for a matriculation certificate is almost identical: 76.4% for boys and 76.1% for girls. But when examining advanced STEM subjects, the picture changes: only 15.4% of girls take the five-unit matriculation exam in mathematics compared to 19% of boys. In physics, the gap is even larger: 5.7% of girls compared to 12.5% of boys.
"A gap in opportunities"
"It is not a gap in ability, but a gap in opportunities," says Prof. Irit Sasson, a senior lecturer at the University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee. She notes that PISA test data shows that in sciences there is almost no difference in the achievements of boys and girls, and in mathematics, there is a relatively small gap in favor of boys. Despite this, not enough girls choose this path. Women constitute about 38% of academic STEM graduates globally and about 37% in OECD countries. The gap widens later in the transition to employment. In Israel, in the 2024/25 academic year, women constituted about 34% of students in high-tech-related subjects. In 2025, they were about 34% of those employed in high-tech and only about 28.4% of those in research and development roles.
A similar trend exists in the IDF, where women constitute about 40% of those serving in technological roles that do not require an academic degree, but only about 14% in research and development roles requiring an academic education. The technological academic reserve track shows a similar trend, with women's share in exact sciences and engineering at only 14%.
"It is a mechanism that may perpetuate economic and social gaps and reduce access to positions of power and decision-making," says Prof. Sasson. "It exists because of a combination of personal, social, and institutional factors, including gender stereotypes, family expectations, a shortage of female role models, and teaching methods that may implicitly convey that certain fields are 'masculine'."
What can change the picture?
"Collaborative and interactive learning environments, which combine discussion and active experimentation, alongside a reduced emphasis on competitiveness, may contribute to girls' involvement," says Prof. Sasson. According to her, action must be taken from a young age: making science and programming clubs accessible to girls, increasing the summoning of girls to technological screenings in the IDF, and implementing inclusive pedagogy that strengthens self-capability.
Yuval Shulman, an incoming 12th grader at Beit Eliezer high school in Hadera, who studies a track combining five units of math, physics, biology, and English, shares: "There are still stigmas around these fields. Many girls are simply afraid to enter them because there is a majority of boys. But I believe every girl can succeed if she wants to. I chose this track because I love challenges and knew it would open doors for me." Her friend, Esti Rabayev, adds: "Society has accustomed us to think boys are more suitable for high-tech. We need to expose more girls to the possibilities through personal examples and presenting a vision of the future."
