Women are being shut out of senior positions, holding less than a third of top roles despite making up almost half of the global workforce, according to stark new data from LinkedIn.

New insights from the social media platform’s 1 billion members reveals that just 31% of vice president and C-suite roles are currently held by women, with this disparity most pronounced in STEM sectors, where just 12% of leadership positions belong to women.

According to LinkedIn, this gap can largely be put down to women leaving the workforce in bigger numbers than their male counterparts during the pandemic, while those remaining are concentrated in roles more vulnerable to economic shocks.

Those figures back up other recent studies, which found that nearly half of women working in tech feel increasing pressure to choose between their career and a family, while more than a third say they rarely enjoy the same career opportunities as their male peers. 

With women being ‘locked out of leadership’, LinkedIn said that the UK might struggle in its transition to an AI-powered economy.

LinkedIn argues that, as women are 20% more likely to have non-linear, ‘multi-domain’ career paths, they are better positioned to navigate the rapid evolution technology is bringing to the world of work.

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LinkedIn says this data should ring alarm bells for economic growth, with the platform recommending employers adopt a skills-based approach to hiring, which would broaden the talent pool for women by 6.3 times globally.  

“Just as AI is reshaping the workplace and demanding more adaptable, collaborative leadership, we’re seeing women’s progress into senior roles stall for the third year running,” said Janine Chamberlin, head of LinkedIn UK.

“Women are 20% more likely to have that multi-domain experience, working across different industries and functions, which creates exactly the kind of flexible, agile leaders businesses need for AI transformation. Yet we’re locking them out of leadership precisely when we need those skills most.

“This isn’t just about fairness, it’s about making sure the UK has the right leadership to thrive in an AI-driven economy.”