Microsoft sees fall in female workers in 2015

Percentage of females workers drops from 29 per cent in September 2014 to 26.8 per cent in September 2015

Microsoft has seen the overall percentage of its workforce that is female fall in 2015 as it noted "systemic challenges" in promoting gender and ethnic balance, in the Official Microsoft Blog.

The US giant saw its percentage of female employees fall from 29 per cent in September 2014 to 26.8 per cent in September 2015.

This drop was attributed to a "restructure of our phone hardware business", with its female employees outnumbering male employees in the production facilities affected.

Gwen Houston, general manager of global diversity and inclusion, said in the blog that despite this factor, Microsoft needs to change.

"Even with this explanation, I want to emphasise that we are not satisfied with where we are today regarding the percentage of women in our workforce," she said. "Our senior leaders continue to be deeply committed to doing everything possible to improve these numbers."

News of the fall in female employees comes a year after an anti-sexism campaign called on CEO Satya Nadella to stand down after he said that women should not ask for pay rises.

But there were areas where Microsoft noted improvement in its gender balance, including in the percentage of women in its senior leadership team which is at 27.2 per cent, "the highest it has ever been".

And Microsoft said its board of directors is "more diverse than ever", with three out of 11 of its board being women, compared with two out of 10 last year.

Houston said the statistics represent wider industry patterns and more needs to be done to ensure there is gender and ethnic balance.

"As I look at our numbers, I see a story that to some degree is being repeated throughout the industry," she said. "While certain leading indicators are trending up and we are starting to see signs of progress, systemic challenges remain when it comes to increasing the presence of women and minorities at all levels of the workforce.

"The implications are clear: we need to build on the areas where there is some early momentum, address areas where we're not yet seeing real progress, and above all, remain focused on the importance of increasing diversity and building a more inclusive culture at Microsoft."