There has been a steady decline in the number of women working in the digital sector over the past 13 years, according to new research.
New figures from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) show that just 26% of those working in the digital sector are female, down from 33% in 2002 and far below the UK average of 47%.
The shortfall comes at a time when skilled staff are in high demand; the research found there was a higher proportion of vacancies in digital and creative firms than across the economy as a whole, with high-level positions such as programmers and web developers remaining unfilled.
More than two million people are employed in the digital and creative industries and the sector is worth £137bn to the UK annually. UKCES projections suggest that 1.2m people will be needed to fill jobs in the sector by 2022.
The UKCES research found that 40% of employers said they had lost business because they couldn't fill posts. And yet average earnings are up to 25% higher than the UK average.
Karen Price, director of the Tech Partnership, a network of employers working on digital skills, said: "The news that female entrants to the digital sector are falling is very disappointing. We want to show women and girls that there are great opportunities in the digital sector, and that the rewards are great too."
She added: "Our software development, visual effects and computer games companies are some of the best there are, and we want to keep them that way. That means that we need to make sure talented people fill the jobs that we'll need to keep growing."
One initiative designed to encourage girls to consider a career in IT is the TechFuture Girls programme, which supports schools in setting up computer skills and IT clubs for girls aged 10-14.
Ed Vaizey, digital economy minister, said: "The UK's digital and creative industries are amongst our biggest success stories, but for them to continue to flourish we must make sure the next generation of talent is being taught, trained and nurtured."