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Digital economy: Scoreboard shows women in Europe are less likely to work or be skilled in ICT

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The Commission has published the Commission's 2020 Women in Digital Scoreboard. Women have spearheaded innovation essential to the advancement of digital technology – from computer algorithms to programming.  Yet, they are still less likely to have specialist digital skills and work in this field compared to men. Only when looking at the basic digital skills, the gender gap has narrowed, from 10.5% in 2015 to 7.7% in 2019.

Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager (pictured) said: “Women's contribution to Europe's digital economy is crucial. The scoreboard show that only 18% of information and communications technology specialists in the EU are women. So we still have to do more to ensure that the next Ada Lovelace is given the opportunities she rightly deserves.”

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton added: “We want Europe's digital economy to empower everyone, regardless of their gender. To lead the way in the digital transition, our industry need to fully seize Europe's skills potential and foster women's talent. We will pave the way for the digital upskilling of women across the EU with the upcoming Digital Europe Programme and at least 20% of the Recovery and Resilience Fund dedicated to digital.”

The new data shows that Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are home to some of the most active women in the digital economy. Women in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Italy are however the least likely to be taking part in the digital economy, either through their employment situation, use of internet, or skills.

The European Commission aims to address these shortcomings also through the five-year action plan presented in the European Skills Agenda. This scoreboard is a tool to measure women's participation in the digital economy. As part of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the Scoreboard assesses member states' performance in the areas of Internet use, Internet user skills as well as specialist skills and employment based on 12 indicators. More information on the recent data is available here.

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