Women in the digital world

The participation of women in the digital sector will enhance the economy and women will be able to fully integrate in the society. That is the reason why the European Commission takes initiatives in order to empower women to play a more active role in the digital sector.

According to the Commission’s study Women in the digital age (2018), there is a growing gap between men and women’s participation in the digital sector in education, career and entrepreneurship.

The main findings of this study are:

• There are four times more men than women in Europe with ICT-related studies. There is a decrease in women taking up ICT related higher education when compared to 2011.
• The share of men working in the digital sector is 3.1 times greater than the share of women.
• The annual productivity loss for the European economy of women leaving their digital jobs to become inactive is calculated to be about EUR 16.2 billion.
• Although female owned start-ups are more likely to be successful, there is decrease in participation, leadership and investment in the entrepreneurial digital sector.

The Commission’s strategy includes the promotion of digital skills and knowledge and the support of women entrepreneurs to increase women’s digital involvement.

Our project WinOnLine aims to cover all the above topics, as the outputs which will be produced will increase women’s digital and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge and will provide the required skills and support to women who want to enter or re-enter the labor market and become e-entrepreneurs.