Rapid technological advancements and digitalisation are transforming the world of work and how we live our day-to-day lives. There is an increasing demand for digital skills and higher qualifications across a wide variety of sectors. However, only around 17 % of the almost 8 million ICT specialists are women, and the number of women graduating from ICT studies has been decreasing over the last decade.

The vast under-representation of women in ICT shows a waste of highly qualified human resources and has larger implications for the wider economy. In particular, it threatens the EU’s innovative and economic potential in the future and contradicts the EU’s highest political priority of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Following the request by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (2018), the overall objective of this research note is to deepen the understanding of the major enabling and hindering factors for a more balanced uptake of ICT jobs by women and men. This research note seeks to provide an important contribution to the EU-level commitments to combat occupational segregation and to better comprehend and design relevant policy measures to enhance work–life balance.

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Europe's digital agenda on EIGE's gender mainstreaming platform

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