Digital economy booming but women are nowhere in sight

Europe’s tech sector may be booming, but it seems that women are under-represented in the digital economy.

But the European Commission is hoping to increase interest in the sector by launching a new campaign spearheaded by European vice-president Neelie Kroes. The initiative is seeking role models to inspire young women to pursue careers in ICT by sharing their digital success stories.

“We wanted to provide a platform for women to tell their stories about getting ahead in tech,” Ms Kroes said.

“Tech is too important to be left to men alone! Every week I meet more and more inspiring women in tech.”

According to a report published by the European Commission on women in ICT, only nine out of every 100 app developers are women.

Among ICT managers, less than one-fifth are female, with a similar split in the ICT entrepreneur sector.Among the general ICT workforce, more than two-thirds are men.

The commission said if the rate of women hold digital jobs was the same as the male rate, European GDP could be boosted annually by around €9 billion.

The new campaign, which involves both men and women to make videos to tell their tech stories, is the result of that report, which also found the best way to get more women into tech jobs was to give clear role models and identifying career paths to inspire people to stick with ICT careers.