Women in ICT

The information and communication technologies sector is of increasing importance to virtually every sector of the economy. There is a high demand for highly-qualified workers to fill the increasing demand of this expanding sector and women, due to their currently low presence in ICT, constitute a pool of potential candidates. This briefing paper presents a brief overview of selected literature and best-practice cases proposed by the European Commission on the issue of how to attract more women into ICT-related courses and consequently to a career in ICT. Two approaches are thus taken: firstly, an analysis of the presence of girls and young women in ICT-related courses and best practices on how to encourage them to pursue such academic path; secondly, an overview of the obstacles female workers face in their work and progression in ICT companies, and best-practice cases on how to attract more female qualified workers into the sector, how to ensure there is fair progression in their careers, and a good work-life balance.