site.btaMariya Gabriel: Bulgaria Ranks No.1 for Female ICT Specialists in EU

Sofia, April 12 (BTA) - In a keynote address to the SHEleader@digital Conference 2018 in Sofia on Thursday, Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said Bulgaria ranks first in the EU with double the EU average number of women in digital jobs.

The event is on the calendar of Bulgaria's EU Council Presidency and is held under Gabriel's patronage. It is attended by representatives of businesses, NGOs and the public sector from across Europe, who are discussing ways to support and promote women's active contribution to the digital economy.

Gabriel cited data showing that women account for 52 per cent of the EU's population but are just 30 per cent of entrepreneurs and 32 per cent of business leaders. She spoke about economic hurdles to women, especially in the ICT sector, which result in a gender digital gap.

More women in digital jobs could create an annual 16-billion-euro GDP boost in the EU, said Gabriel.

Given that women are underrepresented in the media and the audiovisual sector, it is even more difficult to have a more accurate picture of society. The Media Pluralism Monitor shows that several EU Member States have very few women on public media boards. There are just two exceptions: Sweden with 61 per cent women and Bulgaria with 60 per cent women board members. The situation is similar in filmmaking: one in five films is directed by a woman and 84 per cent of financing goes to films not directed by women. Yet 44 per cent of film direction graduates are women, said Gabriel.

The solution is the multisector approach which addresses the root causes of gender inequality. Gabriel recalled that her team had presented a strategy that will facilitate an increase in the participation of women in the digital sector. One of the main areas of the strategy is challenging stereotypes. The Commissioner has initiated the No Women No Panel Campaign, which aims to bring awareness to having gender balanced in panels. Gabriel has committed to participating in panels she is invited to only if there are at least two women.

It is very important to raise awareness of women leaders in the digital sector, said Gabriel. Encouraging girls to seek careers in science and technology, engineering and mathematics is of crucial importance. A study on Women in Digital Age reports that for every 1,000 female tertiary graduates in the EU, only 24 are graduates in ICT-related fields. Of these 24 graduates, only six women end up working in digital jobs. On the other hand, out of every 1,000 male graduates, 92 studied in ICT-related fields of which 49 end up working in digital jobs.