There were seven million people in Europe working in the ICT sector in 2013. But only 30% were women. Compared to the rest of the world, however, Europe was looking good. Less than 20% of the specialists working in the ICT field all over the world were women in 2013, according to the global report by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.
The mobile industry in Europe was bigger than the pharmaceutical industry in 2012, with 390.000 men and women active in the mobile workforce.
How important women really are for the mobile industry and the overall economy, a finding from 2008 from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tells us. According to OECD, if more and more women were encouraged to join the science and technology workforce:
Source: GSMA
The number of women working in the information and communications technology sector is growing. So is the number of women working in the mobile industry, which is very much related to ICT.
Women are now asked to be part of the digital economy through their work, the skills and creative ideas that they bring to this sector. There are funds and programs aimed at attracting and retaining women in the field of telecommunications and mobile technology.
And there is a significant focus on women occupying leadership positions on a global basis. But the gender gap is still huge. The GSMA released a report on February 25, 2015 on gender balance within companies across the telecommunications sector. The report found that “among those surveyed in all regions except North America, women (on average) held less than 20% of senior leadership positions.”
Source: GSMA
Despite this gender gap however, we are seeing more women leading the way into a thriving digital economy. But for an even better development, the industry would have to work harder and more conscientiously to attract female employees to ICT, mobile, telecommunications etc. Encouraging women to pursue degrees in these fields and providing equal work opportunities is just the beginning.
