UC project challenges gender inequality in digital transition

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated annually on 11 February, aims to reflect on the vital importance of women's presence in Science & Technology and the urgent need to tackle gender inequality in still predominantly male-dominated fields such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

The Women4Digital project aims to contribute to the understanding, characterisation, and monitoring of public policies in Portugal focused on women's participation in the digital world. Developed at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra (UC) by Rosa Monteiro, Lina Coelho, Luísa Ribeiro Lopes, Margarida Vasconcelos, and Mariana Santos, the project is funded by PLANAPP and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Science4Policy programme (S4P-24).

Rosa Monteiro, coordinator of the project and professor at the UC Faculty of Economics, says: “The gender gap in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) remains a pressing issue, with women making up only 22 per cent of the workforce in this sector—despite its critical role in digital transitiion and its impact on society as a whole. This gap not only limits opportunities for women but also undermines efforts to achieve an inclusive and equitable digital transformation.”

Data confirms the urgent need for change: between 1999 and 2021, the percentage of female ICT graduates fell from 26% to 17% (CIG, 2024), while their representation in the sector’s workforce dropped from 24% to 20% between 2005 and 2023. This reality not only deepens the pay gap but also squanders the skills needed to build a more equitable and innovative digital future.

Since the creation of the 'Women Engineers for a Day' programme in 2017, public policies have been raising awareness of gender inequality in the sector, driving changes in academia, business, and politics.

“Women4Digital is a pivotal step in promoting an inclusive digital transition in Portugal, addressing persistent gender inequalities in the digital and scientific sectors," highlights Rosa Monteiro. “In addition to mapping and analysing existing public policies, the project aims to develop tools to analyse their effectiveness and make recommendations for the continuous improvement of ongoing initiatives”.

By launching Women4Digital on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the project highlights the need for urgent and consistent action on gender equality in the digital world. For the researchers involved, “Women4Digital is more than just a project: it is a movement for change, with a shared commitment to ensuring that the digital revolution is also a revolution for equality and social justice."

More information on all initiatives and results of the project is available here.

^{Translation: Diana Taborda [DCom-UC]}