MoniNaisempi digitalisaatio - ICT needs diverse competencies and diverse people

Although more than half of the European population is women, only 18% of them work in the ICT sector. Similarly, only 24 out of every 1000 female tertiary graduates have studied an ICT related subject, says the European Commission's study.

Finnish women are among the most active in the EU and use technology as much and as skillfully as men, but here too, the majority of women seek other sectors, both in education and in working life.

- We get the best benefit from digitalisation with diverse people and diverse expertise in the ICT sector. I encourage young women planning their studies and women thinking about changing fields to take an interest in the information technology sector and look for education, work and livelihood there, says Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka.

According to an EU study, increasing the number of women in the digital sector could create an annual GDP growth of EUR 16 billion for the European economy.

MoniNaisempi digitalisaatio online event offers information and encouragement

In spring 2019, Finland signed the Women in Digital Declaration of the European Union, in which the EU countries commit themselves to promoting equality in the information technology sector. The aim is for more girls and women to opt for ICT studies and jobs in the future. One of the joint measures was to organise an event to encourage women to choose the ICT sector in each EU Member State in spring 2021.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Meteorological Institute, the Transport and Communications Agency Traficom and the Transport Infrastructure Agency have jointly published the MoniNaisempi digitalisaatio (Women in Digital, Kvinnor och Digitalisering) network event, which is part of a series of events organised in all EU countries.

In the video of the event, Finnish women working in the ICT sector tell us how they entered the industry and what they do for a living, give tips and encourage other women to engage in information technology. The event video also gives a hint on the possibility of studying university-level ICT studies online. You can access a summary of the event in the YouTube account of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Work in the ICT sector is not just coding and algorithms but offers many different tasks and roles and requires different skills and characteristics. Work in the ICT sector also requires cooperation skills and creativity in order to identify the opportunities that digitalisation offers, for example in developing operating models or businesses. Society's digitalisation development will be incomplete if girls and women do not see opportunities and enter the ICT sector.

Inquiries:

Silja Ruokola, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 40 580 0894

Riitta Rosenberg, Financial Manager, tel. +358 50 354 3270