Women in Digital Scoreboard 2024

The Women in Digital Scoreboard 2024 evaluates the inclusion of women in digital sectors, focusing on their participation in jobs, careers, and entrepreneurship within the information and communication technology (ICT) field. This initiative helps track Europe’s progress towards reducing the digital gender gap and ensuring a more inclusive and fair digital society.

Why women in ICT matter

Despite increasing opportunities, women and girls remain underrepresented in ICT roles across Europe. This gender imbalance not only hampers societal progress but also limits economic growth within the EU. The lack of female participation in digital careers is recognized as a missed opportunity, both socially and economically.

Recognizing the importance of gender equality in digital, the Digital Decade policy programme set ambitious targets: Europe aims to employ at least 20 million ICT specialists by 2030, while actively encouraging women to enter the field.

What the Women in Digital Scoreboard measures

To assess progress, the Women in Digital Scoreboard provides a systematic measurement tool. It evaluates EU Member States along three key dimensions:

1. Use of the internet: How women engage with the internet in daily life.
2. Internet user skills: The level of digital skills possessed by women.
3. Specialist skills and employment: The number of women in ICT specialist roles and careers.

Using 13 indicators, the Scoreboard draws on Eurostat data to provide a comprehensive overview of women’s inclusion in the digital economy. Formerly part of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), it now serves as a standalone tool for monitoring gender-related progress in digital fields.

What’s new in the 2024 Scoreboard

The 2024 update includes detailed country profiles, showing each Member State’s performance, alongside a methodological note explaining the indicators and calculations used. This year’s findings are based on the most recent Eurostat data and align with other EU reports, such as the State of the Digital Decade (2023–2024) and the DESI indicators.

To provide a full picture of gender convergence in ICT, this data must be reviewed in conjunction with the national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps, which outline actions to reach EU-wide digital targets, including the increase of women in ICT roles.