Statistics on inequality in digital jobs

Statistics say that 8 out of 10 digital jobs in the EU go to men. Only 17% of digital job employees were women in the EU in 2016 but the number of women in the digital sector is growing.

Such a big difference between the number of men and women in digital jobs can be explained by the prestigious status of the industry. This means that women have the skills and knowledge to work there but the high status of the field attracted a lot of men so technologies began to be associated with masculinity.

Gender stereotypes also affect choices of women to enter digital jobs because technologies are seen as something difficult for girls which results in girls being less familiar and comfortable with using technologies. This highlights the need to reduce girls’ anxiety and misconceptions about gender-based abilities in technological fields, such as ICT.

Definition of the digital sector

The digital sector means a new, fast-developing sector of the economy that is based on computer and technology jobs. So, any job that is connected with the internet is a part of the digital sector.

The digital sector is an extension of the ICT (information and communication technology) sector and includes the industries in which the majority of activities are digital.

The possible job positions in the Digital sectors, which the project wants to promote for women, are those, which are 80% or more related to using digital equipment like personal computers, internet, robots, mobile phone applications etc.

Digital jobs with low skills

The digital sector gets bigger every year, which means that more jobs get created, so there are many career options in the digital sector. The entry jobs usually do not require many skills and you can learn at work to get promoted in the future. Also, it is more possible to get a job with low skills in the digital sector: if 10 jobs in the digital sector are created, 6 of them will go to a low-skilled worker.

Digital sector improves and changes so fast that everyone in the sector needs to learn something new all the time. It is important to be flexible and be able to learn and adapt fast and it will be enough to be employed in the digital sector. Every company helps their employees to do upskilling (the process of learning new skills or of teaching workers new skills) and reskilling (the process of learning new skills so you can do a different job, or of training people to do a different job), so low skilled workers can have a chance to improve their skills.

How the work in the digital sector can improve the economic situation of women

New technologies get created and they influence the job market. Digital knowledge can improve the chances of getting a job or can allow working from home and flexible hours.

This means that even if a woman is a housewife but has some digital skills, she can get a part-time job to work from home at hours when she is free to get her own money and independence.

For women, having access to the digital sector helps them to reduce inequality and get financial independence. Because ICT is one of the highest-paying sectors in the market, on average, women in the digital workforce are paid higher than women in other professions.

The gender earning gap of 13% is smaller among ICT specialists than among health professionals (26%) or other employees (33%). Financial benefits offered by digital jobs would contribute to reducing the gender pay gap. In short, closing the gender pay gap may help women sidestep traditional barriers to their full economic, entrepreneurial, social, or financial inclusion.

The influence of covid-19 on digitalization

Covid-19 improved and expanded digitalization.

When the pandemic started, everyone began working online. Even people whose work was not connected to technologies had to learn how to use computers and online platforms to work at home. The pandemic showed that many jobs can be done remotely with the help of technologies. So, it is very important now to know how to use computers.

Why salaries are higher in the digital sector

While usually, you do not need a university degree to start working in the digital sector, the salaries there are higher because it is a fast-growing industry that helps many other industries be more successful. There is a high demand in the market for services that the digital sector offers. Especially now when businesses are recovering from disruptions caused by covid-19, they are in need of good technological support to make sure their operations run smoothly even in lockdowns.

IT areas

Careers in IT areas are the careers of the future because the sector is still developing which means it always needs more employees who are trained in computer-related fields. Women are still a minority in this male-dominated field but companies are ready to hire more females because they are usually more educated than men.

Where to study to get a job in the digital sector

The digital sector is fast-changing, so it is very possible to get a job there without a university degree. A person usually just needs to have the ability to learn fast and an ability to analyze information to get an entry job in the sector. Also, many online resources are available for free. When you decide which career in the digital sector you want to have, you can search for videos in “Youtube” or find some free or cheap courses on Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Udemy.

Representation

Representation is the ability of people to see role models who are similar to them in the work sphere.

An example of representation can be a woman who sees another woman being successful in the career she wants to choose. Representation and role models increase the motivation and confidence of career women because they think: “if she could do it, I can do it too”. This affects job choices, for example, there are not a lot of women in IT, so other women are afraid to start a career in IT because they think women cannot be successful there.

For inspiring role models please visit Go-digital project website to read the success stories of women who have changed their career to IT sector: https://godigital.lmlo.lt/success_stories.html

Opportunities of digitalization

Digitalisation has strong potential for the empowerment of women and girls, allowing access to information and knowledge beyond conventional means and providing new platforms for creativity and self-expression, which can inspire others to act. It opens new opportunities to participate, interact and campaign with a view to defending the rights and freedom of women and girls. It also offers empowerment opportunities for people with specific needs, such as those with disabilities.

Digitalization can help to reduce inequality in employment because it provides free sources to study and get new skills.