The 10^th edition of Meda Women Entrepreneurs Forum, whose motto is “Women in Tech the way ahead” is organized by AFAEMME (Federation of Organizations of Businesswomen in the Mediterranean area). More than 60 Business organizations from 23 Mediterranean countries are part of AFAEMME. Our main objective in this forum is to reach as far as possible to the Governments, Institutions, and Businesses in order to sensitize the relevance of Digital gender gap in our European and Mediterranean Societies.

From the European Economic Social Committee, we have been working on this issue and as part of the Civil Society, we have a common goal to develop together, promoting digitalization between our businesswomen and its businesses, reaching all the working areas.

The causes of the digital gender gap are multiple, and actions must, therefore, address different fields: the education system from childhood to adulthood, the labour market, work-life balance, public services and the digital divide in general. It is important to increase the number of women in STEM, but it is also essential to recognise the growing importance of soft skills in the digital age in all sectors. Interdisciplinary education and human-centred soft skills will be essential and education should take these aspects into consideration.

In education it is essential to ensure digital literacy and education for all, with a particular focus on girls to remove the digital gender gap at its roots, developing specific programmes for girls in these fields. It is important to give teachers and trainers at all levels the right tools to use ICT to teach, promoting a more inclusive and personalised education and training system.

Female entrepreneurship must be supported, removing barriers to women’s access to self-employment. Smart working and teleworking should be monitored in order to avoid the risks of blurring of boundaries between care, work and private life.

In order to prevent the spiral of the feminisation of poverty, fair working conditions and social protection, the social dialogue and collective bargaining have a fundamental role in this regard.

As Women Entrepreneurs Associations, we can contribute to encouraging women´s participation in technical and high-level jobs, overcoming educational and professional barriers and stereotypes as well as guaranteeing digital lifelong learning to prevent not only women’s exclusion from the labour market but also from our businesses.

09/06/2019