European Trade Union Committee for Education

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has issued on request of the European Parliament an opinion on the Digital Gender Gap. ETUCE provided its views on the content of the opinion.

The EESC states that a multidisciplinary approach is required to tackle the causes of the digital gender gap, and that this issue is an economic, social and cultural one. It advises that ICT be used to promote democracy and that soft skills be considered a crucial element of digital education. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of adapting ICT tools to the needs of women with disabilities and increasing the number of female role models in STEM careers in order to overcome gender stereotyping in ICT.

ETUCE welcomes the report which supports the design of public policies with a gender lens and the involvement of social partners in promoting gender equality in digital education. Furthermore, ETUCE advocates for more training for education personnel and career counsellors and supports the idea of working with parents and role models from the local community in order to ensure that more girls choose STEM careers.

However, ETUCE warns of the dangers represented by digital business and economic technological approaches regarding ICT for inclusive education. It is crucial that governments provide appropriate public funding to ensure that educators can access relevant continuous professional development courses to effectively deal with the digital gender gap and to guarantee learning adapted to students’ needs in inclusive settings at all levels of education.

Please click here to read the EESC opinion.