The European Commission has launched an annual scoreboard to monitor women's participation in the digital economy. The Scoreboard assesses EU countries' performance in the areas of internet use and internet user skills, as well as specialist skills and employment, based on 13 indicators.

The first edition of the Scoreboard shows that women's participation in the digital field is lagging behind in several areas. Only 1 in 6 ICT (Information and Communication Technology) specialists and only 1 in 3 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) graduate is a woman. Astonishingly women in the ICT sector earn almost 20% less than men. Women account for 52% of the European population. Around 17% of women work in ICT- related jobs.

The Scoreboard shows that Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark registered the highest scores on the Women in Digital scoreboard while Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Italy registered the lowest. Moreover, there is strong correlation between the scoreboard and the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). In general, Member States leading in digital competitiveness are also leaders in female participation in the digital sector.

Among the main results, the scoreboard shows that:

• There is a gender gap in all 13 indicators at EU level, with some exceptions at country level:

In Finland, Estonia and Bulgaria women are more active internet users than men;
In Latvia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Cyprus women score more highly on digital skills than men.

• The gender gap is the largest in the area of ICT specialist skills and employment: 76 % for ICT specialists and 47 % for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics graduates.
• The difference in digital participation between women and men within the younger age group (16 to 24) is smaller in relative terms (55% of women compared to 60% of men). In certain countries, the trend is even starting to reverse, with women outperforming men in this category.

According to the Scoreboard, Czechia ranks 24th, behind Estonia (7th), Austria (13th), Slovakia (20th), Poland (21st) and Hungary (23rd). 

Gender pay gap in the Czech ICT sector reaches 33%.

>> View country report for more details.

Source: European Commission, WiD