WRITTEN QUESTION P-1249/97 by Freddy Blak (PSE) to the Commission (2 April 1997)

Subject: Women and information technology

According to an article in the newspaper 'Jyllandsposten' on 10 March 1997, women are in the process of being left behind by developments in information technology. It is feared that society will divide into first-class and second-class citizens with women belonging predominantly to the second class category because of lack of training in information technology.

What measures is the Commission contemplating taking in order to make women more interested in working with information technology and more qualified to do so?

Are any statistics available showing the gender breakdown in information technology related occupations? If not, does the Commission intend to initiate surveys?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (12 May 1997)

The Commission has long recognised the importance of women playing a greater role in economic development, including, of course, in science and technology. As part of its commitment to 'mainstreaming', the Commission has introduced a specific remit to monitor all policy in science and research from the point of view of its impact on women. In 1993, the Commission organised an international workshop to discuss the problems posed to women in science, and their possible solutions. The fourth framework programme now includes a commitment to support the position of women researchers in science, engineering and technology. More specifically, the Commission has run a series of seminars which look at the impact of information technology on women in the Community.

The Commission has also addressed the role played by education policy in attracting women to work in information technology. Education policies can increase the numbers of girls and women who pursue study in science and technology, and also support women returners to the modern workplace by providing vocational training in technology. In this context, the Socrates and Leonardo de Vinci programmes make a specific financial provision for projects designed to adapt the content and methodology of technology training to women's needs, and to network Member States' initiatives in this area. The Commission has already conducted several projects designed to encourage girls to take up science and technology, as well as to provide teacher training materials in this field.

Thirdly women should be equipped to take advantage of the benefits of technology, whether or not this forms their major sources of employment. Therefore, specific attention will be paid to integrating a gender dimension into the new developments within the information society, so that its potential benefits are equally shared between women and men.

The current call for proposals within budget line B5-331 (information society, previously B5-722) of the general budget of the Community foresees as one of the work areas the 'identification of experiences and potentialities of the information society for working life, notably for women (e.g. in terms of equal access to training, employment and career opportunities)'. Already in 1996, 3 out of a total of 16 projects focussed specifically on supporting the integration of women into the information society.

Further details and relevant statistics are available in the Commission reports on 'occupational segregation of women and men in the Community' (1993), and 'telework and gender' (1996), which are sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliament's Secretariat.