Gender and the Information Society

On behalf of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament, which I have the honor to preside over, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the Greek Presidency, to the Minister of the Interior, to the Greek Commissioner Mrs. Anna Diamantopoulou, and to the General Secretary for Gender Equality, Mrs. Efi Bekou, for the initiative they have taken to highlight the issue of gender in the Information Society.

We are all witnesses to the dramatic changes taking place daily as a result of the explosive development of technology and the globalization of the economy, which are rapidly transforming the material base of society and redefining the relationships between the economy, the state, and society. These changes are expected to expand even further in the future with serious consequences for the living and working conditions of all citizens – both women and men.

Unfortunately, up to now, in the public debate, where the male voice dominates, as well as in discussions among experts regarding the development and consequences of new technologies, the focus has primarily been on economic impacts, ignoring analysis that considers the gender dimension. As a result, issues of technology are often misinterpreted as gender-neutral.

In the last decade, 3 million new jobs were created, of which 1.6 million were filled by women. It is worth noting that over 60% of the new jobs created between 1995 and 2000 were in the high-tech sector, where women are underrepresented, especially in the highest levels of technical expertise and decision-making. Therefore, economic growth in the field of modern technologies, under the current conditions, exacerbates structural weaknesses and deepens the disparities between men and women.

The labor market remains gender-segregated, with men dominating in new technologies and women occupying lower-paid positions that require less specialization and involve less job security. Women…

Women are mainly hired for positions involving the application of modern technology, in IT service roles, while the creative positions in software development and systems analysis are dominated by men. Undoubtedly, the new work practices are very demanding for both men and women. However, the pressures of working life seem to weigh disproportionately on women.

The work culture of new technologies, with its obsession for “faster, better, more modern” results, puts women, who carry the multiple burdens of family and work, at a disadvantage. The constant pressure stemming from the need for continuous updating, retraining, and acquiring additional qualifications—given the rapid pace of changes in this field—creates suffocating situations of work-related stress that strain women’s careers. The digital economy offers opportunities but also challenges for women, challenges that differ from those of men and are based on their different roles and positions within the family and society. It is a fact that the benefits of new technologies are distributed unevenly—both globally and locally, and across different social groups. However, gender discrimination in access to and participation in the development of the information society is one of the most significant inequalities.

The European Parliament emphasizes that, to date, the gender perspective in the field of new technologies has been completely overlooked, as its impacts and potential are generally considered gender-neutral. The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality seeks to take an active role in introducing the gender dimension into the discussion on digital discrimination and the formulation of policies related to new technologies. To this end, it has decided to prepare a related initiative report.

Traditional approaches to new technologies, based on economic, professional, or purely technological parameters and the liberal notion of participation, must be complemented with sufficient sensitivity to gender issues, quality of life, and the human and social environment of new technologies. It remains a subject of further research, in-depth analysis, and public debate whether and to what extent the technologies themselves or their social environment should be gender-sensitive. Whether we should try to adapt our technology-oriented culture to women’s needs, or make it more human-centered.

The integration of the gender dimension into the development of new technologies not only raises the issue of access, quantitative participation, and equal representation of women, but also poses a profound question and critical evaluation of the culture of the information society, with its values, development strategies, goals, and the involvement of human resources.

The ongoing process of preparing for the first-ever World Summit on the Information Society makes it essential to ensure that the strengthening of the role and needs of women will be taken into account in the formulation of policies that will shape the development of the Information Society. I am confident that the contribution of today’s conference to the public debate will be very significant.