The time has officially come. Women4IT – an initiative aimed at improving the digital competencies of young women at risk of exclusion from the labour market – officially ended on 31 January 2023, concluding more than four years of intense implementation work by the project partners across nine European countries.
During the project, over 900 young women were trained in the fields of work demanded in the ICT sector. The training was accompanied by various career support measures such as mentoring, job shadowing sessions as well as empowerment and employability workshops, which led to more than 70% of training participants finding new jobs and continuing their education in the field of technology. The project also developed valuable tools and methodologies that will contribute to the continuation of similar initiatives in the future.
In November 2022, Women4IT’s final international event was held in Brussels, where project partners shared their experiences and techniques used in piloting the training in 7 EU countries: Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Spain. The event provided an opportunity for the partners to answer questions about the project, recommend good practices and exchange with various digital sector stakeholders at the EU level, from industry representatives to policy-makers, to civil society organisations.
Although the Women4IT project has come to an end, its impact and all material will be put to use to attract more women into the ICT field. These resources can be accessed for free and used to replicate the project in other countries and regions in Europea and beyond.
We sincerely hope that the end of this successful journey will mark the beginning of a new chapter which prioritises diversity and inclusion in technology. As the project ends, first and foremost, we want to congratulate all Women4IT trainees who participated in our pilots: what a fantastic job you have done! Thank you for trusting us with your learning experience and career development. We wish you the very best in all your future (digital) endeavours.
We also want to wholeheartedly thank all the organizations involved in the project from its inception:
- employers and industry representatives who supported us during the research and implementation phases, and – having seen the potential of Women4IT trainees – provided them with their first ICT career experience;
- wonderful mentors who supported our trainees in their professional and personal journeys throughout the project;
- civil-society organisations which helped us spread the Women4IT message far and wide;
- public administration entities that collaborated with Women4IT to reach those women who needed Women4IT’s support the most;
- policy-makers who keep highlighting the need for diversity in digital and promoting solutions to include more women in the tech sector;
- and many, many more wonderful people and organisations that have helped us turn Women4IT into such a success!
Finally, we would like to extend our thanks to EEA and Norway Grants for providing us with the opportunity to implement this project over the last few years.
The project may have ended, but we look forward to seeing Women4IT activities implemented across Europe and witnessing how the tech sector becomes more inclusive day by day.
