Women4IT Conference: The path to achieving gender equality in digital

In an increasingly digitalised world, women continue to be underrepresented in STEM education and technology careers. For the last three years, Women4IT has been working to change that.

Women4IT – an initiative financed by the EEA and Norway Grants’ Fund for Youth Employment – aims to empower young women across Europe to become part of the digital economy. By providing fully funded, individually tailored digital skills training reflecting current market needs, we have worked to equip women with a set of in-demand digital competencies and employability guidance, all to drive both their career advancement and economic independence.

As the first cycle of the project is coming to an end, we invite you to join us on 20 January 2022 for a conference organised by DIGITALEUROPE entitled “Women4IT: The Path to achieving gender equality in digital”.

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The conference will be a half-day event full of panels, keynote speeches and interactive discussions aimed at exploring ways of engaging more young women into the digital sector. Together, we will explore the current situation of women in technology, boosting youth employment in Europe, and ways of working together across sectors to make that vision a reality.

With the project consortium, we will look back at the last three years to discuss Women4IT’s path to success, the innovative solutions created to support the project’s mission, and the invaluable partnerships established along the way. We will also hear first-hand from the Women4IT graduates about the impact the programme has had on the careers and personal growth. Finally, Women4IT’s ambitious goals for 2022 and beyond will be revealed.

Women4IT will also be presenting the first Women4IT Awards, recognising the work of employers, agencies and other organisations who have significantly contributed to the Women4IT initiative and continue to support our work.

AGENDA

10:00 – 10:05 Welcome and opening remarks
Katarzyna Udała, Project Manager, DIGITALEUROPE

10:05 – 10:15 Keynote: On the mission to bring more women into digital
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General, DIGITALEUROPE

10:15 – 10:25 Keynote: Women4IT boosting youth employment across Europe
Grethe Haugøy, Senior Sector Officer, EEA and Norway Grants

10:25 – 11:20 Panel I: Women4IT – the road to success (with Q&A)

• Greta Volodzkaite, Deputy Head, BETI
• Maria Giannakourou, Project Manager, CRETHIDEV
• Andrada Beloia, Project Manager, EOS
• Mary Cleary, Secretary General, ICS
• Vita Vītola-Lapiņa, Project Specialist, LIKTA
• Agustina Gansievich, PLAN International
• Charmaine Buttigieg, Coordinator – Projects, Tech.mt

Piloting partners will discuss the creation of Women4IT, its mission and goals, and the innovative tools and solutions developed to support the initiative.

11:20 – 11:30 Coffee break

11:30 – 11:50 In conversation with the Women4IT graduates

• Virginia Arroyo Armenteros, Digital Media Specialist Trainee (Spain)
• Diana Mladin, Web Developer Trainee (Romania)
• Leticia Martins, Digital Marketing Executive (Ireland)
• Tayara Rebouҫas Marques Barreto, Data Analyst Trainee (Ireland)

Women4IT graduates will discuss their experience throughout the project, benefits of taking the Women4IT courses and their plans for the future.

11:50 – 12:40 Panel II: Working together towards bridging the gender gap in tech (with Q&A)

• Themis Christophidou, Director-General, DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
• Evita Simsone, Director, Latvian State Employment Agency
• Daniela Ciuma, HR Manager, Victory Square Partners
• Joanna Pruszyńska-Witkowska, Vice President and Co-Founder, Future Collars

Panellists will discuss the ways forward in bridging the gender gap in digital – from corporate recruitments strategies, through impactful mentorship, to the private-public partnerships and an overarching EU strategy for digital skills.

12:40 – 12:55 Women4IT Awards Ceremony
Eva Fabry, Director, European Centre for Women and Technology, and Māra Jākobsone, Board Member and Digital skills and Digital Transformation Project Manager, LIKTA

12:55 – 13:00 Wrap up and closing remarks
Katarzyna Udała, Project Manager at DIGITALEUROPE

REGISTER HERE

We look forward to having you with us.

The Women4IT Team