Within the framework of the Women in Digital Forum, the Thematic Working Group on Intersectional Approaches (TWG4) will focus on how intersecting forms of inequality shape women’s access to, participation in, and advancement across the digital education and career pipeline.

TWG4 will address the persistent underrepresentation of women in digital education, ICT careers, and leadership by examining how gender intersects with other factors such as race, ethnicity, disability, age, migration background, socioeconomic status, and geographical location. These factors create context-specific barriers that influence educational opportunities, training pathways, career progression, and access to decision-making positions in the digital sector. The Working Group will analyse how such inequalities emerge and are reinforced across different stages of the pipeline, from early STEM education and ICT training to professional careers and leadership roles.

Vilnius Gediminas Technical University will chair the group, and will promote an intersectional, evidence-based approach to policy and practice, moving beyond one-size-fits-all solutions. It will explore how data, institutional practices, and cross-sector collaboration between education providers, employers, policymakers, and civil society can be leveraged to design more inclusive and responsive systems. The focus will be on developing tools and frameworks that enable stakeholders to recognise, monitor, and address intersecting inequalities in a systematic and sustainable way.

Meet the experts who make up the TWG4:

 

The expected outcomes of the TWG include:

• A policy brief that highlights key challenges and recommendations

• Practical toolkits and guidelines that support intersectionally informed interventions in education, training, and workplaces

• An online repository of best practices and case studies.

These outputs will be disseminated through the Forum’s network and presented publicly at the Women in Digital Annual Summit in Brussels later this year.