The missing voice: Why gender diversity is essential for digital sustainability

Author: Veronika Pizano from Aj Ty v IT

The global community stands at the intersection of two colossal shifts: rapid digital transformation and the urgent necessity of environmental sustainability. Advanced digital technologies are indispensable allies in achieving environmental goals, enabling enhanced efficiency, real-time data collection, and resource optimization across key sectors such as the circular economy, energy, and logistics. However, effectively steering digital innovation toward social, economic, and environmental sustainability requires more than just technological tools; it demands a critical mass of diverse perspectives. 

The European Digital Sustainability Skills Strategy explicitly calls for inclusive approaches that encourage the inclusion of underrepresented groups in digital sustainability careers.

When half the global population is excluded from shaping this future, the solutions engineered are often suboptimal – a profound oversight with economic and societal consequences.

The Cost of Homogeneity in Design

Technology inherently reflects its creators. When the design and development of digital solutions are dominated by a homogeneous group, e.g. men from EU or USA, under 40, middle class, comfortable life, the resulting systems often reflect only their specific needs and experiences, leading to biases and failures that affect everyone.

When women are excluded from technology development, communities lose out on their ideas, skills, and leadership, causing development to slow and inequality to deepen. The economic consequences are staggering: women’s exclusion from the digital sphere has cost low- and middle-income countries an estimated 1.5 trillion by the end of 2025. Statistical data, such as that presented in the She Figures report, consistently confirms that pervasive gender segregation prevents the inclusion necessary for optimal technological development:

• Low representation in ICT/S&E: Women remain a significant minority in the technology sector. Across the EU, women make up less than 20% of IT workers in the sector, and globally, they are severely underrepresented as scientists and engineers (S&E). In the Slovak Republic, women comprise only approximately 15% of university students in IT faculties.
• The leaky pipeline in education: The participation gap widens dramatically after initial education. While women account for 54.2% of tertiary education students (ISCED 6 and 7 levels), their proportion drops to 48% among Doctoral (PhD) students (ISCED 8 level). This means fewer women are reaching the highest levels of foundational academic research.
• The glass ceiling in academia: Vertical segregation persists, denying women leadership roles that shape research strategy. Monitoring efforts show that only 23.6% of heads of higher education institutions were women. This strikingly low presence of women in the highest academic and decision-making positions indicates the existence of a “glass ceiling” – invisible barriers based on prejudices – which hinders career advancement.
• The Funding Disparity: The concentration of men in scientific leadership directly impacts resource allocation. The European Parliament recognizes that women still experience unequal access to research funding.

These structural gaps mean that key strategic decisions about how technology addresses the digital sustainability challenge – from setting research priorities to developing regulatory frameworks – are frequently made without sufficient female insight or leadership.

The Imperative for M-Shaped Expertise

Solving the complex, interconnected problems of digital sustainability demands a new type of expertise. If the future workforce requires M-shaped professionals who possess deep expertise in three key areas: digital technologies, sustainability, and sector-specific knowledge, supporting girls and women is the key factor to achieve this. It is women who throughout their life experience suffer the consequences of the issues that are neglected because they fall outside the traditional research focus or are considered ‘women’s problems’ (such as caregiving burdens, health biases, and disproportionate climate impacts).

To achieve this, educational initiatives must empower girls and women – from those discouraged by detrimental gender stereotypes in childhood to women over 50 seeking career shifts – to become active creators of digital solutions. Encouraging women into technology, especially those transferring from different professional areas (e.g., finance, health care or education), provides irreplaceable life experience and distinct backgrounds crucial for solving complex challenges and improving product quality.

Furthermore, success in the twin transition requires robust transversal skills such as collaboration and communication. By fostering inclusive approaches and actively removing systemic barriers, such as promoting the inclusion of underrepresented groups in digital sustainability careers, we ensure that technological advancement serves the long-term, equitable progress of all society.

Supporting women in technology, particularly in crucial high-growth sectors like Digital Sustainability, is therefore not just a matter of social equity; it is the most effective and profitable strategy for ensuring a resilient, sustainable future for everyone.