EU initiative mentoring Georgian women in technology follows EU4Digital guidance
Date: 03/04/24
The European Union launched a ‘Women Mentorship in Tech Programmes’ project in Georgia on 22 March 2024, to be implemented by the Business and Technology University (BTU), based in Tbilisi. This €2 million initiative builds on work and guidance from the EU-funded EU4Digital Facility and is an important step towards strengthening Georgia’s human resources and women’s involvement in the digital field.
The project primarily aims to enhance digital human capital in Georgia, particularly for girls and women. The initiative will engage 1,100 beneficiaries and 320 mentors over three seasons, promoting regional diversity by selecting at least one-third of participants from regions outside the capital. Five-month-long mentorship sessions will be organised in five key tech directions, including cybersecurity, front-end development, graphic design, digital marketing, and UX/UI design.
This development is built on years of work and provision of expertise to the European Commission and Eastern partner countries by the EU4Digital Facility. The team recognised the size of the problem and kept a focus on this area since 2019, when EU4Digital was launched.
Analysis showed that not everyone can equally benefit from opportunities in the digital domain. Addressing the gender equality problem has been an enduring policy priority in the EU, including the ICT sector skills gap created by the development of the digital economy. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, out of almost 9 million ICT specialists in the EU in 2021 only 19,1% (or less than 1.5 million) were women. This was only a marginal improvement as compared to a 17% share in 2011. Under-representation of women in the ICT sector is an even bigger challenge in the Eastern partner countries. In Georgia, for example, the female share of the sector was 12% according to 2020 data.
Why is it important? Women miss out on new employment and economic opportunities created by digital technologies. Employers lose out when they are unable to find the talent they need. And it’s to everybody’s detriment when digital products and solutions are developed or inadequately developed using only a narrow range of talents, skills and perspectives.
In EU4Digital Facility Phase I (2019-2022), project experts analysed the problem of the gender gap in tech and identified that the concept of mentorship could help address this challenge. Mentorship programmes for women had already been applied and shown positive results in Eastern Europe and Nordic countries. One example is the Women Go Tech programme implemented in Lithuania and beyond since 2016: with a success rate of 65% of participants in seasons one to six, more than 600 women have chosen the technology sector thanks to this programme. EU4Digital also provided training and published ‘Setting up mentorship programmes to bridge the gender gap in ICT: a guide for the Eastern partner countries’ to support women in tech in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region.
In EU4Digital Facility Phase II (2022-2025) the Digital Skills stream framed a mentorship programme specifically for Georgia, developing the country-specific composition of the programme and identifying initiation actions for successful implementation and sustainability. Also, EU4Digital experts provided advice on implementing partners, key stakeholders and how to shape such a scheme to the realities within the country.
Seeing the ‘Women Mentorship in Tech Programmes’ as a next step in this progression, the EU4Digital team welcomes the new initiative for Georgia and considers it as a successful outcome of the EU4Digital activities.
The project in Georgia emphasises the importance of developing digital skills that will enable women to become competitive in the Georgian and international labour markets. It will expand mentorship programmes, develop new courses tailored to industry needs, and partner with stakeholders to make more opportunities available to Georgia’s women and girls.
During the launch event, EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynsky said: “We are proud to support the ‘Women Mentorship in Tech Programmes’ project in Georgia as part of our commitment to promoting gender equality and digital inclusion. By investing in initiatives like this, we aim to bridge the skills gap in the ICT sector and empower women to thrive in the digital age, ultimately contributing to Georgia’s economic growth and stability.”
Further information
More information about Georgia’s ‘Women Mentorship in Tech Programmes’ and its launch is available via EU4Georgia’s story in English and in Georgian.
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