Barcelona is hosting a delegation from the international network Women in Tech starting this Monday, which seeks to give visibility to female digital and technological talent, thanks to the public-private agreement between the Govern and Tech Barcelona.
The Department of the Vice-presidency and of Digital and Territorial Policies, through the General Directorate of Digital Society, and the Tech Barcelona association want to position Catalonia and Barcelona in this global network to disseminate all actions carried out within the technological and digital ecosystem and to share and exchange experiences and knowledge in the field of promoting and visualizing female talent in the digital and technological sector.
Among the initial objectives of Women in Tech Barcelona is to encourage youth interest in technological education and STEM vocations, to increase the number of women participating as speakers in international technology congresses and events, and the number of women in management and leadership positions in the digital and technological ecosystem in Catalonia.
The challenge is to connect the Barcelona ecosystem with the international network, adding synergies with the common goal of increasing the presence, visibility, and leadership of women in the technological and digital field. Because if anything is clear, according to the general director of Digital Society, Joana Barbany, it is that "there is a significant digital gender gap," as the figures show: worldwide there are 912 million women who do not have a mobile phone and there are six million women without a technological profile.
Barbany emphasized that Women in Tech represents a great opportunity to internationalize all actions developed in the tech field by private entities, organizations, and the administration. In this regard, she highlighted the work carried out by Digital Policies with the Pla DonaTIC program, which aims to make ICT attractive for future female talent; to make technological women and content created by women visible; to digitally train and empower everyone; and to promote full and effective participation of women in ICT in decision-making and entrepreneurship.
The international network Women in Tech has directly impacted more than 200,000 women worldwide since 2018The Women in Tech Barcelona network is open to the participation of individuals or entities that wish to join, both to participate in activities and to collaborate in the initiative as volunteers or mentors,through Tech Barcelona. The entity has been working for years to advance towards parity in the technological sector, therefore, it is important "to be able to reinforce this commitment with a global seal like Women in Tech and with the institutional support of the Generalitat, which should allow us to reach our goals faster: to have more women in the community, more expert women, and make them more visible," stated Mar Galtés, corporate development director of Tech Barcelona.
Internationally, since its creation in 2018, the organization has directly impacted more than 200,000 women worldwide, through events, education programs, entrepreneurship, and social inclusion.