A groundbreaking new initiative under the Erasmus+ programme has officially launched in April 2025 to tackle persistent gender disparities in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education across Europe. The three-year policy experimentation project, titled EMPOWER, brings together leading education and research organisations from Greece, Cyprus, France, Iceland, Italy, and Bulgaria with the shared mission of fostering a more inclusive and gender-balanced digital future.
Despite growth in the ICT sector, women remain significantly underrepresented. In 2023, only 19% of ICT specialists in the EU were women, with deep-rooted gender stereotypes, lack of female role models, and bias in educational practices continuing to deter girls from pursuing careers in technology. EMPOWER seeks to challenge this status quo through a transnational approach that combines research, training, and policy experimentation.
The EMPOWER project focuses on two key interventions:
Gender Diversity Training for Teachers: Targeted professional development to help educators identify and address unconscious bias, implement inclusive teaching strategies, and foster a classroom culture that encourages all students—especially girls—to thrive in ICT subjects.
Role Model Presentations and Activities: A series of inspirational events where successful female professionals in the tech industry share their career journeys and experiences with students, aiming to dismantle stereotypes and inspire the next generation of ICT leaders.
Over the next three years, the project will be piloted and rolled out in 200 schools across four countries. It will train at least 200 teachers, engage over 1,000 students, and deliver a robust evaluation of what works in promoting gender equality in ICT education. The findings will feed into national and EU-level policy recommendations, contributing to broader goals set out by the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 and the Digital Education Action Plan. By building a solid bridge between research, practice, and policy, EMPOWER will provide a scalable framework for fostering gender-inclusive ICT education. The project aligns with European values of equality and non-discrimination and supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals on Quality Education (SDG 4) and Gender Equality (SDG 5).
