Mediterranean Tech Women Network

It is well known that far fewer women choose to go into STEM related (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers than men. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, “labour markets continue to exhibit persistent trends towards the segregation of occupations along gender lines” and “gendered signals” from employers contribute to unwelcoming environments and experiences for women who choose to go into technology fields. These unwelcoming environments can be particularly exacerbated for women of color or migrant backgrounds, women who are responsible for the majority of domestic labor in their households, or those who share any other minority markers related to socioeconomic background or gender/sexual orientation. This trend persists when looking at emergent technologies like AI in which only 22% of AI professionals worldwide were female in 2018, indicating an enormous gap between women in the field and their male counterparts. AI is a particularly important benchmark to measure because new technologies reliant on developing algorithms can imbed gender discrimination into their core functionality. Additional challenges in attaining gender equality in senior leadership of tech organizations also persists, with minimal increases occurring from 2015 to 2020 (24.2 - 27.8%).

According to the April 2021 UNESCO Science Report “The Race against Time for Smarter Development,” women now represent 33% of all scientific researchers. However, in the fields most important to the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution (engineering, computing, physics, mathematics)—and in which there continue to be shortages of skilled laborers—women are still in the minority. Female-friendly start-ups still struggle to access adequate funding, with only 2% of all venture capital secured funneled to those founded by women. Addressing hostile work environments, parity in senior leadership, support for female STEM academics, and equitable educational opportunities must be paramount in tackling these ongoing gaps.

For these and other reasons, it is important that networks like the MWTN provide spaces that expose women in tech to new skills, job prospects, and role models. In particular, MWTN will focus on creating sustainable economic opportunities for women by investing not only in training, but advocacy and policymaking centered on long-term economic collaboration in tech industries across Mediterranean countries. Given the low levels of women’s participation in the technology sector, supporting opportunities for mentorship and empowerment is of paramount importance. Sustained mentorship can allow mentees to increase their communications and leadership skips and grow in their careers—it also has a demonstrated positive effect for mentors themselves, many of whom are likely to advance in their careers through taking part in programs like MWTN.