Women and technology, over 70% emphasize the struggle to receive economic recognition.

Prepared, dedicated to work even in terms of hours, but often struggle to achieve salary and career recognition. Especially if they are mothers. This is the profile of women professionals in the technology sector that emerges from the research conducted by Milano-Bicocca in synergy with the Women&Tech® ETS Association, which also proposes measures to address the existing gaps.

Milano, April 18, 2024 – Professional women? Prepared, dedicated to work even in terms of hours, but most of them struggle to achieve salary and career recognition: this is the profile of women in the technology sector that emerges from the study “Women and Technology: a qualitative-quantitative survey” conducted in synergistic collaboration between the University of Milan-Bicocca, through the Single Guarantee Committee (CUG), and Women&Tech® ETS - Association of Women and Technologies. Over 71% of the respondents state that they have perceived or experienced a different salary treatment compared to their male colleagues, and 11.4 percent prefer not to respond.

The results of the survey were presented today during the event “ Women and STE(A)M. Between Past and Future ”, which was attended by Alessia Cappello (Councillor for Economic Development and Labor Policies, Municipality of Milan), Maria Grazia Riva (Pro-Rector for Guidance, Gender Policies, and Equal Opportunities), Patrizia Steca (President of the CUG of Milan-Bicocca), and Silvia Penati (Professor of Physics and member of the Equal Opportunities Committee).

Among the guests of the morning, Amalia Ercoli Finzi (emeritus professor at the Politecnico di Milano), Elvina Finzi (executive at Essilor Luxottica), along with Gianna Martinengo (President of the Women&Tech® ETS Association).

«The University of Milan-Bicocca has always shown great interest in the topic of women's careers, both in academia and in the professional field. – said Patrizia Steca, president of the Single Guarantee Committee of Milan-Bicocca - The university is committed to constant monitoring of the choices made in the university path. These still show a significant gender imbalance: boys are much more present in scientific and technological degree courses, while girls tend to choose more humanistic and educational paths. A similar situation can be observed in the composition of our Departments. Although improvements can be seen, it is evident how important it is to continue working to support choices that go beyond traditional gender stereotypes. The opportunity to collaborate with external organizations, such as Women&Tech® ETS, is a chance to gain a better understanding of business contexts and the challenges they pose, especially for young women. This allows us to obtain valuable information also in order to improve our training paths, guidance, and job placement.»

The presented survey focused specifically on the theme "women and technology" with the aim of gathering information and data on the experiences of female workers within the network of associated companies and individuals. In particular, five dimensions were analyzed: gender and the ICT sector; job satisfaction; work-life balance; perceived gender gaps; and possible countermeasures.

The research - conducted through the administration of an online questionnaire on the Qualtrics platform during the period of November-December 2023 - involved nearly 200 professionals from companies associated with Women&Tech® ETS who work in "high-intensity" professional environments - predominantly (70 percent) employed in the Tech, Software, and Internet Sector - aged between 30 and 45 years (46.9 percent) and graduates (62 percent).

In particular, 30 percent of them have a degree in STEM disciplines and 24.6 percent have obtained one or more master's degrees.

From the perspective of the average daily workload, 39.7 percent of the participants report a commitment of 9h50’, to which overtime and travel are added. More than half of them (53 percent) identify as mothers, and 20 percent are single parents.

Regarding job satisfaction, 41.8 percent of the women in the sample report being fairly satisfied with their work. In 12 percent of cases, they are very satisfied, and in 28.9 percent, they consider themselves satisfied.

The results of the research - interpreted with attention to the gender dimension - highlight how the interconnection between national employment data and the distribution of workloads, paid and unpaid, contributes to detailing the contours and forms that the experiences of these women take.

The sample shows that full-time working mothers and single mothers express greater difficulties in reconciling and harmonizing different areas of life and report greater struggle to enjoy leisure time. It is significant that the share of “part-time” workers within the sample (10 percent) is composed of 90.5 percent of mothers and that in this group there is no presence of women in top roles.

In addition to the already mentioned widespread perception of wage inequalities, 51.4 percent of the female workers in the sample report that "often" or "always" they have experienced greater difficulties, compared to their male colleagues, in gaining credibility and recognition.

Although 37 percent of women report a career progression in the last 5 years, 19.5 percent of the sample states that their gender has “often” played a negative role in being accepted for a career advancement opportunity.

Among the possible measures to counter these gaps, according to 71.6 percent of the women who are part of the Women&Tech® ETS association, measures in favor of work-life balance and support for parenthood would be necessary, and 40.2 percent suggests promoting collaborations and synergies between companies and educational institutions, schools, and universities.

Women&Tech® ETS was founded in 2009 as an evolution of my project Women&Technologies, conceived in 1999 based on an insight: technologies are a great help for women to balance family and work, but women are essential in the processes of ideation, design, and production of technologies. Women and Technologies: a winning combination. Today this insight is a reality. Women, with their holistic vision of technologies, make a fundamental contribution to technological and social innovation.” stated Gianna Martinengo, President of the Women&Tech® ETS Association, who added: “however, as the results of this research show us, we are still far from equality: in opportunities, pay, and the very presence of women in technological and scientific professions. Today more than ever, in light of the speed with which generative AI is evolving and establishing itself, we are therefore called to intervene on multiple fronts that concern us all: the world of education, companies, institutions, and associations.”

For more information:

Excerpt from the survey “ Women and Technology ”

Women&Tech – Women and Technologies ETS

Nas born in 1999 as a social responsibility project by Gianna Martinengo developed within Didaelkts, the company she founded. In 2009 Women&Tech® becomes an association shared by a network of companies and individuals who offer their skills to achieve its mission. The goals of the Association are: to enhance female talent in scientific research, technology, and innovation; to promote projects and actions aimed at combating stereotypes and gender discrimination; to contribute to guiding young people towards future professions, including sustainable entrepreneurial models. In 2022 Women&Tech acquires the qualification of Third Sector Entity (ETS), thus formalizing the values and transparency that have always characterized the initiatives developed for companies, institutions, and universities, implementing projects on sustainability, inclusion, enhancement of human capital, diversity, and much more.Gianna Martinengo is an entrepreneur, humanist by training, and technologist by choice. Her vision of science and technology has always placed the person and their needs at the center, making them accessible to everyone and suitable for promoting sustainable development.

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