EU commissioner Neelie Kroes tells CIOs to recruit more women

On the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, today called on CIOs to recruit more women into the industry.

Women represent more than 50 per cent of students in tertiary education and also hold 50 per cent of all PhDs in the 27 EU member states. However, only 20 per cent of students in engineering and computing are women.

"While we observe that things are getting better, the change is too slow. For all our efforts to build a talent pipeline, the pipeline is leaking," said Kroes.

"Getting and keeping women in ICT is about more than the technology or the school system. It's about career progression, equal pay and facilities to reconcile their family and professional life," she added.

Kroes highlighted that the most innovative and creative teams are the most diverse ones, and by being more diverse companies will win a bigger share of public contracts.

"Now I want to see all CIOs put their money where their mouths and long-term interests are and fill the looming skills gap with the women that can really help them," said Kroes.

"From classrooms to boardrooms to garage startups: my message is the same. There is no point in getting half of Europe digital. There is not place for macho nonsense in our digital future".