Challenge

Women who enter ICT careers often drop out or move to a different type of career. Fewer women also make it to the upper management level and this is particularly true for the ICT sector.

A recent analysis by European Research Associates of 161 major European companies found that only 8.9% of the members of their board of directors were women.

An analysis of 150 companies in the telecommunications sector in Europe found that on average 6% of directors were women. About 66% of companies had no women on the board of directors at all.

ECWT's response to the challenge

The ECWT actionplan will be based on a Regional Mapping of stakeholders, resources, good examples that will be carried out through the European Directory for Women and ICT supported by the European Commission DG INFSO to be launched in October 2009.

The Code of Best Practices signed by Aclatel-Lucent, IMEC, Miucrosoft, Motorola and Orange FT and presented to Madame Viviane Reding, Commissioner for the Information Society and Media the 3rd of March 2009 presents  a number of best practices.