Session 5: Skills to lead digital transformation: Who gets to learn and lead?
Jul 8, 2026 | 3:20 PM - 4:35 PM
CC1
Description
AI is revolutionising productivity and accelerating a structural shift in labour markets, posing both risks and opportunities to gender equality. Women are disproportionately concentrated in occupations most exposed to automation and remain underrepresented in fast-growing, high-value technology sectors. Left unaddressed, these dynamics risk triggering large-scale job losses for women, widening employment and wage gaps, and reversing hard-won gains in economic empowerment. Greater participation of women in the tech sector could unlock untapped human capital, boost innovation, and contribute to economic growth. Evidence shows that diverse teams enhance problem-solving and strengthen the design and governance of digital technologies. This requires expanding women’s access to digital skills, STEM education and leadership opportunities as a strategic investment in productivity, resilience and human-centred digital transformation. Yet, significant gaps persist. While the gender gap in Internet use is below 3 percentage points across almost all OECD countries, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) women remain 15% less likely than men to use mobile internet. Additionally, 244 million fewer women than men are online globally. Persistent gaps in digital skills and STEM graduates limit women’s leadership in high-growth tech sectors. By the age of 15, less than 1.5% of girls across the OECD on average aspire to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) careers, compared to almost 10% of boys and twice as many young men as women have learned programming. This theme will explore how to build a more growth-enabling tech talent pipeline, close gaps and underlying barriers in education and training, and inspire early interest in tech careers. It will also discuss how addressing these divides requires not only national action but also international collaboration, with development co-operation playing an important role in supporting skills development, digital infrastructure and inclusive policies worldwide.
