The fourth day of the virtual cycle ‘Female leadership in strategic economic sectors during the pandemic‘ has been dedicated to the digital and technological economic sector.

This session, organized by the Associació 50a50 and Barcelona Activa, has focused on giving a voice to women who lead the digital sector, key to facing the problems that have arisen as a result of the pandemic.

The Third Deputy Mayor, Area of ​​Agenda 2030, Digital Transition, Sports and Territorial and Metropolitan Coordination of the Barcelona City Council, Laia Bonet, offered a diagnosis on the presence of women in the digital and technological sector of the city: “More than 60,000 professionals in Barcelona work in ICT sectors, but only a third are women”. She has also highlighted that the vast majority of senior technical professionals are men (91.4%), a direct consequence of the low presence of women in the technological field.

On the other hand, Bonet explained some of the measures that are part of #BCNFemTech, a program aimed at reducing the digital gender gap in the city and promoting gender equality in ICT industries.

Next, Berta Pérez, director of the Office of European projects of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, presented her study “Women in digital startups“. The research has analyzed the differences between digital startups led by women and men in the city of Barcelona. “We have to promote the education of women in the technological world, create criteria for inclusion and diversity, design more favorable policies and increase the number of women in leadership positions”, said the speaker.

Then, we listened to the experiences of leading businesswomen in the sector in a round table moderated by Susana Prado-Garcia, general director of Inetum Catalunya.

Montse Guardia, general director of the Consorci Alastria, explained how the digital sector has gone through a phase of change and subsequent accelerated adaptation: “Technology has taken new positions in an accelerated way and small companies have been able to reach the market more quickly”.

Eli Abad, partner and co-founder of Beetween Tech, said that in her case this change has not been so deep, since in 2018 they began a telework pilot test: “We don’t have to wait to be forced to make changes. We always should be thinking about what the company needs. This approach allowed us to have the right tools at the beginning of the lockdown”.

During the session, the importance of female leadership was highlighted. Guardia underlined the gender prejudices that prevail in society: “There must be a change of leadership, which is more transversal. Speaking with conviction and coherence, we should be able to lead in high places and convince our colleagues of the strength and influence of the women”. Abad attributed unconscious gender biases to the lack of female leaders. “Being half of the population, there would be no difference if women did not have the conviction that they are inferior”, argued the representative of Beetween Tech.

Finally, the speakers advised all female entrepreneurs in the sector to have perseverance, to network and work on their limiting beliefs to go further.

The next sessions will be focused on female leadership in the sectors of care and services for people, health and food, and the cultural and creative industries.