How have digital technologies transformed the place of women in the professional world? Do these technologies create new professional opportunities? Do they reduce inequalities in the workplace?
This is what the international study Digital equality? Women in the digital revolution, conducted by Roland Berger, Numa and La Journée de la Femme Digitale, sought to better understand through an online survey of 3,000 people (men and women), conducted from October to December 2016 across more than 60 countries.
Three topics were considered in the survey, corresponding to the key stages of women's professional life: entry into working life, including entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, career development and access to leading positions.
40% of respondents define the digital woman as a connected woman who uses digital tools on a daily basis, for 27% it is a woman immersed in the web culture and for 24% it's a state of mind. That said, the majority of respondents fundamentally believe that there is no difference between a digital woman and a digital man. This conviction that men and women are playing on equal terms in the digital economy is confirmed by an interesting fact: women starting their own digital start-up are often more successful than men. Unfortunately, beyond these positive findings, some gender stereotypes are still prevalent. While the adjective digital, when applied to men, is associated with technical skills, the term digital for women remains rather attached to the more softer aspects of communication or networking. Women do not yet fully capitalize on all dimensions of digital.
The study highlights a broad consensus on the positive effects of digital: 74% of women and men believe that digital technologies ease women's professional life. Women are also of the opinion that digital helps them highlight certain specific qualities: 72% think that digital projects carried out by women differ from those carried out by men, mainly in terms of management style. So digital is essential for long-term career building.
When it comes to leadership, men and women often have opposing views. 53% of women think they do not have equal access to C-level positions – while 66% of men are convinced of the opposite. 64% of women think their gender has probably or certainly inhibited their professional success. The most optimistic are, logically, those who have already achieved a certain level of seniority and responsibility. The pessimism expressed by younger people in the survey likely reflects the dearth of positive role models available to them.
Nearly 60% of women are certain that digital will support them in the pursuit of their careers. In general, women are more optimistic than men about the positive impact of digital on their careers. This proportion is higher for corporate managers (60%) and entrepreneurs (68%).
In terms of professional development, 60% of women and men believe companies that have embarked on a digital transformation have created opportunities for women. 73% of women and 61% of men think that women have a specific part to play in the digital revolution. Some are more optimistic than others, such as entrepreneurs (63%) and corporate managers (62%). The most familiar with digital are the most aware of its positive effects.
81% of women consider that professional equality should be one of the five priorities of business leaders; relying solely on digital to transform practices and attitudes is not enough. However, the digital transformation has to be supported by a policy of professional equality within the company. 75% of women (60% of men) believe that gender equality should be a key performance indicator (KPI) in an organization.
The United States and Canada are more optimistic about what digital can do to offer professional opportunities to women. But they are less sensitive to gender differences: only 45% think that women's digital projects are specific, and fewer people in North America believe it is important for professional equality to be a priority for entrepreneurs (69%). Europeans on the other hand are less optimistic about the opportunities offered by digital, and more sensitive to the gender gap. Asia is characterized by both strong optimism and a very gendered view of the subject (93% of respondents think that projects carried out by women are different).
"Digital is a unique opportunity for women to grow. It opens networks, offers new models of development and accelerates over time. Women need to seize it, especially as digital projects launched by women are creating more value than average. It is time to be bold and seize these opportunities," says Anne Bioulac, Senior Partner at Roland Berger.
About Roland Berger
Roland Berger, founded in 1967, is the only leading global consultancy of German heritage and European origin. With 2,400 employees working from 34 countries, we have successful operations in all major international markets. Our 50 offices are located in the key global business hubs. The consultancy is an independent partnership owned exclusively by 220 Partners.
About La Journée de la Femme Digitale
La Journée de la Femme Digitale – Digital Women’s Day – is an event co-founded by Delphine Remy-Boutang in 2013 that celebrates and connects women willing to revolutionize the world through digital. Free annual event open to the general public, the JFD aims to inspire and encourage women to dare, innovate and build. Focusing on networking, sharing of knowledge and experiences, the JFD honors with kindness the synergy of talents and the initiatives of women and men of today. Under the theme “For A Better World”, the 5th edition offers to think and explore the routes to build a more creative and equal world thanks to digital. JFD is also a club: JFD Connect. Created in 2016 by Delphine Remy-Boutang, the club gives to its members the opportunity to meet all year long and to develop their networks during conferences and exclusive events. JFD and JFD club are produced by the bureau digital agency.
About NUMA
A major player in the digital ecosystem for the last 15 years, NUMA brings together inventors, entrepreneurs and startup founders with the aim of enhancing and showcasing innovation. With offices in Paris, Moscow, Bangalore and Casablanca, NUMA pursues three main goals: the event-driven nurturing and structuring of communities (it is the founder of the “Cantine Numérique” (“Digital Canteen”) and staged 1,500 events attracting 80,000 people in 2015); the acceleration of startups (having provided such a service to 104 of them since 2011, and over 200 mentors); and the digital transformation of companies (NUMA supports one third of CAC 40 companies in their digitalization and also set up the first public/private multi-partner program) through open innovation and experimentation.
![{[downloads[language].preview]}](https://www.rolandberger.com/publications/publication_image/womendigital_10_planches_draft_1_download_preview.jpg)
How do women seize the opportunities of digital? What do they hope to achieve through the digital revolution? This is what 'Digital equality? Women in the digital revolution' seeks to better understand.
