Technology can be perceived as gendered in many ways, for example if the relationship between gender and technology is viewed as mutually constitutive: technological change is shaped and structured according to societal norms and relations, which are in turn influenced by technological transformations.

On the one hand, this means that the types of technologies used in different historical, political and cultural contexts, their design and meaning are created within gender relations and thus reflect pre-existing gender inequalities. On the other hand, by offering different tools and methodologies for work, entertainment and care, technologies themselves shape those gender relations.

Digital transformation and technological innovation represent opportunities and challenges across Member States in relation to economic growth, productivity and employment (see Section 9.2). The digital performance of the EU is measured by the Digital Economy and Society Index, which brings together a set of relevant indicators on Europe’s current digital policies[1].

The correlation between the Gender Equality Index and the Digital Economy and Society Index shows that societies with greater equality between women and men also perform better in the area of the digital economy (Figure 27), which is vital for sustainable economic growth.

The best performing Member States in the Digital Economy and Society Index are Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark, which are also among the Member States with the highest scores on the Gender Equality Index.

The strong relationship between the Digital Economy and Society Index and the Gender Equality Index suggests that digital performance can be improved while tackling the digital gender divide (e.g. gender gaps in access to and use of digital technologies, in digital-related education, in entrepreneurship, in ICT). Thus, advancements in digital transformation can go hand in hand with advancements in gender equality.