{"id":85006,"date":"2026-02-11T15:05:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/891455979"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:05:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:05:33","slug":"men-more-than-twice-as-likely-as-women-to-use-high-tech-skills-at-work-as-study-finds-ireland-has-widest-digital-gender-gap-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/men-more-than-twice-as-likely-as-women-to-use-high-tech-skills-at-work-as-study-finds-ireland-has-widest-digital-gender-gap-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Men more than twice as likely as women to use high-tech skills at work as study finds Ireland has widest digital gender gap in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The research released today reveals that Ireland has Europe\u2019s biggest gender gap when it comes to workers\u2019 use of advanced digital skills.<\/p>\n

It also exposes a \u201cglass ceiling\u201d in the most digitally intensive workplaces.<\/p>\n

Around 44pc of men use advanced digital skills in their jobs compared with just 18pc of women, according to the joint study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and research body, BlockW.<\/p>\n

The difference, a 26pc gender gap, is almost double the European average.<\/p>\n

Researchers used an index based on workers\u2019 use of technology including the internet and spreadsheets as well as advanced digital skills such as programming, machine learning, AI tools and IT system management.<\/p>\n

The report found that women and men use basic digital skills at similar rates, but women are significantly less likely to perform advanced digital tasks.<\/p>\n

Gender gaps in advanced digital work exist across Europe but Ireland stood out as having the largest gap.<\/p>\n

Adele Whelan, senior research officer at the ESRI and co-author of the report, said the gender gap is driven by a high level of advanced digital skill use among men in Ireland, rather than low use among women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were surprised by the gap, that it was the largest in Europe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Failing to fully utilise women\u2019s advanced digital capability is an avoidable constraint on growth<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWomen in Ireland, they are performing on par to women in Europe but it\u2019s actually men in Ireland are outperforming men in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s driving the gap. It also says that there\u2019s a lot of opportunity in Ireland that maybe isn\u2019t being equally distributed at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you know, Ireland\u2019s unique in terms of its relatively large tech \u00adsector and it holds many of the major \u00adglobal headquarters. So, perhaps that also makes it different to other European countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we can explain some of the gap, that it\u2019s due to less [sic] women being in Stem [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] fields of study or occupations, but this only explains a minority of the gap. So only about 30pc or 40pc is due to these reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report showed men in Ireland are much more likely to use advanced digital skills at work, at 44pc, compared with 32pc in other European counties.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s use of advanced skills is comparable with women elsewhere in Europe.<\/p>\n

A large part of the gap in digital skill use may come down to the types of jobs men and women do. The study found women are underrepresented in the most digitally intensive jobs. However, women are less likely to use advanced digital skills, even when compared with male workers who have a similar education, job or who work in the same sector.<\/p>\n

Ms Whelan said a big part of the gender gap is still unexplained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be self-selection into tasks on the job. It could be potential bias on task allocation from senior level managers. It\u2019s unclear as to why this is the case,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She added that greater change may potentially be needed in areas like decision-making and opportunities.<\/p>\n

Professor Joyce O\u2019Connor, co-founder and chair of Block W, said the findings should give us pause for thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an economy facing skills shortages, failing to fully utilise women\u2019s advanced digital capability is an avoidable constraint on growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms O\u2019Connor said more research is needed on task allocation and progression within firms, and what interventions positively impact outcomes.<\/p>\n

An ESRI spokesperson said the report raises concerns about the underutilisation of women\u2019s digital skills, despite Ireland\u2019s strong tech sector and high levels of education.<\/p>\n

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The results highlight the need for further research into other factors that may shape opportunities<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The report, \u201cSquandered skills? Bridging the digital gender skills gap for inclusive growth in Ireland: A comparative European perspective\u201d, also showed that younger women face larger digital skill gaps than older workers.<\/p>\n

It said closing the gender gap in advanced digital skills use will require more than increasing women\u2019s participation in Stem education or jobs.<\/p>\n

The authors said further research is needed to better understand the role of workplace organisation. This includes how managers allocate digital tasks, responsibilities and progression opportunities.<\/p>\n

The report said evidence shows that closing the gender gap in digital skill use at work will require more than increasing women\u2019s participation in science, technology, engineering and maths education or occupations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile education and access to digital jobs are important, the results highlight the need for further research into other factors that may shape opportunities to develop and apply advanced digital skills, including workplace organisation, task allocation, progression pathways, and broader organisational practices,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

It added that addressing these issues will be important for gender equality.<\/p>\n

The report was launched to coincide with International Day of Women and Girls in Science.<\/p>\n

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… of its relatively large tech<\/span> \u00c2\u00adsector and it holds … being in Stem [science, technology<\/span>, engineering and mathematics] fields of … despite Ireland\u00e2\u0080\u0099s strong tech<\/span> sector and high levels of … \u00e2\u0080\u0099s participation in science, technology<\/span>, engineering and maths education …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}