Since its launch, StandICT.eu has actively encouraged applications from women in its open calls, which fund experts contributing to ICT standards. While female participation remains relatively low across the field of standardisation, with representation in some technical areas falling to as little as 15%, the 20–25% average share of applications from women to StandICT.eu open calls already signals growing engagement.
Between 2018 and 2026, StandICT.eu has recorded a 62% increase in funded applications from women, highlighting measurable progress towards gender balance. Across all open calls to date, women have represented 18% of received applications, with a particularly positive result in the 2026 edition, where 30% of funded experts were women.
Since 2022StandICT has also hosted a webinar series on women’s roles in ICT standardisation to identify barriers and challenges, share best practices, and promote concrete steps across Standards Developing Organisations (SDOs), industry and academia. The series complements StandICT’s broader mission by building an inclusive pipeline of experts and promoting gender perspectives to inform technical and policy deliverables. The initiative has grown through four editions to date, each adding practical recommendations and resources for the community.
Why a focus on gender in ICT standards?
Standards are powerful instruments: they shape interoperability, governance, ethics and adoption of digital technologies. But if standardisation processes under-represent women, they risk overlooking use cases, accessibility concerns or societal impacts. Inclusive standards are not just fairer, they are more robust, more responsive to diverse needs, and more widely adopted.
Recognising this, ISO 53800:2024 – Guidelines on the Promotion and Implementation of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment provides a global framework to advance gender equality across sectors, including ICT. This standard is an important step towards ensuring more inclusive participation in shaping the technologies of the future. Similarly, various international and European initiatives have emerged to promote gender diversity in standardisation, but these efforts remain fragmented and need to be expanded and strengthened.
StandICT’s event series responds to this need by combining evidence, dialogue and recommendations to strengthen gender inclusion in the standardisation ecosystem.
Timeline of the webinars and insights
- 2022 - “Walk & Talk Webinar: Women in ICT Standards”
- 2023 - “Women in ICT Standards, focus on the gender gap”
- 2024 - Third edition: “Women in ICT Standardisation”
- 2025 - Fourth edition: “Women in ICT Standardisation”
Discussions across the Women in ICT Standardisation series reveal that increasing the visibility of women experts remains essential, as participation in technical committees and editorial roles is still limited. Structured mentorship and sponsorship programmes are equally important to support women’s progression into leadership positions within standards bodies. Reliable data on gender participation should be systematically collected and published to enable transparency and accountability.
At the same time, gender perspectives must be integrated throughout the standard development process, from early design to implementation, ensuring that inclusiveness and usability are inherent features of technical outcomes. Achieving this requires institutional measures, such as more inclusive nomination processes and flexible participation options, that help reduce persistent barriers.