EAE Business School Barcelona and MWCapital analyse the barriers holding women back in tech careers
- The research examines how educational dynamics shape the choice of tech-related studies and how this inequality continues into the labour market.
- Despite the expansion of technology employment, women remain underrepresented, accounting for just 19.5% of ICT specialists in the European Union in 2025.
- The study reveals a clear glass ceiling in Catalonia’s tech ecosystem, where female representation falls from 34% in entry-level roles to 21% in senior leadership positions.
The structural causes that keep women away from technology careers begin to take shape during the school years and become more pronounced later in the labour market. This is the main conclusion of the report Digital Talent Through a Gender Lens, the first annual specialist research study jointly produced by EAE Barcelona, part of the Planeta Formación y Universidades higher education network, and Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital), presented at the School's campus.
The main goal of this research is to generate valuable data to examine how female talent is developing in a labour market undergoing constant transformation. Despite the rapid growth of digital jobs, the report concludes that attracting women into the sector remains an unresolved challenge, with women accounting for just 19.5% of people employed as ICT specialists in the European Union in 2025.
Educational stereotypes continue to block women’s access to STEM degrees
The study highlights the fact that women’s underrepresentation in STEM degrees is not due to a lack of academic ability. Rather, it stems from a cumulative process driven by socialization, "maths anxiety", traditional educational practices and a lack of role models. Together, these factors lead many young women to rule out technology pathways long before they reach university.
"At a time when technological change is advancing at great speed, bringing more female talent into the digital sector is no longer simply a matter of equality but an essential requirement for sustaining the competitiveness of our economy. Joint initiatives such as this research project enable us to understand where these barriers originate and transfer that knowledge to both academia and the business world. For the School, it is vital to understand these dynamics and prepare organizations for the challenges of a digital ecosystem that must be diverse and inclusive," explained Carlota Suriol, the Director of Marketing and Communication at EAE Barcelona.
The technology sector continues to present a glass ceiling for women
The report also examines how structural inequality extends into the workplace. Beyond access to the sector, the study identifies strong occupational segregation, with female talent tending to be concentrated in roles such as digital marketing, UX/UI and CRM consulting, while highly specialized technology fields such as cybersecurity and cloud development have significantly lower levels of female participation.
This is compounded by the difficulty women face in accessing leadership positions. The data analysed in Catalonia demonstrates the persistence of a "glass ceiling" in digital professions. As responsibility increases, women's representation steadily declines: while women hold 34% of roles without managerial responsibility, this share falls to 25% at management level and drops further to just 21% in senior leadership positions.
The presentation of the study included a roundtable discussion featuring Pilar Saura, Dean of EAE Business School Barcelona; Karina Gibert, President of DonesIAcat and donesCOEINF, Dean of the Col·legi Oficial d’Enginyeria en Informàtica de Catalunya, and Co-founder of the Intelligent Data Science and Artificial Intelligence research centre; Coral Regí, biologist, educator and expert in educational transformation; Clàudia Peiró i Vidal, R&D Firmware Engineer at HP; and Marta Clua, Public Sector Manager at Basetis and member of 100 ICT Women in Catalunya. During the discussion, the participants examined the measures needed to promote greater female representation in digital professions.
Research to boost digital talent in Barcelona
The publication of this special-focus report marks the first major milestone of the research team jointly established by EAE Barcelona and MWCapital at the beginning of this year at MWC 2026. This collaborative initiative reaffirms the commitment of both organizations to strengthening the connection between academia and the corporate sector, promoting human-centred digital development and consolidating Barcelona's position as a global hub setting the standard for technology talent.