IP/09/1489 Brussels, 8 October 2009 28 European companies now commit to bring more women into the tech industry Today the European Commission welcomed the growing commitment by Europe's tech companies to attract more women to the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry. Only six months after the European Commission launched a code of best practices for women in the ICT sector  (IP/09/344) , the number of signatories committed to encourage young women to study and follow careers in the telecoms, technology and internet industries has grown from initially five to now 28 – a more than five fold increase. The Commission also launched today the European Directory for Women in ICT – a new online tool that will bring together all information on activities and jobs in the EU related to women and ICT.  "I applaud the increased commitment shown by the ICT industry, especially by the 28 signatories to the code of conduct. This shows the growing awareness of the ICT sector that it can benefit from and contribute to economic growth and innovation only if it addresses the shortage of qualified staff expected to reach 300,000 by 2010," said Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "A lthough women get 45% of all European PhDs, they get only a quarter of those in engineering, manufacturing and construction. In the 116 biggest telecoms companies in Europe, only 7% of board members are women. More efforts will be needed to double this figure by 2015 and make sure the potential of women in this sector is fully untapped. I therefore call on the entire ICT industry to sign and implement the Code swiftly."  The Code of Best Practices for Women in ICT was launched in March 2009 to encourage young women to study and follow careers in the ICT sector. It focuses on education and employment through girls' days, mentoring programmes, flexible working hours and other innovative activities that help raise awareness and attract women to the tech industry. Since the launch of the Code in March 2009, 28 organisations including large corporations, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), consultancies, academic institutions, NGOs and telecoms regulators have signed. Although the number of women studying science, technology and ICT at university level is increasing, men significantly outnumber women. In 2006 41% of all science mathematics and computing PhDs graduates were women. In the same year 25% of engineering, manufacturing and construction PhDs were women. But in computer science, male research graduates were more than three quarters of all graduates in 2006.  While European women are becoming more computer and internet savvy, disparities remain. The percentage of female graduates in science and technology varies from 44% in Estonia to 20% in the Netherlands. 81% of Dutch 16-24 year old women use a computer every day, but only 38% do so in Bulgaria, compared to 89% and 38% for men in the same countries. In the EU overall, 38% of men use the internet on a daily basis and only 28% of women, but the gender gap is less than seven percentage points in Ireland, Greece, France, Portugal and Finland and also the 12 countries that have joined the EU since 2004.  Companies and organisations signing the code of conduct commit to increasing the numbers of women in science, technology and engineering higher education, and to recruiting and retaining female talent to Europe's telecoms and internet-related industries. Mentoring schemes, open days, and computer camps are some of the ways in which these companies are attracting (young) women to the sector.  A new tool was also unveiled today in Brussels – an online Directory for Women in ICT   (www.ictwomendirectory.eu)   . It will cover three different areas: technology, community building and business. The Directory gathers in one place all activities, job offers, legislation and statistics related to women in ICT, to give an overview of what is happening in the field across Europe, and establish collaboration and networks between the different actors. 1000 stakeholders have been invited to join the Directory. Background  T he Code of Best Practices for Women in ICT aims to attract girls at school or university to the high-tech sector but also to retain and promote women already working in this sector. The 28 signatories were announced at a workshop    "More women, better jobs and boosting growth"   held in Brussels on 8 October. The companies that signed the Code up to now are:   Alcatel-Lucent   (France),   APSCO   (UK),   CISCO   ,   European Center for Women and Technology   ,   e-SKILLS   (UK),   Equalitec   (UK),   Google   ,   HP   ,   IMEC   (Belgium),   Infineon   ,   IT Synergy   (UK),   Lebanese Telecommunication Authority   (Lebanon),   Microsoft   ,   Motorola   ,   Orange France-Telecom   (France),   Panasonic   ,   Papirbredden Innovasjon   (Norway),   Portia   (UK),   Promis@Service   (Luxembourg),   P31 Consulting   (UK),   Research Council of Norway   ,   SAP   ,   Sharpe Thinking (UK),   Simula   (Norway),   Sony Europe   ,   Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum   (Germany),   University of Liverpool (UK), and   Women in Technology   (UK). Signatories to the code of best practices for women in ICT:    http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/itgirls/signatories/index_en.htm    European Commission website on women and ICT:   www.ec.europa.eu/itgirls Directory for Women in ICT:    http://www.ictwomendirectory.eu        V ideo on Women in ICT: 'ICT is wicked':    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmhe36xwS-Y