A field missing half its talent
The algorithms, apps, and software that shape our daily lives are predominantly designed by men. Despite the sector’s explosive growth, women remain a small minority among informatics students, researchers, and professors. And this gap has barely moved in decades.
When so few women are involved in designing, building, and leading in computing, the technologies that support our lives only reflect one part of society. These technologies are blind to the needs and risks that a more diverse public would identify.
Closing the gender gap requires more than just encouraging girls to learn to code. Universities, companies and policymakers must rethink how they teach, recruit and support people at every stage of their careers.
Connecting the dots
This was the starting point for the COST Action
European Network for Gender Balance in Informatics (EUGAIN). Its initiators noticed that many universities already had isolated initiatives addressing gender balance, but no one was connecting the people behind them. As Action Chair Prof. Letizia Jaccheri from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology explains:
“We had understood in the context of the work we were doing in Informatics Europe that most universities had some actions related to gender balance in informatics, and we understood that it was important to connect the people behind the actions so that the sporadic knowledge could be lifted up to become a piece of science.”
EUGAIN’s aim was to link researchers, educators, PhD students, institutions and policymakers across the continent, turning scattered experience into a genuine, shared body of science.
European Network For Gender Balance in Informatics - Why?
Why Choose IT? - EUGAIN Young Researchers
Over the past four years, the network has evolved into a multicultural community of academics at the forefront of gender-balance initiatives in their countries and institutions. They shared their experiences of what had worked and what had failed, as well as how lessons could travel from one context to another.
Four years, real change
Perhaps EUGAIN’s most significant achievement was establishing ‘gender balance in informatics’ as a legitimate, fundable and teachable research area. Through training schools, workshops, and international exchanges, almost 100 researchers developed shared expertise. Reflecting on the four-year Action, Letizia Jaccheri identifies this as a personal highlight:
“I am proud of the dozens of scientific publications that we managed to develop — in my own group, for example, we have published in the most prestigious journals and conferences in computer science about the theme of software engineering and gender, something that never happened before EUGAIN.”
She adds that the network’s deepest achievement may be less tangible than any single paper:
“Most importantly, I am proud of the network of people and the fact that we were able to work so creatively and peacefully for four years.”
EUGAIN engaged directly with policymakers and institutions, providing recommendations on fair and inclusive hiring practices and improved support policies. The
policy recommendation booklets were distributed to diversity and inclusion managers at around 40 major European IT companies. Regarding the Action’s wider influence, the Action Chair explains:
“The Action influenced universities by showing that the interdisciplinary field at the intersection between gender and informatics is a legitimate field of study. Moreover, several Erasmus+ projects were established as a result of EUGAIN, making a step toward establishing the field as an education topic in higher education. Concerning policies, policymakers were invited and participated in the final EUGAIN conference, establishing solid relations between the researchers and educators in the network and policymakers.”
Three dedicated
training schools gave PhD students hands-on training and the foundation for entire thesis projects. As Letizia Jaccheri describes:
“
EUGAIN organised three research schools, and a cohort of PhD students have developed their PhD theses on top of the work established in EUGAIN.”
Participants in mentoring schemes were partnered with senior academics, which opened the door to new research grants and leadership roles. The scheme was described by participants as having an experienced guide while climbing a mountain, helping newcomers sidestep obstacles and move forward faster.
The Action education materials for schools, public administration and the private sector all aimed to enhance gender balance in informatics across academia and industry by sharing
best practices.
A jump start into academia
For Irene Zanardi, then just one month into her PhD, EUGAIN was transformative from the start:
“When I joined EUGAIN, I was just one month into my PhD and barely aware of what research or academia really meant. For me, EUGAIN was a jump start, as within months, I was collaborating across disciplines and borders. That early exposure gave me in a short time what would otherwise take years to build: it shaped my view of academia as peer collaboration — feeling like equals, even across academic ages — made strong by a shared sense of purpose. Years later, I know this is not always the reality of our job, but I am grateful to have experienced it firsthand. It reinforced for me that this kind of academic culture is possible and worth striving for.”
For me, EUGAIN was a jump start…it shaped my view of academia as peer collaboration… This kind of academic culture is possible and worth striving for.”
Now completing her PhD, Irene looks back on those years as formative both personally and professionally. Her sentiment was echoed by many of the early-career researchers the network supported.
Claudia Maria Cutrupi, a PhD candidate at NTNU, also joined EUGAIN at the beginning of her doctorate. Through Working Groups, a Summer School and a Virtual Mobility grant, she contributed to best-practice initiatives, policy workshops and the EUGAIN Handbook, while building international collaborations that led to a joint publication with Swiss researchers.
“The Action provided invaluable opportunities to develop leadership skills, expand my research network and build lasting collaborations. Just as importantly, it left me with a community of scholars committed to gender balance in Informatics.”
“The support, trust and long-lasting professional relationships strengthened both my commitment to this research area and my confidence as an early-career researcher.”
Irene and Claudia are just two examples of the many early-career researchers whose PhD projects grew from the foundations laid by EUGAIN. Across the network, young researchers built on its collaborative work to develop their own research, secure new grants, establish international partnerships and step into leadership roles, creating a lasting legacy that continues well beyond the end of the Action.
Beyond the Action
The Action’s spirit was embodied above all by Vice Chair Prof. Barbora Buhnova, who passed away shortly after EUGAIN concluded in late 2024. Remembered by Letizia Jaccheri as
“the kindest person,” whose presence was key to the network’s success, Barbora was both a leading researcher and a tireless activist for gender equality in computing. Her role model legacy continues through the community she helped to build.
EUGAIN’s work did not end with the Action. The network generated seven collaborative projects and two new proposals, funded through Erasmus+, Horizon Europe and national programmes, such as
‘Women STEM -UP’ and
SE4GreenDeal: Software Engineers for the Green Deal.
The Action’s library of resources, including research publications, best-practice guidelines, and more than 50 educational videos will remain freely available on the EUGAIN website for the next ten years.
The community itself remains active, as the Action Chair describes:
“The network is alive. We maintain a mailing list with 200 subscribers that we use to disseminate news and opportunities. The Diversity and Inclusion group of Informatics Europe is guided by Simona Motogna and counts among its members several EUGAIN members. The group organizes each year activities at the annual Informatics Europe Conference and manages a European prize for gender equality, the Minerva award. Moreover, the European Conference ACM Women Encourage has been organized since 2023 by EUGAIN central persons.”
Empowering women in IT is not just about equality. It’s about unlocking talent that society, industry and academia can no longer afford to waste.
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