Addressing this shortfall is about much more than doing the right thing; it’s an economic necessity. While the spate of tech layoffs in the face of economic uncertainties ahead has caused companies to rethink their talent strategies, only 7% of the layoffs have been in Europe, according to the State of European Tech report for 2022, and the underlying economic fundamentals that rely on tech talent remain in place.
In fact, McKinsey analysis shows a tech talent gap of 1.4-3.9 million people by 2027 for EU-27 countries. If Europe could double the share of women in the tech workforce to about 45%, or an estimated 3.9 million additional women by 2027 – something we believe is possible – it could close this talent gap and benefit from a GDP increase of as much as ₹260-600 billion….
This is, of course, a tough problem to solve. However, although there are no silver bullets, four interventions – (a) redressing bias in the workforce, (b) improving retention rates, (c) reskilling women into tech roles, and (d) bolstering girls in STEM classes earlier in their educational process – can have a significant impact.
From ‘Women in Tech: The Best Bet to Solve Europe‘s Talent Shortage’, McKinsey & Co
