The steady advance of digitalization in recent years has led to a sharp increase in the demand for labor in the digital economy, and it continues to rise. When looking at the number of employees and start-ups in this area, it is clear that women are still underrepresented here. This applies to most EU countries.
Over the past decade, various initiatives have been launched across Europe to empower women. Despite numerous initiatives to eliminate gender-specific inequalities in access to business, these continue to be present in most EU countries. Although more women are choosing self-employment, female founders are still in the minority in some sectors. In Germany, for example, only 20 percent of technology-oriented start-ups are founded by women. (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, BMWK - FRAUEN unternehmen). The situation is similar in many EU countries.
Setting up a company in the digital economy can be very appealing. This is supported, for example, by the flexibility in terms of time and location of the business activity, which enables a better work-life balance. The high relevance of interdisciplinary skills such as creativity and social skills promises flexibility in terms of content. Nevertheless, the job description “female entrepreneur” in the digital economy is not a matter of course.
Goals and Content
The ADA project addresses this issue. The aim of the project is to encourage women to become self-employed in the digital economy and thereby contribute to reducing the gender gap. Through targeted educational offers, practical support and encouragement, women interested in setting up a business should be encouraged in their idea of taking the step into self-employment. To achieve this, learning opportunities with tailored concepts are important, which follow a practice-oriented approach and take into account the specifics of the digital economy as well as the individual life situations of women.
The ADA project team will design an online training course that consists of three central areas of competence – digital, commercial/economic and entrepreneurial. Smaller learning units in an online format enable effective, flexible and action-oriented learning. Practical exercises and tasks allow the learner to immediately put into practice what they have learned or apply it to their own business idea. The online training will be accessible via a virtual platform that is being developed specifically for the target group of women interested in the digital economy. This platform also serves as an exchange forum to promote networking and personal exchange between mentor and mentee, build visibility and dialogue between female founders across different countries, gather ideas and inspiration, pass on enthusiasm and passion, and provide women across Europe with free access to training and further education.
The project has an application-oriented character and consists of several pilot phases. Interested women who are aiming to found a company in the digital industry, as well as experienced female mentors who would like to accompany the founding process in an advisory capacity, are included in the pilot phases.
The ADA project will help to create a new understanding of the role of women in the digital economy and to make it visible throughout Europe.
Project Results
Result 1 - Development of a training package to promote female entrepreneurship
The curriculum developed by the ADA consortium is a fundamental part of training future female entrepreneurs. It offers them the opportunity to learn or deepen their knowledge in several areas that are crucial for understanding the business world and digital companies. This curriculum is divided into three areas:
- Digital Skills: This area includes four different modules and offers participating women an introduction to digital marketing and brand development
- Entrepreneurial Skills: This area also consists of four modules and provides information and tools for developing leadership skills and effective teamwork
- Business Skills: This area includes six different modules that help women entrepreneurs deepen their understanding of their target group, the market for their product or service, and the planned development of the business structure that their company should have
Result 2 - ADA Virtual Training and Mentoring Platform
The ADA consortium is providing a virtual platform that is fundamental to the effective development of the project, as it provides access to online training consisting of educational units developed by the partners, the e-mentorship program, the Learning Lab and the virtual community of practice.
The platform is designed to accommodate various content formats such as video lectures, webinars, simulations and multimedia presentations. In addition, it will take a microlearning approach tailored to a busy schedule.
In particular, the platform will integrate a social bot system for effective communication with women. These formats will be accessible through a dedicated virtual platform specifically for women interested in the digital economy. This platform will also serve as a forum for exchange and interaction to:
- promote networking and face-to-face interaction between mentors and mentees
- build visibility and dialogue between women founders from different countries
- gather ideas and inspiration
- share enthusiasm and passion
- enable women across Europe to access qualifications and further training free of charge
Result 3 - Develop an e-mentorship program for women empowerment in business
Mentoring process plays an important role in ADA. Within the project, a close process of exchanging ideas and mentoring by the mentors is developed to accompany aspiring female entrepreneurs on their way to exponential growth in understanding the digital business sector and its challenges.
For the optimal development of this mentoring process, special attention is paid to the clarity of roles and expectations, the definition of achievable goals, functionality and time efficiency. To this end, a series of useful guidelines, procedures and tools have been developed to ensure that the mentoring process takes place in a clear environment with established rules, which are clearly explained in the Mentor's Guide and Mentee's Guide developed by the ADA consortium.
At the end of this mentorship process, the participating women will have a solid business plan that will give them a real chance of obtaining private or public funding in their respective countries.
Result 4 - Certification Guide
After completing at least one of the knowledge areas available on the learning platform, participants receive a certificate confirming that they have successfully completed some or all of the units developed by the ADA consortium. The learning outcomes for future entrepreneurs serve as a basis for evaluating the effectiveness and accuracy of the training developed on the platform and thus provide proof of what has been achieved or what the result of this process was.
