Georgia’s ICT sector has been one of the fastest-growing parts of the national economy over the past decade, creating jobs and pulling in investment. But it has also long been seen as a gender-imbalanced field, dominated by men in technical and leadership roles. A new data-driven report from the Business and Technology University (BTU) takes a close look at how that picture is — and isn’t — changing.
Is Women’s Employment in ICT Actually Growing?
Yes, and notably so. By 2024, roughly 3,400 women were directly employed in ICT professions in Georgia, up from 2,700 in 2023 and 1,700 in 2022 — meaning about 1,600 women joined the ICT workforce in just two years. Women’s share of total ICT employment rose from 15% in 2022 to 29% in 2024 — nearly one in three ICT workers today is a woman. Women’s employment in programming roles specifically doubled over a two-year period ending in 2024.
Do Women and Men Enter the Sector the Same Way?
Not quite. Roughly three-fifths of men working in ICT are under 30. Women typically enter the field later: fewer than a quarter of women in ICT are under 30, and the median age for women in ICT is 41, compared to 29 for men. Women are more likely to be experienced professionals transitioning into the field than students just starting out.
About three-quarters of men in ICT have formal ICT education. Women’s paths look different: many arrived in ICT without formal ICT education — from other technical fields or entirely different academic backgrounds.
Why Don’t Education and Employment Line Up for Women?
This is one of the report’s most striking findings. 72% of women currently employed in ICT do not have formal ICT education. At the same time, among women who do have ICT-related education, 87% are working outside ICT roles entirely — or are unemployed. Only 13% of ICT-educated women end up working in the field. This mismatch suggests formal education is not the main bottleneck — something else prevents qualified women from entering or staying in ICT.
Is the Gender Pay Gap in Tech Closing?
There is encouraging movement. In IT-sector companies, the pay gap has been narrowing steadily: in 2019, women earned 42% less than men (1,222 GEL vs. 2,090 GEL); by 2024, the gap had shrunk to 22% (4,354 GEL vs. 5,604 GEL); and in the first half of 2025, it stood at 16% (4,826 GEL vs. 5,779 GEL). The trend toward pay parity is clear.
Is There a Digital Skills Gap Between Men and Women?
Surprisingly, no significant gender gap shows up in basic digital literacy in Georgia. Basic digital skills, spreadsheet use, and e-presentation creation are all comparable between men and women. In fact, women use the internet more than men for economic activities, including online shopping, where women (35%) outpace men (28%). The ICT employment gap isn’t rooted in a digital skills gap.
What’s Actually Driving the Gender Gap in ICT?
The report points to a chain of interconnected social and structural factors: societal stereotypes about technology as a male domain feed into low interest among girls in ICT education, which produces a low share of women enrolling in relevant programs. This is compounded by limited access to professional networks, fewer visible role models, household and caregiving responsibilities, and limited retraining opportunities.
Is Education Enrollment for Women Improving?
Yes, steadily. In the 2024/25 academic year, 175 women graduated with bachelor’s degrees in computer science (up from just 29 five years earlier), 33 completed master’s degrees, and 299 completed ICT vocational programs. Women’s share is still modest — around 19% of computer science bachelor’s students — but growing. Women make up roughly a third of ICT vocational program enrollees.
What Is Being Done About It?
Since 2020, BTU-led programs — including coding schools for women, technology camps for girls, and initiatives like ‘Women in AI’ — have strengthened ICT-related skills for more than 3,000 women, backed by UN Women, USAID, UNESCO, GITA, Norad and etc.
The Bottom Line
Georgia’s ICT sector is becoming measurably more inclusive: women’s employment share has nearly doubled in two years, the pay gap is narrowing, and digital literacy is not a barrier. But the disconnect between women’s ICT education and ICT employment — and the structural and social factors feeding it — remains the central challenge.
This article summarizes findings from the Digital Ecosystem Digest — Fall 2025 report, ‘Gender Trends in Georgia’s ICT Sector: A Data-Driven Analysis,’ published by the Business and Technology University. Read the full report here: [link].
Keywords: Gender Gap, ICT Sector, Women in Tech, Georgia, Employment Statistics, Gender Pay Gap, Digital Literacy, STEM Education, Labor Market.