Foreword

AuthorVirginija Langbakk
ProfessionDirector, European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)
Pages3-3
Foreword
3
Gender equality and youth: opportunities and risks of digitalisation
Foreword
Digitalisation affec ts almost every aspect of our
daily lives and its influence is spreading rapidly.
Today, no generation is more in touch with digital
technologies than young women and men. They
are the most digitally skilled in the European Un-
ion and nine out of ten use the internet every day.
The era of digitalisation is here and with it comes
new opportunities and challenges for gender
equ ali ty.
Young people are high consumers of online news
and regularly get involved in societal debates
online. At the same time, more young women
than young men hesitate to debate online after
witnessing or experiencing expressions of hate
speech because of the potential abuse that could
follow. These negative experiences restric t the
active involvement of young women and men in
public life and citizenship. Feedback from young
people across the EU confirms that although the
internet enables self- expression, it also reinforces
gender stereotypes. For example, young women
are often expec ted to (and feel pressure to) pres-
ent themselves online as an idealised version of
femininity (beautiful, slim, young and attractive).
Despite all the opportunities that digitalisation
brings, it is impossible to ignore the risk of cy-
ber-violence. As digital technologies become
more and more engrained in our daily lives, the
boundary between the online and the offline
world is becoming blurred. Bullying that was
once encountered in the classroom or school
yard is no longer bound by time or space — leav-
ing young people with no safe refuge.
Digital spaces can be empowering places of opin-
ion formation, debate and mobilisation. It is only
after gender stereotypes have been broken and
diverse voices have taken their space in the vir-
tual world, that we can enjoy the real benefits of
digital technologies. We need to support the on-
line political and civic par ticipation of young peo-
ple, especially young women, whose voices are
less heard, by making the internet a safer space
to express opinions.
Gender equality must be placed at the hear t of
future EU youth and strategy policies. A strong
gender perspective in EU digital policies, such
as the digital agenda for Europe, the safer-inter-
net programme and the digital education action
plan, is crucial to ensure that young women and
men benefit from all the oppor tunities offered by
digitalisation.
This repor t is p art of EIGEs work to monitor EU
progress towards gender equality in the context
of the objec tives of the Beijing Platform for Ac-
tion (BPfA). The findings are enriched with the
voices and opinions of youth from across the EU,
providing valuable insights on the topic at hand.
I would like to thank all the institutions and ex-
perts who contributed, particularly the Austrian
government, the ETUCE, the European Youth
Forum, the general secretariat of the Council of
the EU and the European Commission, especially
the gender-equality unit at DG Justice and Con-
sumers and our staff. We are confident that this
report, its findings and recommendations of fer
solid and useful evidence to harness the oppor-
tunities offered by digitalisation and address the
risks facing young women and men in Europe
today.
Virginija Langbakk
Di rec to r,
European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

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