The gender digital divide persists in Spain despite the high level of Internet access among the population. The report Gender Digital Divide 2026, prepared by the National Observatory of Technology and Society (Ontsi) —dependent on the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function— points out that weekly Internet use is practically universal and similar between men and women: 95.7% of women and 95.1% of men connect at least once a week. However, the differences remain relevant in areas such as technological specialization, training, or security in the digital environment.
The document also highlights that inequalities are especially concentrated on three fronts: the disconnection of older women, the lower level of digital skills, and the scarce female presence in technological professions. Added to this is the impact of digital violence, which significantly affects women and conditions their participation in the online environment.
Persistence of the digital divide in training, employment and security
The Ontsi report analyzes the differences between men and women in different areas of the digital environment, such as the use of the Internet, e-commerce, education, employment, or online security. Although weekly access to the network is practically egalitarian, the differences widen in certain age groups and in more specialized areas.
One of the clearest examples is observed among the older population. According to the report, 53% of women aged 75 or older have never used the Internet, compared to 44.3% of men of the same age.
Regarding the use of emerging technologies: 39.9% of men have used generative artificial intelligence in the three months prior to the study's publication, compared to 35.9% of women, who also show more caution regarding its possible risks.
Inequalities are also reflected in digital skills and technological training. 64.9% of women achieve at least basic digital skills, a figure lower than 68.1% of men. Furthermore, they continue to be underrepresented in university and vocational training degrees linked to engineering or computer science.
Gap in digital employment and in technological professions
Distances are accentuated in the technological labor market. From Ontsi they indicate that only 19.6% of digital specialists in Spain are women, although the number of female professionals has increased steadily over the last decade, reaching 200,100 specialists.
The digital occupations with greater female presence are concentrated in certain areas, such as graphic and multimedia design (52.6%) or instruction in non-regulated ICT education (52.3%). However, female participation in more specialized technological areas continues to be reduced.
To this situation is added the impact of digital violence. According to the report, 13.7% of women (2,675,518) have suffered controlling insistence to know their location through mobile, applications or social networks, while 9.4% (2,005,630 people) have received inappropriate sexually explicit messages that made them feel offended, humiliated or intimidated.
Measures of the Government to combat the digital gender divide
The National Digital Skills Plan of the Government of Spain includes a specific line of action aimed at combating the digital gender gap. This strategy seeks “to close the digital gender gap (…) to guarantee the full participation of women in digital society and economy, incentivizing training in digital skills for women and girls”.
The Plan points out that this gap is explained, among other factors, by the late incorporation of women into the various digital transformation processes that have occurred since the 1990s. Furthermore, it warns that the lack of digital skills can generate risks of social and economic exclusion in a context in which information and communication technologies are present in most daily life activities.
Among the planned actions, the plan includes programs to promote scientific-technological vocations in the educational system. These initiatives include teacher training to eliminate gender biases, the incorporation of technological professional guidance from primary education, and communication and mentoring programs that make female role models visible in the scientific field.
Likewise, digital training programs for women are foreseen and actions to boost their participation in technological training pathways, as well as initiatives aimed at female entrepreneurship, such as the program "Rural Woman Challenge", developed by the School of Industrial Organization (EOI) and the Women's Institute.
Proposals from the technology sector to reduce the gap
From the business and technological sphere, proposals have also been put forward to reduce these inequalities. In DigitalES highlight that only 36% of Mathematics students are women, a percentage that drops to 15% in Computer Science degrees. In the labor market, the differences continue: when men and women have the same qualification, women have 3% fewer chances of joining STEM positions.
Among the measures proposed by this Association are those of reducing bureaucratic barriers in hiring processes, reviewing certain dynamics of the educational system to facilitate access to technological training and making visible the social impact of digitalization as a way to attract more female vocations. Also the importance of promoting female role models, recognizing the role of teachers and combating technophobia.
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Among its proposals is also that of strengthening professional guidance in educational centers and involving families in the choice of technological studies. In this regard, they recall that the OECD recommends having at least one counselor per 250 students, while, according to a DigitalES report, in Spain there is one counselor per 750 students on average.
Other data they provide are the following: women (who are 56.5% of the total university student body) represent 30.7% of STEM graduates, but only 3.2% of employed women work in these specialties. Of the almost 300,000 STEM contracts registered in 2025, only 38.4% were women.
They add that gender stereotypes remain present in the youth imaginary:
- Between 20% and 30% of young people consider that educational and care sectors are more suitable for women.
- Between 20% and 35% believe that STEAM sectors are more appropriate for men.
Therefore, they highlight the need to promote long-term support actions and strengthen collaboration between administrations, companies and the educational system to increase STEM vocations