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Cultural expressions often show the contours of social struggle. Iconic songs such as Aretha Franklin’s Respect, Beyoncé’s Run the World (Girls), and Billie Eilish’s My Power resonate across homes, cafés, schools, workplaces, and public spaces. These artistic forms echo demands for justice and equality towards women, capturing the dynamics of gendered power that increasingly unfold within digital environments (Isin & Ruppert, 2020). Their collective message resonates with foundational feminist critiques. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) exposes the injustice of reducing women to reproductive objects. Similarly, the advocacy of human rights defenders such as Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi highlights the systematic denial of dignity and freedom. This moral critique is further reinforced by economic research, including the work of Nobel laureates in economics, Clauda Goldin on gender pay gaps, shows that this pay gap largely occurs within the same occupations and grows over time, particularly after parenthood (Bolotnikova, 2016).
Yet despite such cultural and intellectual legacies, gender inequality remains deeply rooted. Women across the world continue to face discrimination, violence, harassment, illiteracy, and poverty (Acilar & Sæbø, 2021). In digital contexts, these inequalities manifest as limited agency, uneven access, and constrained digital capabilities (Williams et al., 2023). Digital inequalities—deeply socio-technical by nature—challenge fairness and inclusiveness (Vassilakopoulou & Hustad, 2021), hinder democratic work structures (Mumford, 2006), and impede the development of digital literacy and skills (Venkatesh & Sykes, 2013). Those positioned at the intersections of low socio-economic status, geographic marginalisation, and restrictive socio-cultural norms face the most severe barriers to digital access and meaningful use (Acilar & Sæbø, 2021; Williams et al., 2023).
Starting our narrative through the voices of artists and human rights activists is intentional. Many of these women have personally endured discrimination and digital incivility (Yadin et al., 2023), often receiving hostility rather than the online social support that is crucial for well-being (Pai, 2023). Their collective refusals to accept domination have animated global digital movements that amplify women’s voices—particularly in Western settings (Williams et al., 2023). However, these global narratives remain incomplete. Discussions on women’s empowerment, do not always include perspectives from places like Kosovo in the Western Balkans.
This project therefore provides a new perspective by foregrounding the experiences of women in Kosovo vis-à-vis Sweden, particularly in the booming sector of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). While in Sweden the checklist is clear, we find that women in Kosovo navigate multiple structural barriers: unequal access to advanced digital skills, challenges in translating education into labour market opportunities, and limited employment opportunities. Yet, the ICT sector emerges as a site of women empowerment. ICT in Kosovo has expanded security, awareness, and employment opportunities for women. It also holds the potential to enhance women’s labour rights as seen in Sweden, but in the Kosovo context, we find that labour-rights enforcement remains weak. While the ICT sector has the potential to be associated with stronger labour rights, as seen in Sweden, implementation gaps remain in Kosovo, especially regarding protections for women including care-related and family support policies.
It is precisely this asymmetry that makes a comparative analysis between ICT sectors in Sweden and Kosovo both timely and necessary. This seed-funded project held two expert round-tables (the Prishtina roundtable and the Lund roundtable) to discuss the asymmetries. To highlight our findings, our starting point is grounded in a comparative approach toward understanding the ICT labour position of Sweden and Kosovo. We first identify that Sweden ranks among the top five countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), where robust labour protections, strong welfare institutions, and gender-equitable ICT workplaces are key. Kosovo on the other end, is ranked near the bottom in Europe, with labour laws referencing ILO conventions only superficially and non-discrimination provisions are still in draft form. Many women in Kosovo enter the ICT sector in the expectation of more equitable treatment; however, gaps in implementation of labour rights, work-family policies, and workplace protections persist. Despite this, ICT is often perceived as more progressive than other sectors, offering women glimpses of fair labour and equality.
Nevertheless, both contexts demonstrate the transformative potential of ICT. In Sweden, one in eight jobs is already in ICT, with a projected growth of 18–25% by 2027. Kosovo, despite resource constraints and institutional instability, hosts over 2,000 ICT companies and has experienced nearly 300% sectoral growth in recent years. More than 50% of girls enroll in ICT programmes, with approximately 30% pursuing ICT careers. Thus, the ICT sector serves as a vital empirical site for interrogating the intersections of gender, labour rights, and digital transformation.
At its core, this seed-funded project aims to understand how the growth of employment in the ICT sector can support not only access to jobs, but also more equitable labour conditions and outcomes.
Our expert roundtables reveal a key message. ICT sector alone is not sufficient to create justice or equality for women. But as digital technologies and AI specifically continue to shape economies, governance and everyday life, participation of women in ICT sector goes beyond representation, and more about ensuring that these systems are more equitable, inclusive, and contribute to diverse needs. Hence, in the contemporary world, justice cannot be imagined without addressing how such sectors that are booming, shape women’s work and their rights, particularly in contexts like Kosovo. This is where our project takes a deeper look.
In Sweden, ICT sector sits within a strong human‑rights and labour‑rights framework—supported by childcare, eldercare, equal parental leave, and effective enforcement. Kosovo presents a different reality. Labour rights are formally in place, but enforcement may be uneven. EU alignment on non‑discrimination remains in draft. In light of this contrast, four action points emerged that would benefit the context of Kosovo from a policy development perspective:
Continuous Role Model Presence
Policy efforts could further strengthen the inclusion of role models and expand their reach across urban and rural settings. Strengthening the visibility and reach of women in ICT—particularly beyond urban centres—is essential to inspire participation across diverse groups. Role models, including supportive men, play a crucial role in challenging stereotypes and motivating women to pursue ICT careers.
Retaining Women in the Labour Market
Policy efforts to sustain women’s participation in the labour market should be supported through systemic measures, including: accessible childcare, extended school hours, effective implementation of parental-leave regulations, and targeted measures for marginalised groups. At the same time, the development of the ICT sector should be grounded in gender sensitivity policy frameworks to help prevent the reproduction of existing social and structural inequalities.
Advancing Women Empowerment in the ICT sector
Advancing women empowerment requires coordinated policy, including efforts to address gender stereotypes, and strengthening mentoring systems with an emphasis on partnership and support, aligning with the frameworks established by various agencies. In addition, improving digital safety, and addressing educational bias further supports women’s successful progression into ICT fields.
From Conformist and Reformist Implications towards Transformative Implications
Long-term goals towards transformative implications depend on robust institutional mechanisms. This includes advancing labour‑law reforms including regulating childcare and elderly care provisions. Equality boards, gender-aware governance, and cross‑sector partnerships form the structural backbone for promoting labour rights and gender equality should be brought into action towards changing perspective from a conformist and a reformist attitude, towards a transformative one.
Miranda Kajtazi1, Erdelina Kurti2, Venera Demukaj3, and Mimoza Polloshka3
Lund University1; Linnaeus University2; Rochester Institute of Technology Kosovo3
References:
Acilar, A. and Sæbø, Ø., 2023. Towards understanding the gender digital divide: A systematic literature review. Global knowledge, memory and communication, 72(3), pp.233-249.
Bolotnikova, M. N. (2016). Reassessing the gender wage gap. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2016/04/reassessing-the-gender-wage-gap
de Beauvoir, S. (1949) The Second Sex. Paris: Gallimard.
Isin, E. and Ruppert, E. (2020). Being digital citizens. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Mumford, E., 2006. The story of socio‐technical design: Reflections on its successes, failures and potential. Information systems journal, 16(4), pp.317-342.
Pai, P., 2023. Becoming a mother: A role learning perspective on the use of online community resources to facilitate a life-role transition. Information & Management, 60(8), p.103861.
Vassilakopoulou, P. and Hustad, E., 2023. Bridging digital divides: A literature review and research agenda for information systems research. Information Systems Frontiers, 25(3), pp.955-969.
Venkatesh, V., and Sykes, T.A. 2013. “Digital Divide Initiative Success in Developing Countries: A Longitudinal Field Study in a Village in India,” Information Systems Research (24:2), pp. 239-260.
Williams, H., Faith, B. and Waldman, L., 2023. Technologies of inclusion and marginalization: Mobile phones and multiple exclusion homeless women. Mobile Media & Communication, p.20501579231211498.
Yadin, D., Yahav, I., Zalmanson, L. and Munichor, N., 2023. Resolving the Ethical Tension Between Creating a Civil Environment and Facilitating Free Expression Online: Comment Reordering as an Alternative to Comment Moderation. Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-23.
