The proportion of women in IT is still comparatively low: the "Women in Digital Business" specialist forum aims to counteract this trend. Almost 140 participants attended the specialist congress by and for women on 17 March, organized by Vogel IT-Akademie, CeBIT, Bitkom and Women's IT Network.



The declared aim of the congress: more cohesion, more networking among women in IT management positions. The situation for female managers in the male-dominated IT sector has improved in recent years, but many doors still need to be opened.



How can this be achieved? Networks need to be created, soft skills need to be strengthened and STEM subjects need to be filled even more, according to Andrea Gadeib (CEO Dialego & Vice President Bundesverband IT-Mittelstand) in her World Café "Women in leading positions in (your own) company".



However, simply waiting for something to change for women in IT is the wrong approach: action is needed, a "Yes!" to new opportunities, a willingness to take risks, smart working and perseverance. Regina Mehler (founder of the Women Speaker Foundation) emphasized this clearly in her presentation "Every contact is an opportunity, networking is continuity!".



The market currently offers opportunities for this like never before: the digital transformation and the digital workplace are bringing a breath of fresh air to existing structures. Sabina Baasch (second chairwoman of BPW Hannover) and Gabrielle Doan (treasurer of Germany Club Hannover e.V.) spoke of "4.0 - opportunities for courageous women". The speakers and guests agreed that these should be seized.



Further information can be found in the follow-up report and the photo gallery.



In its seminars, industry summits and congresses, the Vogel IT Academy(akademie.vogel-it.com) offers IT decision-makers and partners focused knowledge on a wide range of topics. The Academy is a division of Vogel IT-Medien, Augsburg, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vogel Business Media. The most important media brands of Vogel IT-Medien are IT-BUSINESS, eGovernment Computing, BigData-Insider.de, DataCenter-Insider.de, CloudComputing-Insider.de, IP-Insider.de, Security-Insider.de and Storage-Insider.de. Vogel Business Media is Germany's largest trade media company with 100+ trade journals, 100+ web portals, 100+ business events as well as numerous mobile offerings and international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg. The company celebrates its 125th birthday in 2016.