More women in IT – but how? The project “F.IT Frauen in IT” (project duration: 13. August 2021 to 31. Januar 2024) has been working on an answer to this question. Through targeted training and further education offers, the project wants to create the possibility of a lateral entry into the industry for women. In order to successfully implement this goal, it is crucial to know the needs and requirements of the target group. The project accompanies the programme “Skilled Workers for Small and Medium-Sized AI Companies in the State of Bremen [F.IT]” of the Senator for Economics, Labour and Europe (SWAE). Through training and further education as well as retraining, women – especially those with a migration background, single mothers without work and young women without training – are to be supported in entering professions that are needed for companies in the AI and retail sectors. In order to achieve the goals of the programme, structures and processes must be established and expanded or made permanent, which will sustainably increase the still very low proportion of women in IT-related professions.

The fact that women are still significantly underrepresented despite various measures that have already been taken raises questions about the reasons and suitable approaches to solve the problem. Both aspects are addressed in the project with the help of suitable scientific methods and synergetically linked with each other. The transfer of knowledge should contribute to a lasting improvement in the access of women in general and those with specific access difficulties in particular to IT-related professions below a university degree in Bremen and Bremerhaven. The starting point and central element of the project design is the work process-oriented survey of the needs and the resulting qualification requirements in the companies.