The DiversIT Charter is our flagship initiative aimed at reducing gender disparity in IT roles. It is a certification which moves through three levels of attainment: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level has a focus on attraction and retention, asking applicants to showcase their initiatives and policies for increasing gender diversity in ICT professions.
Don’t miss out on our activities – subscribe to our newsletter!
Technology is a growing field and advanced digital skills are at a premium. Women are less than 20% of the workers in ICT professions, and yet are consistently nearly half of the available workforce. In addition, having a diverse team increases productivity, profitability and innovation potential.
With the Charter certification, you will:
Consult our brochure to find out more.
Ready? Fill in this short form to contact us and start your journey!
You can apply for one of three tiers of certification. Bronze is meant for organisations who are just beginning their journey towards making their tech workplace more gender-equal. Applicants for the Silver level will have already taken significant steps towards gender equality, with internal and external initiatives implemented and planned. Gold level is awarded to organisations where (gender) diversity has been among priorities for some time, and who have implemented many best practices both internally and externally. This level guide should help you determine which level to apply for.
The assessment for the Charter certifications is carried out twice a year, with the certificates being awarded in May and in November. The deadline for applications is 1 March for the spring session and 1 September for the autumn session.
The pricing of the assessment depends on the size of the applicant’s organisation. The DiversIT Charter initiative is strictly non-profit. All proceeds are used exclusively to support the work of the initiative.
Discounts are available for higher education institutions and not-for-profit organisations. Please contact us to learn more. The Charter certification is free for CEPIS Member Societies.
For more information, consult our Frequently Asked Questions page.
The DiversIT Charter is a network of diversity-conscious businesses and organisations who truly care about equality in tech. The current certified members are:
National DiversIT Charter Ambassador in Iceland
Level: GOLD
Awarded on: May 2020
Learn more
The DiversIT Charter is an initiative of the CEPIS Women in ICT expert group. Coming from different CEPIS Member countries, the Charter assessors are a group of experienced and knowledgeable experts, thoroughly committed to promoting gender equality in ICT profession.
Gillian has extensive experience in the IT industry and runs her own training and staffing company. She sits on the board of directors for the British Computer Society, and lately on the board of directors for WISE, supporting women in STEM. Her long involvement with women in IT includes supporting industry and academia on diversity, chairing BCSWomen group, and leading the CEPIS Women in ICT Task Force. Gillian was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath in 2019 for her work on diversity and was entered into the Computer Weekly ‘Women in IT Hall of Fame’ in 2017.
Priska is Group CEO at wikima4. She has been working in the fields of information security, data privacy, process optimization and international trading marketing for almost 20 years and specialises in analysis, development and realisation of operational Risk Management and IT-Governance, among others. In her international assignments, she has learned many languages and is acquainted with the cultures and working mentalities of these countries. The major topics that she was engaged as SI Board member include the diversity aspects in IT throughout the whole carrier: from girls in coding to senior female management as well as increasing IT knowhow among young people.
Marina is a computer consultant who for a long time has been involved in the development of many EDCL/ICDL and informatics certifications both in Italy and internationally, being a part of many expert workgroups. She also takes care of the Italian localisation of the material related to such certifications, and she is responsible for quality assurance of the training material and the tests used for the certifications in Italy. Marina is very committed to increase the presence of women in STEM, and is one of the most active members of the CEPIS Women in ICT group and plays an important role in the development of the DiversIT Charter.
Arnheiður has been in the IT sector since 1986, starting out as a programmer at the National Hospital and going on to become a Project Manager and Managing Director of Software Development in Skýrr, one of the biggest IT companies in Iceland. Now she leads Ský, the Icelandic Computer Society, a non-profit association of IT professionals. She is also the initiator and Managing Director of the „UTmessan“ project, one of the biggest annual IT events in Iceland. Arnheiður holds a degree in Applied Computer Sciences from Denmark and an MBA from the University of Iceland. She is also a long-standing leading member of the CEPIS Women in ICT Task Force.
Petra is the founder and CEO of the Slovak NGO “AJ Ty v IT” (“You in IT, also”). She received the CESA Female Role Model of the Year 2018 Award in Slovakia, for her work in empowering girls and women and motivating them to choose tech studies and careers. Previously, she worked at the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technology of the University of Bratislava, and in the marketing department of DANONE International Brands in Paris. In 2015, Petra represented Slovakia in the International Visitor Leadership Program of US Department of State, Women in STEM field. Petra holds a PhD from the Bratislava University of Economics, and has studied economics at the Sciences Po university in Paris.
Raquel received her PhD degree in Computer Science Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in 2008. She has been a lecturer and researcher at the Engineering and Computer Science Department at Zaragoza University for more than 20 years. She has (co-)authored almost 100 scientific papers, published in national and international conferences and research journals. Raquel has been involved in several important program committees of international conferences and has been principal researcher of more than 10 research projects with government and private companies. She has participated in Zaragoza University programs such as The Girls’ Day with the Association of Women Researchers and Technologists, and is also a part of the CEPIS Women in ICT expert group.
Nurcan is the Director of Ankara Logistics Base and Part-time Instructor at Atilim University. She worked at at the Ministry of Customs and Trade, where she was the Head of the Information Processing Department for 14 years. She managed the e-customs project, which was Turkey’s largest e-government project at the time. She also worked as Ministry Advisor. Nurcan had chaired the e-TIR Group of Experts at the UN in Geneva for 11 years. She received an award from the World Customs Organization for her outstanding work on automation at customs. Nurcan has been a member of the Turkish Informatics Association (IAT) since 1990, in executive and Board positions. She is also the coordinator of the Women in ICT group in IAT. She is also a member of the Turkey Blockchain Platform.
Skevi is a US graduate majoring in Information Systems. She has extensive experience in ICT in international business in insurance, airlines, shipping and other industries. As a team leader she successfully mentored and supported women. She also actively promotes and supports ICDL certification. Skevi has long been involved in promoting women in IT in Cyprus, as a member of the Board of the Cyprus Computer Society, through the CEPIS Women in ICT Task Force and through organising and supporting projects, conferences and events. She is actively involved in developing the DiversIT Charter.
Gyöngyi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science at the Faculty of Informatics at the University of Debrecen in Hungary. She worked as a database programmer, web developer and designer. Gyöngyi is responsible for CS teacher training at the UD. She is also the e-learning coordinator of the faculty. She is the founder and the leader of the Women in Informatics Communication, Education and Research Area chapter of NJSZT and works in many project involved in women in CS. She is a member of IEEE, ACM, and ISACA. She holds degrees, a Ph.D. and a habilitation in Computer Science and Mathematics from University of Debrecen, Eötvös Lorád University Budapest and Savoy Mont Blanc University, Chambéry.
Sabine works as Patent Attorney at Schwarz & Partners. Her past career includes working as Patent Examiner at the East-German Patent Office and at the Institute of Informatics. In 1992 she joined the European Patent Office, first as Patent Examiner and then as Director in the field of computing. Sabine has co-authored two books on the protection of software by patents. As a member of the German Society of Informatics, she was active as deputy speaker of the Women in Digital group. Sabine is a member of IEEE, ACM, and GChACM. She holds a degree in automation technology from Technische Universität Dresden.
The DiversIT Charter Team adhere to this Code of Conduct during all stages of their work. Read Code of Conduct PDF in browser.
McKinsey, a global consultancy firm, has published a new paper: ‘Women in tech: The best bet to solve Europe’s talent shortage’. This comprehensive report looks at all stages of female involvement in tech – from primary school to workforce. It identifies the main reasons of lack of women in tech, and proposes concrete actions to improve the situation.
The DiversIT Charter has a new home on LinkedIn – please make sure you have followed the new channel to stay up to date with the DiversIT Charter activities and content!
On 24 November 2022, the Informatics Association of Türkiye (IAT) received the Gold level certificate of DiversIT Charter. The Gold level certificate recognises the recipient as being a leader in achieving gender equality in IT professions. IAT had obtained the Bronze level certificate in November 2019. Now, after 3 years, they have recertified for Gold.
The 3rd annual DiversIT Charter event took place on 29 November 2022 online. This year, more than 70 participants gathered together to answer the question “Can we work together?” How can a multi-stakeholder approach help increase gender equality in tech?.
There is a discernible gender gap in the metaverse, similar to the gap that exists in Fortune 500 companies and start-ups, according to a recent study by McKinsey.
The European Parliament has formally adopted the new EU law on gender balance on corporate boards, which means that companies by 2026 will need to have 40% of the underrepresented sex among non-executive directors or 33% among all directors.
Have questions? Take a look at our most frequently asked question page. If you didn’t find what you were looking for, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
