«The Demand for Digital Skills: Gender Gaps Across Occupations and Management Roles» - new whitepaper by the SJMM
A new whitepaper by the Swiss Job Market Monitor (SJMM), co-published with Advance and supported by the Canton of Zurich, documents a persistent gender gap in digital skills demand across the Swiss labor market, with significant implications for women's access to managerial roles. Drawing on more than one million Swiss job advertisements from 2015 to 2025, analyzed using large language models, the study provides the most comprehensive analysis of digital skills demand in the Swiss labor market to date.
Over the past decade, the gender gap in digital skills demand in the Swiss labor market has narrowed by around 34%, reflecting both increased participation of women in digitally intensive occupations and growing digitalization within occupations overrepresented by women. However, the gap remains largest for medium and advanced digital skills, which are increasingly required for managerial positions, where demand for digital competencies has risen by 55% while women’s representation in management has grown only modestly. Structural barriers continue to limit women’s access to advanced digital skills and higher-level roles. The study cautions that AI could slow or reverse recent progress by reducing opportunities in highly digital occupations, though its impact on gender equality will depend on how employers, educators, and policymakers respond.
The SJMM team advances scientific understanding of the Swiss labor market and its long-term development. Through the collection of representative and time-comparable data from job advertisements, it systematically monitors evolving dynamics in the labor market. The resulting data and analytical insights are shared with academic audiences, public administrations, policymakers, and the wider public.
Find the full whitepaper with the SJMM's results on Advance's website for download here.
