Malwina Talik

The results of Austria’s September 29 parliamentary election did not differ much from what polls had indicated for over a year. Nevertheless, they came as a surprise to the political establishment. The Freedom Party (FPÖ) emerged as the clear winner with its historically best result of 28.8%, gaining 12.7 percentage points compared to the last election, which was overshadowed by the so-called Ibiza affair.

On 11 April, GLOBSEC and Microsoft Brussels co-organized a new edition of the CEE Her Breakfast in Brussels, Belgium. The roundtable discussion, titled “Examining the Effects of Technology and AI on Women: Mitigating Risks, Embracing Opportunities”, was part of a three-day CEE Her Workshop. The event featured the launch of GLOBSEC’s newest report: “Women in the digital space (and AI): A look at Austria, Czechia, Poland and Slovakia”.

The report aims to examine whether women in Central Europe (CE) are benefiting from digitalisation (and AI), namely in their use of the digital space and their participation in building it. It comparatively tracks both the challenges and opportunities with respect to women’s (potential) engagement with this emerging field. Scrutinising Austria, Czechia, Poland and Slovakia, the report advances a series of recommendations for forging a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape.