DIGIGEN aimed to create an up-skilling programme that enables guidance professionals to design their counselling approach for women in digital leadership positions, taking into account current scientific findings and individual situations. Improving the personal career chances of women leaders adds up as an indirect additional objective. The overarching target group was organisations in the (further) education sector that will establish the DIGIGEN up-skilling programme as a training course. They are the addressees of the developed concept and benefit indirectly from the contents. A direct target group are guidance professionals (e.g. in Human Resource Management (HRM), career and coaching services, etc.). The counselling support for (future) female managers makes women an indirect target group. In the long run, these three groups benefit equally from DIGIGEN. Organisations will find a ready-to-use course concept (up-skilling programme) to offer training for guidance professionals. Guidance professionals can improve their skills by attending a course or by self-directed learning on the web platform. Female leaders will benefit from better guidance or through self-directed learning on the web platform.
The number of working women in European countries has been increasing for a long time. However, the proportion of women and men in management positions is not comparable. This gender inequality has led the European Commission to place the promotion of women's employment at the heart of European policy. The Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 states: “The Commission will ensure that Member States […] implement this directive to enable men and women to equally thrive both personally and professionally”. More specifically, “Companies, communities and countries should be led by both women and men, in all their diversity.” Digitalisation is often cited as a key factor in achieving greater gender parity in leadership, as the importance of interpersonal and communication skills is increasingly recognised. These skills are often attributed to women. In addition, digital leadership is associated with greater flexibility, such as working from home, which can improve work-life balance. Some authors see these factors as a potential avenue for the feminisation of leadership. The Erasmus+ project DIGIGEN (DIGitalisation & GENder) addresses these issues from a consultancy perspective.