Rosa Monteiro Paulo

Purpose This study aims to investigate the extent to which ethics and gender equality are integrated into artificial intelligence (AI) and data science (DS) pedagogies within Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs). It aims to identify the pedagogical approaches, specific contents and structural barriers that shape how future professionals are prepared to address the societal impacts of AI. Design/methodology/approach Using a three-phase mixed-methods design, the research includes: a desk survey of 37 university programmes (undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels); an online questionnaire for program coordinators and lecturers (n = 13; 25% response rate among coordinators); and 10 semi-structured interviews with AI educators and experts. Findings Results reveal that only 24% of AI-related programmes incorporate a gender perspective, often implicitly through recommended bibliographies or broad concepts such as “fairness” and “bias.” The study identifies a significant disconnect between institutional equality rhetoric and participants’ reported teaching practices. This gap is exacerbated by a masculinised academic culture, in which 73% of programmes are coordinated by men and by emerging forms of resistance to gender-related perspectives, which may further contribute to the marginalisation of gender-related knowledge in AI education. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic study in Portugal to map the integration of gender equality in AI education, offering critical insights into the persistence of the “tech neutrality” paradigm and the need for a transition towards socio-technical and feminist pedagogies.

Purpose This paper critically analyses Portuguese public policies for gender equality in the digital sphere (2017-2025) and documents gender inequality trends in the sector, as crucial ethical and societal dimensions of technologies. This paper aims to analyse the initial integration and later weakening of gender equality in digital transformation policies. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a mixed-methods design, drawing on empirical evidence from the project Women4Digital − Gender Equality in the Digital Transition in Portugal: what place for Women? It combines systematic mapping and qualitative document analysis of policy frameworks with a quantitative analysis of gender inequalities trends in ICT employment, based on administrative linked employer-employee data set (2007-2023), and qualitative data gathered from two focus groups. Findings Quantitative evidence confirms sizeable structural inequalities: women represent only around 21% of employment in ICT occupations, are markedly underrepresented in executive roles, and face more precarious working conditions. Policy cycles (2017-2025) peaked in 2021 by embedding EU funding conditionalities for structural change, followed by an institutional slowdown characterised by a shift back towards reinforcing symbolic “fix the women” approaches. Critical governance gaps persist: major investments are gender-blind, and new regulatory regimes risk undermining ethical enforcement against gendered online harms. Originality/value By framing digital regulation as a gendered institutional site, this paper brings feminist policy analysis into direct dialogue with digital ethics. It provides an original, longitudinal account of gender inequality trends that distinguishes ICT occupations from ICT-sector firms, while interrogating whether EU-driven digital governance architectures enable or constrain an inclusive, ethical and gender-just digital transformation. In doing so, it also shows how ethical and gender-blind design persists in fast-growing policy domains such as platform regulation, AI governance and cybersecurity.