Women Continue Their Ascent In Science And Technology Sectors

Women accounted for more than half of the science and technology workforce in both Cyprus and the European Union in 2025, according to Eurostat data, reflecting the growing role of female professionals across knowledge-intensive sectors. In Cyprus, women represented 51.8% of workers in science and technology occupations, while across the EU their share reached 52.5%.

Robust Growth Across The European Union

Across the EU, 81.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were employed in science and technology-related roles in 2025. That represented an increase of 1.8%, or approximately 1.5 million workers, compared with 2024. Since 2015, employment in the sector has grown by 25.3%. Women accounted for 42.8 million of those workers, representing 52.5% of the total science and technology workforce. Female participation increased by 2.3 percentage points compared with 2024 and was nearly 28% higher than a decade earlier.

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Diversification And Elevated Representation

Science and technology employment extends beyond traditional STEM occupations and includes a broad range of professional and technical roles across physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences and humanities. Although women now represent a majority of the overall workforce in these sectors, they remain underrepresented among scientists and engineers. In 2025, women accounted for 40.8% of professionals in those occupations. Even so, female participation in scientific and engineering roles has increased significantly. The number of women working as scientists and engineers rose from 5.3 million in 2015 to 8.2 million in 2025, representing a growth of 54.4%.

Regional Discrepancies Across Europe

There are pronounced regional variances within the EU. The highest rates of female participation in science and technology were reported in Latvia (62.4%), Hungary’s Great Plain and North region (61.1%), and Estonia (60.5%). Conversely, regions such as Corsica in France (42.7%), Malta (46.0%), and Italy’s Centro region (47.2%) recorded considerably lower figures.

The Pivotal Role Of Scientists And Engineers

Scientists and engineers accounted for approximately 24.8% of the overall science and technology workforce across the EU. Germany employed the largest number of professionals in these occupations, with 4.2 million scientists and engineers. Despite steady progress in recent years, the gender gap in scientific and engineering roles remains wider than in the broader science and technology workforce, highlighting the continued challenge of achieving more balanced representation in technical professions.

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Cyprus Expects More French Visitors In 2027 As Air Capacity Expands

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 18, 2026

Cyprus expects more French visitors in 2027 as airlines increase capacity between the two countries, Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis said after meetings with tour operators in Paris.

France, one of Cyprus’ key tourism markets, has had a difficult 2026. French arrivals fell 46% year over year to 8,453 in August, from 15,663 a year earlier, according to the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat). August arrivals were also nearly 50% below the 16,798 recorded in the same month of 2024.

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Overall, Cyprus received 2.82 million tourist arrivals between January and August, down 7% from the same period in 2025.

Air Connectivity Supports 2027 Outlook

Koumis discussed the 2027 outlook with senior executives from tour operators offering Cyprus holidays during the IFTM Top Resa travel trade fair in Paris.

Higher air capacity between France and Cyprus was a key focus of the talks. Participants also discussed the impact of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on the French market and Cyprus’ efforts to adapt its tourism offering to French travelers.

“The French market is undoubtedly an extremely important market for our country’s tourism,” Koumis said, adding that France had regained importance only a few years ago and still had room to grow.

Improved air connectivity will be an important factor in that expansion, according to Koumis. “It is now clear that air connectivity between France and Cyprus is improving significantly, which is a basic prerequisite for the further growth of the market,” he said.

Cyprus Promotes Tourism And Regional Cooperation

Koumis attended the opening of IFTM Top Resa at the invitation of French Tourism Minister Serge Papin, who later visited the Cyprus stand. Held from Sept. 15 to 17 at Paris Porte de Versailles, the event brought together more than 32,000 tourism professionals representing 177 destinations and 1,650 brands, according to organizers.

During his visit, Koumis also met Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy. Cyprus and Egypt reaffirmed their tourism cooperation and discussed opportunities to strengthen ties further.

French media interviews covered Cyprus’ tourism offering, infrastructure and services, along with efforts to develop specialized tourism products. Regional instability weighed on arrivals in 2026, particularly during the spring, although the decline narrowed over the summer.

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