Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
In celebration of International Women's Day (IWD), on March 8th 2023, the theme selected at UNWomen was: DigitAll: Innovation and Technology for gender equality.
UNWomen Executive Director, Sima Bahous, noted that while technology and innovation are game changers, with the power to accelerate gender equality and the rights of all women and girls, access remained a significant source of gendered inequality. A digital divide that disproportionately excludes lo-income, rural, migrant, elderly, and disabled women and girls. Indeed, UNWomen reported, on February 23rd 2023, that:
Women and girls remain underrepresented across the creation, use and regulation of technology. They are less likely to use digital services or enter tech-related careers, and significantly more likely to face online harassment and violence. This limits not only their own digital empowerment but also the transformative potential of technology as a whole—over the past decade, women’s exclusion from the digital sphere has shaved $1 trillion off the GDP of low- and middle-income countries.Thus, the UWWomen 2023 IWD platform for action called for:
- Closing all gaps in digital access and skills
- Supporting women and girls in STEM
- Creating tech that meets the needs of women and girls
- Addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence
…governments, activists and the private sector alike to power on in their efforts to make the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable.
References
Bahous, S. (March 8, 2023). Speech: Technology and innovation to accelerate gender equality and the rights of all women and girls.
UNWomen (Feb. 23, 2023). Power on: How we can supercharge an equitable digital future.
UNWomen - Glossary: Gender and Technology
