BANGKOK, Thailand, March 1 (IPS) – The writer is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Opinion section the following is part of a series marking International Women’s Day March 8. New technologies and innovations are reshaping our world and its future, often at breakneck speed. However, women and girls continue to be left behind in this growing digital universe. So how can we harness these developments to create a better future for all of us?
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” seeks to answer exactly that question.
We know that women and girls are less likely to use the Internet or own a smartphone than men and boys. In fact, only 54% of women in Asia and the Pacific have digital access, being cut off from developing digital needles.
The root causes are many and varied: deeply ingrained discriminatory social norms, an increase in gender-based violence (including online violence), and the distribution of caregiving and assistance work. unjustly unpaid family work. Addressing these obstacles for women to realize their full potential requires our immediate and collective attention and feedback.
A child, a teacher, a pen
When and where women and girls are discouraged from studying and working in the fields of science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), we will let them down. And we have left a generation of women and girls behind. We need the talent and voices of women and girls brought into the boardroom and the coding room.
Today, many innovations in AI, medicine, entertainment, transportation, work, and other fields regard men as the norm and ignore the physical and social differences of women – to their detriment. for half of the world’s population.
Getting more women into tech careers starts with breaking gender stereotypes that prevent girls from studying STEM subjects. Comprehensive changes are needed to the way STEM subjects are taught and targeted programs to support girls’ learning.
In Vietnam, the Ministry of Education and Training has updated the National Early Childhood Education program on “eliminating stereotypes” about women and girls and has included gender-sensitive budgeting in the Sector Plan. Education. Through such changes, governments can boost girls’ enthusiasm for technology, expanding the digital workforce of the future.
Harnessing technology to support women’s entrepreneurship
Women entrepreneurs play a key role in developing economies. Helping them start and grow businesses through technology will lead to more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In the past, women had difficulty accessing capital because they were less aware of funding options.
They are less likely to own land or have large savings for mortgages and are not included in traditional financial networks. Technological innovation provides opportunities to connect the region’s female entrepreneurs with new financial models that meet their specific needs.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Promoting women’s entrepreneurship The project has opened up nearly $65 million in capital to support female entrepreneurs in several countries.
By identifying and supporting a number of experimental business models based on technology, the project has supported women-led micro, small and medium enterprises through a range of technology solutions such as payment platform, online marketplace, bookkeeping and inventory management.
Empowering women to be the engines of inclusive innovation
If we combined the untapped potential of women and girls to contribute to our common future with the innovative potential of digitalisation, science and technology, we could have solved the problem. code is coded to correct many of the inequalities and injustices created by previous generations.
Women have the know-how to harness technology and innovation. Given equal opportunities, they will develop and contribute to innovative solutions to the world’s multifaceted challenges.
Women leaders in Asia and the Pacific have used technology to tackle inequality and gender-based violence. Founded by Virginia Tan, Rhea See and Leanne Robers, She loves technologybased in Singapore, runs the world’s largest startup competition for women and technology, and aims to raise more than $1 billion in capital by 2030 for women-led businesses.
safe city is a crowd-mapping platform for people to share their experiences of sexual harassment in public and allows the community to identify problems and work towards solutions. The foundation was started by three women, including current leader Elsa Marie D’Silva, in response to incidents of gender-based violence in the region.
“We can all do our part to unleash the world’s vast untapped talent – starting with filling classrooms, labs and boardrooms with female scientists,” said Secretary General. United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres recently said. Indeed, we need women to take leadership roles in all science and technology spaces to drive inclusive innovation.
Let’s work together towards the dream of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. What better way than to use innovations and new technologies to overcome inequality in the digital age?
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