digital innovation and technology for gender equality essay writing

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Innovation and technology enabling gender equality

March 7, 2023.

We’re living in the era of the digital revolution. Technology has changed our lives, including the way we access education. But we need to be careful to not continue existing patterns of gender inequality. Innovation and technology can support our work for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls for sustainable development. Transformative technology means inclusivity in education but also in other spaces where women still are underrepresented. On this International Women’s Day, we want to highlight the importance of technology as a tool to reduce the gender gap. In 2020, UNDP together with Samsung launched the initiative called, Generation17. Today, 14 young leaders from different parts of the world have benefited from this digital partnership, so we invited three young female leaders from Bangladesh, Viet Nam and South Korea to share their thoughts and reflections. These young leaders have experienced the perks of having technology as an ally, because technology is helping them as women entrepreneurs and increasing their impact on other young women.

Technology to connect and empower women.

Shomy, co-founder of Awareness 360, Bangladesh

I am genuinely proud of my organization, Awareness 360 , because we mainstream gender equality in all our decisions, levels, and operations. Currently, 67 percent of our staff are women, who represent diverse nations and hold various leadership roles within our functional teams. We ensure there is a gender balance among speakers whenever we host a panel discussion or event (excluding the moderator). We maintain zero tolerance for any form of abuse ensuring the safety and well-being of all our members, especially women, both in physical and virtual space. We also provide period leave for the staff who menstruate. We make the utmost effort to promote women's rights throughout the year by paying attention to these little details.

Given Awareness 360 is an international organization; we heavily leverage technology to engage with women from all around the world and equip them with transferable skills and resources that will enable them to be meaningfully empowered both within and outside of Awareness 360. The bulk of the participants in our yearly youth development programme are women. Not only do we provide opportunities to women from around the globe, but also from conflict-ridden countries. Our recent Fellow of the Year is a woman from Yemen, who will be rewarded with a fully funded international trip from Awareness 360, as recognition for her incredibly impactful work in her community. Last week we heard from a young woman in Afghanistan, who is fighting for girls’ education in her country, and shared how motivated she feels by engaging with inspiring young people  through our global platform and how she is gaining tangible skills to apply in her work through the Awareness 360 Fellowship Programme.

Without access to technology, connecting this powerful group of women and empowering them to be civil society leaders would not have been possible.  

Using technology to position young women in their fields.

Yejin, founder of DoBrain, South Korea

Technology empowers me. Technology can increase my capacity to solve problems and reach more people who need our solutions.

Many children with learning disabilities around the world do not have access to diagnosis and specialized education methods. Low-income communities and families are the most affected. Through DoBrain, my AI-based learning platform, I offer affordable school-readiness solutions for children, including those with learning disabilities. I use technology to generate inclusivity, as in DoBrain we’re able to digitally screen children's development and help them get the help that can cost over US$100 an hour, through an application that they can use at home.

Technology can also be a powerful tool to bridge generational gaps.

Thuy, founder of HASU , Viet Nam

As a young woman entrepreneur who has been working on technology capacity building for the older adults and providing them memoir writing services, technology has been a game-changer for my business. It has made it easier for me to collaborate with clients. Instead of having to meet in person, I can conduct interviews over video chat or phone or collaborate with them through online activities. This is especially beneficial for elderly clients who may not be able to leave their homes or who have mobility issues.

In addition, technology has given me access to various tools and resources that make my job easier. For example, there are software programmes that can transcribe audio recordings, saving me time and allowing me to focus on the creative aspects of the writing process.

Finally, technology has helped me provide emotional support to my clients. With the pandemic forcing many of us to work remotely, I have had to find new ways to connect with clients and offer emotional support. Through video calls and messaging apps, I have been able to stay connected with my clients and provide them with the support they need during this difficult time.

Technology has the power to bridge the gap between generations, unlocking a world of information, communication, and connection for elderly people that was once unimaginable.

Today, we’re still working on reducing the gender gap, particularly in technology when it comes to access to it. As the Generation17 young leaders have mentioned along this blog, technology is critical to keep increasing their impact as social entrepreneurs but also to generate inclusivity to leave no women behind and achieve the 2030 Agenda.

Generation17 supports a group of inspiring young leaders aged 18 to 32 dedicated to innovating for humanity and mobilizing global communities. To learn more about this initiative and meet the Generation17 young leaders, the visionaries, advocates and entrepreneurs building a better future, visit generation17.undp.org .  

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Innovation and technology for gender equality: Echidna Global Scholars taking action

Subscribe to the center for universal education bulletin, nasrin siddiqa , nasrin siddiqa executive director - education & cultural society, bangladesh, 2019 echidna global scholar - brookings institution @nasrinsiddiqa arundhuti gupta , and arundhuti gupta 2021 echidna global scholar - center for universal education, brookings institution, founder trustee and ceo - mentor together @arundhutigupta anthony luvanda anthony luvanda 2022 echidna global scholar - brookings institution, co-founder & executive director - magharibi innovation hub, senior lecturer, information technology department, defence forces technical college - national defence university-kenya @anthonyluvanda.

March 8, 2023

Every year, the UN marks International Women’s Day by identifying a critical challenge impacting women and girls and advocating new policy tackling the issue. As the world continues to grapple with the implications of AI chatbots and the strong link among social media, misinformation, and democracy , this year’s theme “ DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality ” examines the link between digital technologies and gender.

At the forefront of building an inclusive digital world for girls and women are several Echidna Global Scholars working on gender equality in and through education across the Global South. Their policy research and praxis addresses pressing issues such as barriers to STEM education in rural Bangladesh , the economic potential of digital mentoring in India , and the gender divide in digital technology courses and careers in Kenya .

For this year’s International Women’s Day, we asked these three alumni scholars to share their reflections on the digital gender divide and the important work that lies ahead in imagining a more digitally inclusive world.  

It is time to think whether innovations and technology will be utilized to ensure equality and rights to accessing education and economic opportunities for women or to make women more vulnerable. Considering the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, we need to make a policy of digitalization in empowering women and ensuring girls pursue their interests in STEM and break down gender barriers.

We need to ensure that emerging technologies and artificial intelligence will be used to improve gender equality significantly by creating new opportunities and removing barriers for women and girls, rather than leaving millions of poor women workers unemployed. In Bangladesh, women face challenges to accessing education and economic opportunities. By using technology to provide educational resources, training opportunities, and access to information, we can empower women.

The world needs to simultaneously rescue women with immediate measures, and on the other hand, strengthen the next generation to deal with super-fast technology and digitalization. Researchers can play a vital role in informing need-based policy and understanding its impact. Digitalization should be human, and especially women-friendly. It would make the lives of women more comfortable and easier, rather than making them insecure. It would contribute to girls’ education, stop violence and trafficking, helping make girls and women aware of places and people, ensure digital marketing and entrepreneurship, provide health care information and services to women in rural areas and free educational resources and training, and enable the development of new skills and access to new economic opportunities for underserved women.

We can create a brighter, more equitable future for women around the world.   

We stand at an important juncture today where technology can become either one of our most consequential allies—if channeled effectively in our fight for gender equality—or if left to be shaped by the existing structures of society, yet another platform for the exclusion and disempowerment of women.

One of the most positive trends of the last four years had been that the gender gap in the use of mobile internet had been reducing. Worryingly, the rate of adoption by women has seemingly stalled in 2021 . My nonprofit organization, Mentor Together, runs a large career mentoring program based out of India that thousands of young women in universities access via their mobile phones. The increasing access to phones presented an avenue to counter the restrictions placed on the movement and freedom of young women and help them virtually access personalized career mentorship from inspiring role models across the country. Without concerted efforts to increase mobile phone access, women will lose out on even this avenue of learning.

The second opportunity that strikes me as critical for India is that the design of digital communities should very intentionally bring in ways to champion gender- transformative social norms . I found through my research that even well meaning, large communities of mentors can end up becoming limited champions because their messages never reach the people who need convincing (in this case the families and communities of our mentees). It is worrying that so much of the digital discourse in India displays the same negative gender norms with even quicker dissemination. The most powerful role of technology we have to intentionally design is positive human connection spreading in more virtuous cycles.

Digital technology has a role to play in bridging the various gender gaps within the workplace, yet we need to set in motion various interventions aimed at placing more women in the digital technology workspace.

The gender gap in the digital technology workforce begins early, as very few girls take up digital technology-related courses at the tertiary level of education. Girls from the lowest levels of education are subjected to cumulative disadvantages that reduce their chances of ending up in a digital technology career.

My research on the subject reveals that one of the best approaches to having more women in the digital technology workspace revolves around creating interventions for mitigating the cumulative disadvantages that lead to the exclusion of women from digital technologies careers. Such interventions may include but must not be confined to: improving institutional digital technology infrastructure at all levels of education; enhancing the training of digital technology personnel within all levels of education; building girls’ interest in digital technology-related courses from the earliest years; increasing digital technology advocacy and awareness among girls; and enhancing vocational counseling on digital technology careers.

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Digital Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality Essay in English

Published by team sy on march 7, 2023 march 7, 2023.

Digital Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality Essay:  The theme of International Women’s Day 2023 is “Digital Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”. This theme highlights the importance of utilizing technology and innovation to promote gender equality and empower women around the world.

Digital innovation and technology have the potential to break down traditional barriers and promote equal opportunities for women. From online education platforms to flexible work arrangements, technology has created new avenues for women to access education and employment opportunities that may have previously been out of reach. It has also provided women with a platform to share their experiences and connect with others who have faced similar challenges, and has enabled greater transparency and accountability in addressing issues such as gender-based violence and harassment.

Also Read: Women’s Day Essay

However, to fully realize the potential of digital innovation and technology for gender equality, it is crucial that these tools are developed and implemented in ways that are inclusive and equitable. This requires addressing issues such as bias and discrimination in the design and development of technology, ensuring that women have access to digital infrastructure and resources, and promoting digital literacy and digital rights for women.

By focusing on digital innovation and technology for gender equality, we can work towards creating a more just and equitable society for women around the world. This International Women’s Day, let us celebrate the progress that has been made, but also recognize the work that still needs to be done to ensure that women are empowered and have equal opportunities in the digital age.

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Table of Contents

100 words essay on innovation and technology for gender equality

Below is technology and innovation for gender equality essay of 100 words.

Innovation and technology have the potential to play a significant role in promoting gender equality. By developing and utilizing innovative technologies, we can create new opportunities for women to access education, employment, and entrepreneurship, ultimately leading to economic empowerment. Additionally, technology can help break down traditional gender stereotypes and biases by providing new avenues for communication and social engagement. For example, social media platforms can be used to promote feminist activism and raise awareness of issues related to gender equality. Overall, innovation and technology offer promising avenues for promoting gender equality, but it is essential to ensure that these tools are accessible to all, including marginalized and underrepresented groups.

Know Women’s Role in Science and Technology

200 words essay on innovation and technology for gender equality

Below is technology and innovation for gender equality essay of 200 words.

Digital innovation and technology have the potential to transform society and create more equitable opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their gender. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the role that digital technology can play in advancing gender equality.

One area where technology has been particularly effective in promoting gender equality is in education. Digital platforms and online learning tools have enabled girls and women to access educational resources and opportunities that may not have been available to them otherwise. This has led to increased enrollment rates for girls in STEM fields and other traditionally male-dominated areas.

Digital technology has also facilitated greater participation by women in the workforce. Remote work options and virtual collaboration tools have made it easier for women to balance work and family responsibilities, leading to more equitable distribution of household and caregiving duties. Additionally, the rise of the gig economy and online marketplaces has created new economic opportunities for women, particularly in developing countries.

However, digital innovation and technology alone cannot solve the underlying social and cultural barriers that prevent women from achieving gender equality. Governments, civil society, and private sector actors must work together to ensure that digital innovations and technologies are designed and implemented with gender equity in mind. This includes promoting digital literacy and digital rights for women, addressing online harassment and abuse, and ensuring that women have equal access to digital infrastructure and resources.

In conclusion, digital innovation and technology have the potential to promote gender equality in many areas, including education, the workforce, and economic opportunities. However, it is important to recognize that technology is not a silver bullet and that broader social and cultural changes are necessary to achieve true gender equity.

300 words essay on innovation and technology for gender equality

Below is technology and innovation for gender equality essay of 300 words.

Innovation and technology have revolutionized the way we live, work and communicate. They have also played a crucial role in advancing gender equality by breaking down traditional barriers and empowering women to participate fully in society.

One of the key ways that technology has promoted gender equality is through education. Online learning platforms and digital resources have opened up new opportunities for girls and women to gain access to education and training in STEM fields and other traditionally male-dominated areas. This has helped to narrow the gender gap in educational attainment and provide women with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.

Technology has also created new economic opportunities for women. The rise of the gig economy and online marketplaces has enabled women to work from home or on a flexible schedule, making it easier for them to balance work and family responsibilities. This has particularly benefited women in developing countries, who may face greater barriers to traditional employment opportunities.

In addition, technology has been instrumental in addressing gender-based violence and harassment. Social media and digital platforms have provided women with a platform to share their experiences and connect with others who have faced similar challenges. They have also enabled greater transparency and accountability, making it easier to identify and address incidents of harassment and abuse.

However, it is important to recognize that technology is not a panacea for gender inequality. While it has the potential to bring about positive change, it can also exacerbate existing inequalities and perpetuate harmful stereotypes and biases. It is therefore crucial that technology is developed and implemented in a way that is inclusive, equitable and promotes diversity and inclusion.

In conclusion, innovation and technology have played a crucial role in advancing gender equality by creating new opportunities for education, economic empowerment and addressing gender-based violence. However, it is important to ensure that technology is used in a way that is inclusive and equitable, and that broader social and cultural changes are also pursued to achieve true gender parity.

500 words essay on innovation and technology for gender equality

Below is technology and innovation for gender equality essay of 500 words.

Innovation and technology have the potential to be powerful tools in promoting gender equality. They can help to break down traditional barriers and empower women to participate fully in society, both economically and socially. However, to realize this potential, it is essential that innovation and technology are developed and implemented in ways that are inclusive and equitable.

One area where technology has been particularly effective in promoting gender equality is education. Digital platforms and online learning tools have enabled girls and women to access educational resources and opportunities that may not have been available to them otherwise. This has led to increased enrollment rates for girls in STEM fields and other traditionally male-dominated areas, helping to narrow the gender gap in educational attainment and provide women with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.

However, it is important to recognize that technology is not a panacea for gender inequality. While it has the potential to bring about positive change, it can also exacerbate existing inequalities and perpetuate harmful stereotypes and biases. For example, algorithms used in recruitment or loan approval may be biased against women due to historical data that reflect unequal treatment or limited access to opportunities. Therefore, it is crucial that technology is developed and implemented in a way that is inclusive, equitable and promotes diversity and inclusion.

Innovation and technology can also play a role in addressing gender-based violence and harassment. Social media and digital platforms have provided women with a platform to share their experiences and connect with others who have faced similar challenges. They have also enabled greater transparency and accountability, making it easier to identify and address incidents of harassment and abuse.

However, technology can also be used as a tool for harassment and abuse, as seen in the rise of cyberbullying, revenge porn and other forms of online abuse. It is essential that technology companies and governments work together to address these issues and ensure that women are protected from online abuse and harassment.

To promote gender equality, it is important that innovation and technology are developed and implemented in a way that is inclusive and equitable. This requires the involvement of women and other marginalized groups in the design and development of technology, as well as policies that promote diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.

Furthermore, it is essential that digital literacy and digital rights are promoted for women. This includes ensuring that women have access to digital infrastructure and resources, and that they are aware of their digital rights and protections. Governments, civil society, and private sector actors must work together to ensure that digital innovations and technologies are designed and implemented with gender equity in mind.

In conclusion, innovation and technology have the potential to promote gender equality in many areas, including education, the workforce, and addressing gender-based violence. However, it is important to recognize that technology is not a silver bullet and that broader social and cultural changes are necessary to achieve true gender equity.

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DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality — UN Women and the Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security host the 2023 Gender Fair

Date: Friday, 16 June 2023

Author : Alexandra Håkansson Schmidt

Bangkok, Thailand — On 31 March 2023, UN Women Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security co-hosted the annual Gender Fair in the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The event, organized with the generous support of the Government of Australia under UN Women’s regional project, Women, Peace and Cybersecurity: Promoting Women’s Peace and Security in the Digital World , celebrated women’s achievements and called for action to accelerate gender equality across the country.

Echoing the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day and the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women , ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’, the Gender Fair highlighted the importance of enhancing women’s leadership in technology-related sectors while ensuring that women and girls can engage in digital spaces in a safe manner, free from online harms and threats. The Fair brought together representatives from civil society, the private sector and governments, who recognized women’s contributions to the advancement of transformative technology, digital literacy and gender-responsive cybersecurity. In addition to providing space for numerous organizations to showcase their work, the Fair offered an engaging platform for UN Women to share key publications and takeaways from the Women, Peace and Cybersecurity project.

The Fair opened with an award ceremony to recognize select organizations and networks for their work in promoting gender equality in technology-related fields. UN Women and other speakers then highlighted key topics relating to gender equality in digital spaces. Norul Mohamed Rashid, UN Women Regional Policy Advisor for Governance Peace and Security, emphasized the importance of enhancing collaboration for cybersecurity while ensuring that cyber-related policies and practices are guided by conflict-sensitive, gender-responsive and rights-based principles.

“A whole-of-society approach, which brings relevant actors together, is the most effective way to address common challenges in today’s world. The formulation of laws, policies and the design of new technologies must happen in close dialogue with women’s organizations and representatives, civil society, local institutions, historically marginalized and vulnerable groups, as well as private-sector actors and government bodies,” she stressed in her speech.

Isabella Menin, Thailand’s Miss Grand International 2022, shared some of her experiences of tackling discriminatory gender norms while pursuing a career in economics, having been asked whether she would have preferred working in a more “traditionally feminine field.”

Actress Poi Trichada Petcharat and actor Ahn Bhuvanath Kunpin shared their experiences of being targets of cyber harassment due to their personal backgrounds and gender identities. They described the detrimental impacts that cyber-enabled harms have on women and persons with diverse gender identities and explored collaborative approaches that could help ensure that digital platforms are peaceful and gender-responsive.

Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Thai model, actress and the Regional UN Women Ambassador for Asia and the Pacific, shared her commitment to countering gendered cyber harms and her experiences working as an activist to prevent violence against women through the “Don’t Tell Me How to Dress” project.

All speakers stressed that public awareness needs to be strengthened of the gendered dynamics of cyber-harms and that women’s leadership must be at the core of change-making processes that strive to leverage inclusive and peaceful digital platforms. This is crucial to ensuring that women equally participate in digital processes, from technology development and policymaking to online civic engagement and peace efforts.

In a similar fashion, UN Women Regional Director a.i. Sarah Knibbs noted that “the digital space and new technology, including artificial intelligence, carry the vast potential to improve political, social and economic outcomes for women, young women and girls — if we can close the digital divide and improve women’s representation in this sector.”

This event was organized under the regional project Women, Peace and Cybersecurity: Promoting Women’s Peace and Security in the Digital World. The project, supported by the Governments of the Republic of Korea and Australia, aims to ensure that governments, civil society and cyber defenders have increased access to information and capacity-building support to advance gender-responsive cybersecurity, informed by the commitments to the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. For more information, visit the project webpage

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Innovation for gender equality

Publication year: 2019.

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Rapid technological development and innovation presents new opportunities as well as new challenges. Knowing that innovation and technology does not automatically benefit all alike, UN Women has included innovation as one of the “drivers of change” in its Strategic Plan 2018–2021 .

This brochure showcases some of UN Women’s thoughts and practices around innovation that could accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment. The examples range from pilot programmes with marginalized beneficiaries to partnerships with start-ups; from frontier technologies to non-tech interventions that challenge mindsets; and from procedural improvements to capacity-building.

We hope this brochure will elicit valuable insight and future collaboration.

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Fostering Gender Equality for Digital Future and Innovation

Author: guest contributor.

Danica Radovanović discusses the detrimental effects of the digital gender divide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and explores solutions to this growing issue.

For centuries we have been witnessing social and economic stratification between men and women. These inequalities are even more prominent and magnified in light of the accelerated growth of digital technologies. These changes gave birth to various digital divides, and the digital gender divide is one of the largest gender divides today. The detrimental effects of the digital gender gap are certainly experienced by all members of society, particularly by girls and women who suffer the most severe consequences.

The digital gender divide is expanding in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) countries worldwide, creating a specific need to initiate and support digital gender inclusion.  According to the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), globally, in 2020, 62% of men were using the Internet, compared with 57% of women. For example, the ITU’s regional estimates for Africa put the gender ratio at nearly three-to-two in favour of men over women. According to the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications), around 234 million fewer women in low- and middle-income countries use the mobile Internet than men. These inequalities are evident between women and men, and between girls and boys, regarding access to and use of Internet platforms and digital devices. Furthermore, poor network connectivity, the lack of access to devices and the sociological gap in usage (e.g., LMIC families prioritize giving boys access to digital devices over  girls, and similar dynamics were highlighted with spouses, brothers, etc.), greater difficulties that female students face when accessing online learning tools, and limited new career opportunities for women in the field of digital technologies are all challenges that contribute to widening the digital gender divide.

The digital gender divide emphasizes four important facts: (i) there is unequal access to digital technologies between men and women, (ii) there is gendered differentiation in the capacity to meaningfully utilize technology due to the lack of digital skills , (iii) there is a lack of safety and security awareness when women use technology, and (iv) there is a lack of encouragement for girls to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) as well as the prevalence of gender stereotypes. Thus, the gender digital divide goes beyond internet access and digital devices. 

What can we do?

Women’s skills, wisdom, and contribution to society bring crucial value: strengthening societies, building innovative economies, advancing knowledge and ultimately improving livelihoods.  We need to tackle the causes and effects of the gender-based digital divide in LMIC through novel solutions driven by a strong gender dimension to achieve  sustainable development that includes and benefits both women and men.  For example, the relevance of gender equity in IT education and STEM is reflected in the implication that if internet applications and education services are developed by women they would be more relevant to their specific needs and context, which would, in turn, attract more women to the digital economy.  We need initiatives that foster and support educating girls and women by delivering improved gender equality and inclusion policy dynamics in early education, prioritizing quality of education, job creation, improved digital access, digital skills development and inclusion of women and other disadvantaged groups. 

For such initiatives to happen, we need to remind ourselves that despite the global consensus in treating the Internet and education as fundamental human rights, there are still a large number of girls and women who cannot access education and the Internet . Gender exclusion and inequality in education contribute to inequalities in economic, social, cultural, and other dimensions of well-being.

Some of the solutions could be capacity development projects, different programs of training for female students and women, personal development and technical skills development training, and career development using digital platforms, all while working in parallel on creating a conducive environment for girls and women to study, providing scholarships and mentorship opportunities for women in academia and the workforce, as well as providing financial and material support for female staff and students.

Some best praxis on such initiatives includes multi-stakeholder partnerships efforts involving a committed group of governments, businesses, academic institutions, NGOs and community groups around the world. For example, the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age is one of them, founded by the ITU, GSMA, the International Trade Centre, the United Nations University and UN Women. EQUALS contributes through actions and evidence-based research aimed at closing the global gender digital divide by promoting awareness, building political commitment, leveraging resources and knowledge, harnessing the capacities of partners, and supporting real action. Another example includes the digital skills development initiative, with the joined forces of UNICEF, ITU, and Code.org (a US-based non-profit organization Code.org) to encourage women and girls’ participation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). They have organized ‘ICT for Girls’ events, ‘Hour of Code’ workshops co-led by female ICT students and youth leaders, webinars promoting STEM education among girls, and coding workshops for girls and young women highlighting the importance of digital gender equality in Asia and the Pacific. Through collaborative efforts, these examples address the gender gaps in opportunities when it comes to accessing, leveraging, and benefiting from digital technology. 

The message is clear. Gender equality is a concern of human rights and it encompasses a multitude of complex and multi-faceted dynamics . Addressing a challenge automatically leads to considering other related needs in the journey towards gender equality, such as a strategic deployment of digital and innovative technologies in a meaningful, ethical, and affordable manner. Providing financial support for economically deprived and disadvantaged girls and women along with ensuring quality and policy framework would eventually meet the demands of digital transformation and innovation.

Digital technologies and innovation are the two pillars of holistic development and education has the leading role. Thus, the aforementioned statements and examples about the centrality of gender issues clearly tell us, among others, that implementation of gender-related initiatives requires special attention, close follow up and continuous corrective measures to ensure the achievement of the desired goals so we can establish a more equitable future for all.

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DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality

Aisha mohammedelhassan hamid.

This year’s UN theme for International Women’s Day was DigitALL – Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality . Digital technologies are at the forefront of development and provide a unique opportunity for countries to accelerate economic growth and connect citizens to services and jobs . But digital technologies could lead to more economic and social inequalities unless women are empowered by having access to technology and acquiring the skills needed to benefit from it.

Digital technologies for gender equality

I have dreamed of gender equality that not only provides equal access to opportunities but also guarantees the equal ability to benefit from them. Unfortunately, women struggle in tons of battles to achieve the same goal that men can achieve with less effort; this because women are still tied down with societal responsibilities and frequently need to fight, psychologically, economically, socially, and even physically to get ahead. There is a wide spectrum of challenges faced by women across social classes, economic classes, and geographical areas.

Women in remote areas and lower social/economic classes lack access to the power needed to charge their phones, if they are lucky enough to even have phones. Women are 7% less likely than men to own a mobile phone and are 16% less likely to use mobile internet; the situation is worst in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with gender gaps of around 37% and 41% respectively ( The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022 - GSMA ).

For this category, the journey for women’s digital gender equality starts by supporting their acquisition of mobile phones, provision of sustainable and affordable means to charge those phones, cheap or free call/internet tariffs  , provision of free hotlines to answer their inquiries, and delivery of digital training.

In my previous blog “Dev-Techs”: Accelerating digital economy in the post-COVID-19 era I mentioned that  - Digital exclusion leads to social and economic exclusion.  The bright side is that the opposite is also true!. Thinking positively, there are huge opportunities for women to unlock better social and economic lives if they acquire the skills needed in the digital economy; women should be empowered by having access to technology and acquiring the skills needed to benefit from it. They need to know how to use phones, access the internet, search for information, share information at the level of buying/selling goods, be able to access funds, and do e-payments.

“Innovation is the process of creating value by applying novel solutions to meaningful problems.” -  Joe Dwyer, What Is Innovation?

When I was an undergraduate student, I was excited about knowing and experimenting with new technologies and trends, irrespective of the value that they brought in my context; I can say that I was thinking externally. Thereafter, through reflection and connection to my context, I built a development-centered mindset. I am still excited about technology, but I am more passionate about utilizing technology to bring real value and to use technology to solve everyday problems in my community, problems we might not even know about! This shift in my mindset let me approach my work in digital financial services with purpose. Having purpose let me work hard day and night in subsidy distribution in Sudan through digital financial services during the COVID-19 crisis. The same sense of purpose inspires me now, faithfully walking extra miles, spreading mobile money across the continent through my current occupation as a Solution Architect of mobile financial services.

Communities must be encouraged to innovate in solving their problems, they are the ones who suffer now, and the ones who will pick the fruits of their efforts later. It’s better to harmonize research and development efforts by attracting national talents to provide solutions to the problem of their community. Innovation is needed in the learning content itself, using micro-doses that are customized around the exact needs of women. Innovation is needed in building business models that are gender-focused around the currently available and affordable technologies.

“Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s responsibility.” -  Ban Ki-Moon.

I am enjoying my life now, supervising two undergraduate students in their final year project that aims to build an e-learning platform for a non-governmental organization that is concerned about education. It is a great opportunity for those students to be in touch with the challenges of their community and to contribute to solving them. I am brainstorming to see how solving community problems can be encouraged further, focusing on the theme of women’s empowerment through local or regional competitions.

Whoever you are, regardless of your gender, social occupation, and role, you have something to contribute!

If you are a man … try to walk in women’s shoes, empathize with them, and lend a helping hand.

If you are a woman … try to connect with other women and share inspiration and support.

If you are a mother or older sister… be a role model and be part of the new social norms that support women.

If you are a woman experiencing success and, know of opportunities, share your knowledge and bring another female up with you!

Winner of the 2021 Blog4Dev competition for Sudan.

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Harnessing Technology to Advance Gender Equality

Technology is a gateway to new public spaces, markets, and information with major potential for boosting women’s economic activity and participation. Mobile banking, smartphones, and gender-sensitive investment strategies are expanding women’s financial inclusion, spurring entrepreneurship, and strengthening women’s autonomy and decision-making in the home and in their communities. The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of climate change have reinforced the importance of closing gender gaps in access to technology in order to build back more equitably and sustainably. 

Here we highlight innovative strategies and best practices for harnessing the particular promise of technology to advance gender equality. New partnerships and coalitions across government, the private sector and civil society will be needed to take this work forward at scale, and ensure that women are at the center of our rapidly digitizing world.

CLOSING DIGITAL GENDER GAPS TO BOOST ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

Increasing access to mobile phones, cash transfers, and digital financial literacy skills can strengthen women’s decision-making abilities and enhance their bargaining power in the home.

• Women in Niger reported that mobile transfers had increased their mobility, opportunities to sell agricultural products, and flexibility to purchase household goods. Mobile cash transfers can benefit women’s physical security and reduce poverty-related stress that leads to domestic conflict, in addition to improving nutrition and financial resilience. Access to mobile phones can also connect women farmers to technologies that raise productivity in the long run,  and facilitate direct market access that allows them to move from subsistence farming to robust entrepreneurship . 
• The Benazir Income Support Programme , the major cash transfers program in Pakistan, uses technology-based payment mechanisms such as debit cards, mobile phones, and smart cards to reach women across the country. The cash transfer program led to improvements in the socio-economic wellbeing and empowerment of women beneficiaries, who gained a stronger sense of identity and reported feeling financially empowered for the first time.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, CGAP, and Women’s World Banking published guidance that outlines potential gains from digital cash transfers to women during the COVID-19 crisis. Key recommendations include pursuing private sector partnerships to subsidize digital access, expanding registration and information systems to collect sex-disaggregated data, and providing capacity-building training for women in financial literacy skills.

EXPANDING NEW BUSINESS MODELS WITH ONLINE PLATFORMS

Supporting women’s entrepreneurship and empowering women with new business platforms is key to strengthening women’s autonomy and decision-making.

• The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) , led by Reema Nanavaty, is a trade union in India advocating for the rights and empowerment of low-income, self-employed women. SEWA has been working for almost five decades to improve the livelihoods of women workers in the informal economy, through various initiatives using technology, technical training, microfinance, market linkages, and natural resource management. One initiative is SEWA’s Rural Commodities Distribution Network (RUDI) , which partners with delivery apps to expand service in urban areas in tandem with door-to door delivery by women in rural areas. RUDI was launched in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation as a way to strengthen food supply chains while empowering a network of 4,400 saleswomen who collectively reach one million customers across 3,000 villages.
• Tajirat al-Facebook is an online group used by Sudanese women entrepreneurs to trade and sell goods. These platforms create an exclusively female virtual space for communication and enable women to work from home without breaching social norms and expectations.

Harness the innovation of civil society organizations, who are mobilizing to address injustice and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic using digital technology. 

• SEWA is using digital platforms like WhatsApp to distribute information related to COVID-19 to hundreds of thousands of women. Grassroots leaders developed e-modules, videos, and voice message trainings on the health effects of the virus, in addition to live broadcasts accessible by mobile phone. SEWA also trained women to use mobile phones as an entrepreneurial platform. In the face of worsening food scarcity, women are preparing food kits, packaged snacks, and baked goods that households and hospitality businesses can order online, which has helped women and their families sustain incomes during the pandemic. 
• In Nigeria, the program Education as a Vaccine developed a mobile phone app to increase access to accurate health and service information and connect survivors of violence to services. It organized a community advocacy campaign to ensure that essential gender-based violence services were made widely available.
• As COVID-19 threatens to reverse gains and erode girls’ advances in educational attainment, many countries are leveraging technology and remote learning to promote girls’ education. In Cambodia, the All Children Reading–Cambodia project adapted online tools that parents are familiar with, like Facebook and YouTube, to ensure students in rural areas are practicing age appropriate reading and writing skills. In Kenya, iMlango developed a mobile phone app to be used on parents’ mobile phones, to ensure marginalized girls could continue learning from home.

ENGAGING CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS AND NEW COALITIONS

Partner with the private sector to support and invest in new technologies and women-led businesses and networks. The private sector, particularly venture capital, can be a powerful force in removing barriers and driving progress for women’s entrepreneurship by providing digital platforms and resources that are otherwise inaccessible to women.

• Teja Ventures , the first venture capital fund in Asia to apply a gender lens to its initiatives, invests in technology and business models that support women as economic drivers in the investment value chain— from founders to consumers, suppliers, vendors, and beneficiaries— and targets women-led businesses that aim to tap women’s leadership potential and promote their financial inclusion. The co-founder, Virginia Tan, is also the founder of She Loves Tech , the world’s largest competition for women-led or women-focused tech startups, and of Lean In China , a professional women’s platform with more than 100,000 members across China.
• Ant Financial—an affiliate of the Alibaba Group, in partnership with Goldman Sachs and the International Finance Corporation— uses internet-based financing to increase microlending to women entrepreneurs across China, many of whom operate businesses on online platforms such as TaoBao.

Multilateral agencies, governments, and external investors must work in tandem to create new financial and economic pathways to invest in micro-enterprises and women-led businesses.

• The Rockefeller Foundation is supporting SEWA in India by linking one million small entrepreneurs to newer markets via a digital platform. Young girls are gaining skills in digital models, cataloguing, and green technology, including in new areas of solar energy, irrigation, and sustainable agriculture, which boosts economic freedom and empowerment for all. 
• Traditional infrastructure-oriented donors, including the World Bank, must also work with national governments to consider how their investments at every stage of the value chain impact and advance gender equity.

BUILDING A PIPELINE OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN STEM

Building a pipeline of women and girls in technology is needed to boost women’s economic security and participation, narrow the gender pay gap, and ensure a more representative, diverse, and talented STEM workforce. Tech companies, such as Microsoft, also need to democratize hiring practices and source talent from all areas of the global economy, particularly young women in rural or hard-to-reach areas.

• AkiraChix , led by Linda Kamau, offers young women in Africa hands-on technical training in market-relevant technology, entrepreneurship and life skills, to allow them to compete economically and close the gender gap in the technology field. Among AkiraChix’s graduates, 70 percent of young women were placed in the tech industry as software developers, designers, and researchers within 60 days of graduation.
• Girls Who Code , a program that has reached 300,000 girls through 8,700 clubs around the world, found that high school girls who were encouraged by a role model were 62 percent more likely to pursue a major in computer science than girls who were not.

APPLYING NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO COLLECT DATA AND INFORM DECISION-MAKING

Closing gender data gaps is more important than ever in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Innovative methods to collect and analyze data offer promise in addressing gender inequality globally through evidence-based policies and programming.

• New technologies are being used to collect data on sensitive issues through confidential digital platforms such as mobile phone surveys. Data mining techniques revealed complex and anomalous patterns of sexual violence in El Salvador in real time and enabled early detection and informed intervention by law enforcement officials.
• In Uganda, UN Global Pulse analyzed digital data to track perceptions about contraceptive use and teenage pregnancy. This demonstrated the potential for digital data, accessed through platforms like Facebook, to inform development programming and accelerate progress toward the SDGs.
• Global Health 50/50 , an international organization working to advance gender equality in public health, has compiled an online dataset tracking the different health outcomes of COVID-19 for men and women. Such datasets are critical to increasing understanding and informing policy responses to the gendered impacts of pandemics. 
• Data is also a tool to increase the collective strength and bargaining power of women. Digital platforms are the new public space for women, and empowering women with new technologies that provide direct access to data allows them to build their own economic opportunities.

CONFRONTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS

Technology can help ensure women benefit from and participate in new green economies, and connect rural and vulnerable populations with water and energy. Advancing women’s leadership in climate adaptation and resilience is key to addressing the climate crisis and building back more equitably and sustainably. Ensuring women are at the center of innovations in renewable energy, as well as regenerative agriculture and infrastructure sectors, will contribute to greater wellbeing for all.

• The Rockefeller Foundation’s End Energy Poverty initiative addresses the nexus between  poverty, a lack of access to energy, and climate change by accelerating access to and consumption of renewable electricity in underserved, low-income communities worldwide. It harnesses the impact of climate-smart energy systems and new technologies and puts women at the center of innovation to empower communities to become more equitable and resilient to future crises.  With a billion-dollar commitment designed to ensure 50 percent of productive power users and people in the DRE value chain will be women, the initiative capitalizes on driving gender equity through energy access.
• In Sierra Leone, the Freetown City Council works to create innovative space for women and young people to drive new ideas to mitigate or adapt to the impacts of climate change. This includes partnering with Pitch Night, a space for budding entrepreneurs to pitch their innovative business ideas, and launching the Cleanest Zone Competition, which judges zones for their progress in cleanliness, beautification, sustainability, and innovative solutions.

How can digital technology speed up gender equality?

Can digital technologies consign gender inequality to history? Consider that 55 percent of new Internet businesses are founded by women in China. In Indonesia, 35 percent of revenue on the country’s largest online marketplace is earned by women-owned businesses—more than double the share in offline commerce.

Across Asia Pacific, where gender inequality is high, digital technologies can give women a leg up, giving them the flexibility to earn an income as well as look after their families, and boosting economic growth in the process. The latest McKinsey Global Institute research on gender equality on Asia Pacific finds that the region’s economies could increase their collective GDP by $4.5 trillion a year by 2025—or the equivalent of adding an economy the combined size of Germany and Austria every year—by accelerating progress towards gender equality.

Tackling gender inequality is complex, difficult, and slow, but digital can help accelerate progress.

Digital technology can transform women’s lives in a myriad of ways, and quickly. It can, for instance, give many women access to a bank account for the first time. Today, an estimated 57 percent of women are financially excluded in South Asia, 54 percent in China, and 49 percent in Southeast Asia. But because the cost of providing digital finance is 80 to 90 percent lower than physical payments, MGI finds , it can be accessed more broadly.

While women account for half of the population of Asia Pacific, they contribute only 36 percent of GDP. (This doesn’t count the considerable value they create working in the home that is not formally counted in GDP measures, which we estimate—conservatively—is worth the equivalent of 15 percent of the region’s GDP). Again, digital can help bring opportunities to women via technology such as videoconferencing. In Australia, financial services company Suncorp has redesigned its contact center through “work at home hubs” that combine home work stations and working spaces in regional shopping centers.

Using digital technologies can truly transform not only women’s ability to earn money but their health and welfare. Remote delivery of healthcare is spreading. In India, NGO Swayam Shikshan Prayog’s Arogya Sakhi programme uses a mobile application that assists women in becoming health entrepreneurs delivering antenatal and infancy care. Finally, digital gives women more of a voice. In Indonesia, there have been reports of improved social status, bargaining positions and influence on village policies by providing rural women training in digital media.

There is much more to do. More women need access to these technologies. GSMA has estimated that there are 1.1 billion unconnected women in low- and middle-income economies in Asia Pacific. Moreover, digital literacy among many women is low—lower than among men. It is vital that women are given the training in science, technology, and mathematics that will equip them for the industries that will thrive in the automation age . Finally, entrenched attitudes about women and technology also need to be tackled. Consider that in a World Wide Web Foundation survey in Jakarta, more than one-third of male respondents said that it was “their responsibility to restrict what women access on the Internet.” In India, one village in Uttar Pradesh implemented a 2,100-rupee fine for any girl using a mobile phone outside the home.

Digital cannot solve all the challenges that women face, and there are certainly some risks, but if its power to enable women to make the most of their potential is truly tapped, it can turbocharge progress towards gender equality.

This article appeared first in Equals .

Anu Madgavkar, Kweilin Ellingrud and Mekala Krishnan are employees of McKinsey Global Institute.

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Innovation and technology for gender equality, using big data for insights into the gender digital divide for girls: a discussion paper.

This discussion paper describes the findings of a study that used big data as an alternative data source to understand the gender digital divide for under-18s. It describes 6 key insights gained from analysing big data from Facebook and Instagram platforms, and discusses how big data can be further used to contribute to the body of evidence for the gender digital divide for adolescent girls.

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Using innovation and technology for gender equality

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a global digital and data-driven transformation, with digital technologies now being leveraged for work, leisure, and learning. Digital literacy has become almost as important as traditional literacy. As we move towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) – defined by the increasing use of automation and artificial intelligence – digital skills have never been as prized as now. However, in many parts of the world, including Bangladesh, the digital revolution has left behind a critical part of society: our women and girls.

While Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in increasing access to digital technology for women and girls, a persistent gender-based digital divide has left many unable to reap the benefits of digitalisation. According to the 2020 GSMA report on mobile gender gap , women in Bangladesh are 29 percent less likely than men to own a mobile phone and 52 percent less likely than men to use mobile internet. Especially rural women, compared to their urban counterparts, find themselves more disenfranchised from technology – limiting their access to information, digital services, and opportunities. And when women and girls are connected to the digital world, many find themselves exposed to cyber violence that deters them from digital participation in political, social, and cultural life.

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Let our champion women power Bangladesh forward

According to UN Women's 2022 Gender Snapshot , women's exclusion from the digital world has caused a loss of $1 trillion for the economies of developing countries in the last decade – a loss that will increase by 50 percent by 2025 if nothing is done in this regard. Besides economic benefits, enhancing women's safe and equal access to digital technologies offers immense opportunities to address development and humanitarian challenges and spark innovative and creative solutions that meet women's needs and promote their empowerment.

Women's participation in the digital sphere is therefore not just a matter of gender equality – it is a prerequisite for sustainable development. And as the country moves towards "Smart Bangladesh" by 2041, as envisioned by the government, this vision cannot be achieved without women and girls playing active roles.

So, how can we harness the transformative potential of digital technology for women and girls in Bangladesh, while mitigating the potentially harmful risks associated with its use?

This year's International Women's Day, under the theme "DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality," serves as an important reminder of the immense potential that digital transformation holds for accelerating gender equality and women's empowerment, but also the risk it bears for repeating and amplifying existing patterns of gender inequality. As the world is evolving to become more digital, we must ensure we can keep up the pace and unleash the potential of women and girls to become active agents of change in this transformation. Digital technologies need to be used to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and gender equality, not to set us further back. A "Smart Bangladesh" with women and girls at the centre will help us eliminate the digital gender divide, not only in Bangladesh but worldwide, given the cross-border nature of digital transformation.

As a starting point, we must make greater and more sustained investments in increasing women and girls' digital literacy and familiarity with technology. This will enable them to participate effectively in the digital economy and gain access to digital services such as education, healthcare, and online banking. E-commerce and technology-based businesses offer women more flexibility, helping them to manage both paid and unpaid work, which is essential for economic empowerment. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been working with the government and our partners to develop and implement innovative solutions that can bridge the gender digital divide in Bangladesh. For example, our Aspire to Innovate (a2i) initiative is providing training on digital literacy to thousands of female entrepreneurs, and through our teacher's portal, more than 200,000 female teachers now have access to high-quality online educational materials. We have also utilised digital technology to launch Anondomela, an online marketplace that enables women entrepreneurs to access new markets.

However, basic skills will not be sufficient: we must also promote women and girls in the ICT sector by developing their skills in areas such as coding, where they are still critically underrepresented. Together with the government and our partners, we provide ICT training to women to bring them into the country's IT sector. By enhancing their digital skills and presenting them with female role models, we can also increase their opportunities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) – a field that reportedly 75 percent of jobs will relate to by 2050 . This will require concerted efforts by the government, academia, civil society and, crucially, the private sector.

Critically, women also need to be involved in the creation of and decision-making around digital technology. We must ensure that today's emerging data-driven solutions do not perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes and patterns of discrimination. Online content and technology need to be developed with and for women and girls in a way that responds to their specific needs and priorities within a regulatory framework that prioritises, protects, and promotes the human rights of women and girls.

Upskilling, financial access can boost women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh

And lastly, we must make online spaces safe for women and girls. According to a 2022 survey by ActionAid , almost 64 percent out of 359 surveyed women in Bangladesh reported having faced cyber violence. Unfortunately, cyber harassment and violence against women and girls are often not taken seriously, deterring them from using the internet and threatening their online freedom of expression. We must tackle the harmful social norms at the root of these acts of violence and set up legal and policy frameworks that educate and protect girls and women from cybercrimes. Besides helping women and girls to recognise, report, and recover from online abuse, we must also intensify our civic education, work directly with the perpetrators, often boys and men, to uproot harmful social norms and power dynamics that underlie their actions. UNDP has been working to reduce the adverse effects of cyberbullying by creating peer support networks, offering free digital security courses that aim to make the digital space safer for women and girls and extending technical support to the Bangladesh police for strengthening cybercrime investigations.

This year's International Women's Day, under the theme "DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality," serves as an important reminder of the immense potential that digital transformation holds for accelerating gender equality and women's empowerment, but also the risk it bears for repeating and amplifying existing patterns of gender inequality.

As the world is evolving to become more digital, we must ensure we can keep up the pace and unleash the potential of women and girls to become active agents of change in this transformation. Digital technologies need to be used to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and gender equality, not to set us further back. A "Smart Bangladesh" with women and girls at the centre will help us eliminate the digital gender divide, not only in Bangladesh but worldwide, given the cross-border nature of digital transformation. To this end, UNDP, together with the United Nations family, remains a committed partner of Bangladesh in harnessing digital technology and innovation to advance gender equality and sustainable development for all.

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