Nowadays, the digital transformation provides new avenues for the economic empowerment of women and can contribute to greater gender equality. The digital platforms opportunities for all and can help bridge the divide by giving girls and young women in the possibility to earn additional income, increase their employment opportunities and access knowledge and general information. Twice as many boys as girls expect to become engineers, scientists or architects. Social norms around perceived appropriate skillsets for girls disadvantage them from engagement in employment in the 4th industrial workspace where over 90 % of jobs worldwide have a digital component . Where girls have access to digital spaces, meaningful use is often limited to entertainment and social media rather than education and productive activities.
Gender inequality in the physical world is mirrored in the digital setting, disadvantaging girls from realizing their full potential and contributions. Gender inequality in the physical world is mirrored in the digital setting, disadvantaging girls from realizing their full potential and contributions. ITU's new Measuring digital development series in 2019, estimates that over half the total global female population (52 per cent) is still not using the Internet, compared to 42 per cent of all men. In terms of the digital divide, there is still a gender gap in the Asia-Pacific region; it is still lagging behind the world average. While, on average, 41.3 per cent of women and 48.3 per cent of men used the Internet in Asia and the Pacific in 2019, globally 48.3 per cent of women and 55.2 per cent of men used the Internet that year. Data also show that, in Asia and the Pacific, more men than women were using the Internet in 11 of the 13 countries in 2019 for which data were available.
For girls, education does not always translate into employment, with many finding their future in the home, engaged in unpaid work, or in the informal sector. Girls in Asia are more likely (10:1 ratio) to be not in employment, education or training as compared to boys, where South Asia ranks the highest in the world. Girls with disabilities, and those living in marginalized groups face specific barriers. In terms of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education pursued by female in Asia and the Pacific, women make up almost half of researchers in Central Asia. The average falls to 18.5% in South and West Asia, with women accounting for less than 15% of researchers in India, dropping to single figures in Nepal. Global female enrolment is particularly low in certain fields. Just 3% of students joining information and communication technology (ICT) courses across the globe are women. That improves slightly to 5% for mathematics and statistics courses. And it increases to 8% for engineering, manufacturing and construction courses. Women are more attracted to STEM courses in some regions of the world than others, but the global situation remains characterized by gender imbalances.
With a global aim to engage more women and girls in STEM and to reduce the gender gap, at the International Day of the Girl on 11 October 2021, UNICEF ROSA, CODE.org, and ITU is launching a South Asia Regional Hour of Code Resource Hub in 8 languages (Pashto, Dzongkha, Bengali, Hindi, Dhivehi, Urdu, Nepali, Sinhala/ Tamil) through which girls with limited internet can access and download coding and computer science skills based initiatives to break these boundaries and increase female participation in the field of technology.
The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to a variety of community efforts.
- Beyond learning digital literacy, children and youth who learn computer science and coding tend to excel in problem-solving, creativity, math, spatial and reasoning skills, and more.
- These skills are transferable and are beneficial throughout the lifecycle; from learning to read and write, to improved exam scores, to college or university attendance, and to meaningful careers both in and out of the tech industry.
Objective
As part of The ASP Regional Dialogue on Digital Transformation: Gearing Up for Inclusive and Sustainable Development, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Code.org, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are organising The Asia and the Pacific Regional Hour of Code: Promoting STEM education amongst girls in close collaboration with the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) of World Wide Web Foundation on 9 December 2021 at 13:00 - 14:00Bangkok time that aims to emphasize the gender digital empowerment in Asia and the Pacific and to highlight some collaboration that is built through the joint effort in promoting STEM education amongst girls in Asia and the Pacific that includes the organisation of coding workshops entitled Hour of Code organised by UNICEF and Code.org and the introduction of Regional Hour of Code.
The specific objectives are:
- Raise awareness of the critical current issues around the gender digital divide. Create opportunity for building and strengthening partnerships and commitment among the government, UN agencies, academia, private sectors, and youth organisation to bridge the gender digital divide, with this virtual session.
- To encourage girls and young women to utilize ICT meaningfully and strengthen the Girls in ICT Day online community in Asia and the Pacific.
- Provide a best practices and insights from the expertise regarding increasing access to digital technology, investing in innovation and building 21st century skills for girls and young women in Asia and the Pacific.
- Support the digital skills programme to bridge the gender digital divide in Asia and the Pacific amongst ICT professionals, policy makers, academicians, youth organisations and civil society organisations.
