BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin took part as a panellist in the 2030 Digital Fasttrack series session on ''Women in Technology'', hosted by the Graduate Institute in Geneva in celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
Other distinguished speakers included Isabelle Collet, Associate Professor, University of Geneva and Roland White, Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Microsoft UK, and the panel was moderated by Michael Kende, Visiting Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Programmes, The Graduate Institute Geneva.
Ms Bogdan-Martin highlighted ITU's recently released data that shows that globally, the proportion of women using the Internet is 48%, compared to 55% of men. More men than women are online in every region of the world. However, even that figure obscures the reality for an overwhelming number of women in developing countries, and especially in Least Developed Countries, where only around 1 in 7 women is using the Internet compared with more than 1 in 4 men.
''The internet is the most powerful tool for personal empowerment the world has ever seen – and it could dramatically change the picture for billions of girls and women around the world'', said Ms Bogdan-Martin. She also noted that when women and girls are empowered through digital technologies, data shows that their families, communities and national economies benefit as well. It has been estimated that bringing an additional 600 million women and girls online could boost global GDP by as much as US$18 billion.
Given rolling classroom closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malala Foundation has warned that as many as 20 million girls may never return to school. In this context, Ms Bogdan-Martin underlined that finding effective ways to empower women and girls through digital access has taken on a new urgency.
She mentioned the EQUALS Global Partnership that she co-founded along with UN Women, ITC, the GSMA and the UN University, with the aim to hit key 'pain points' – women's access, women's digital skills, and women's digital leadership and entrepreneurship opportunities. With EQUALS partners, ITU also has ongoing training projects and initiatives tackling all three levels of the e-skills pyramid (e-business skills, digital specialist skills and digital user skills).
At the grassroots level, ITU is working with Cisco to establish a network of Digital Transformation Centres in under-served regions to deliver a range of training programmes at all levels, and with a particular focus on basic digital skills. Additionally, ITU has several programmes to empower women in and with technology, including the Girls can Code Initiative, Girls in ICT Day, the Women in Technology Innovation Challenge, and ITU's partnership with the Enhanced Integrated Framework to build digital skills for women in several Least Developed Countries.
In conclusion, Ms Bogdan-Martin stated ''we need work together, harness the power of partnership, and pull out all stops to ensure girls and women are inspired and empowered to take their place as equal leaders in the global digital transformation.''
