BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin delivered a keynote address to a special session on Digitally Empowered Generation Equality in the Wake of COVID-19, as part of the ITU Regional Forum for Europe on Meaningful Connectivity, organized with the support of Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.
ITU, UN Women and the EQUALS Global Partnership together hosted this special session focused on solutions and best practices to address the root causes of the gendered digital divide. It provided an overview of the current ecosystem for Women, Girls, and ICT in the context of COVID-19 in selected countries of the ITU Europe region, and an opportunity for representatives of UN agencies and partners to highlight key actions, activities, initiatives, and partnerships that address the gendered digital divide.
Ms Bogdan-Martin reminded participants that we still face a significant digital gender divide, with an average of 52% of women offline, compared to 45% of men. The COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating this divide, as women are being impacted disproportionately.
She reiterated ITU's commitment to digital gender equality, and highlighted various ITU initiatives aimed at achieving this. In this context, she highlighted ITU and UN Women's new study on 'Women, Girls and ICT in the Context of COVID-19', which identifies key factors and trends in the participation of women in the digital sector at a national level.
The study also outlines clear and implementable recommendations. It indicates a positive trend of young women now comprising over 40% of university graduates in STEM-related fields in the countries profiled in Europe. However, it also reveals that women's participation in the technology sector is still too low.
Ms Bogdan-Martin stated, ''I believe we will pay a high price if we do not take urgent action to redress our chronic failure to attract young women into the world's fastest-growing sector.'' She urged all stakeholders to step up collective efforts to ensure that women get a chance to play an equal role in developing the technologies that are increasingly reshaping our lives and societies.
''As we move towards WTDC-21, now is the time to take bold steps to ensure that girls and women everywhere enjoy the fruits of the digital revolution. Only by working together will we reach our goal of true digital gender equality,'' encouraged Ms Bogdan-Martin.
