Dialogue on Closing the Gender Gap:
Gender Parity in the Technological Scenarios of the Americas
Opening Keynote
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
11:00 – 12:30, Asuncíon, Paraguay
Distinguidos colegas,
Damas y caballeros,
Es genial estar aquí para abrir este Diálogo sobre la paridad de género, junto con tantos profesionales destacados que trabajan arduamente para mejorar la igualdad de género en toda la región de las Américas. Y quiero agradecer a CITEL por traer este importante tema al marco del CCP1.
Tecnologías como las comunicaciones móviles e Internet nos brindan nuevas y poderosas formas de abordar viejos problemas. Las TIC pueden superar la tiranía de la distancia y brindar servicios a personas y comunidades que han permanecido marginadas durante mucho tiempo. Marginadas de la educación superior; del cuidado de la salud; del acceso a las bibliotecas, los medios y otras fuentes de información; de servicios financieros; y de oportunidades comerciales.
En pocas palabras, marginadas de los fundamentos básicos de la seguridad económica, el bienestar y la realización personal que otros han disfrutado durante mucho tiempo, y dan por sentado.
Las mujeres y las niñas son una de estas comunidades marginadas. A pesar de que las mujeres y las niñas representan la mitad de la población mundial, el hecho de nacer como mujer sigue siendo una barrera importante para el avance personal y el empoderamiento económico en casi todos los países del mundo.
Esta triste realidad se refleja en el hecho de que uno de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU se dedica por completo a mejorar la suerte de las niñas y las mujeres del mundo.
La Directora Ejecutiva de ONU Mujeres, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, nos dijo que a menos que podamos encontrar un motor verdaderamente transformador para el cambio, tenemos pocas esperanzas de cumplir el ODS 5 sobre lograr la igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de todos mujeres y niñas para la fecha prevista de 2030.
ICTs could be that transformative engine for change.
New technologies offer a world of opportunities that simply did not exist 20 years ago. They are uniquely powerful in overcoming chronic barriers to development. Yet worldwide, the pervasive gender digital divide continues to put ICTs out of reach of large numbers of women, with sometimes very substantial inequalities in both access and use, depending on the region. It is a complicated divide. It is not just access, but it is also use, skills, representation in the sector and leadership.
Let's look at what the figures tell us:
- Worldwide, 200 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone. 250 million fewer women than men use the internet.
- In fact the proportion of men using the internet is higher than the proportion of women in two-thirds of all countries worldwide.[1]
- This gap is widest in South Asia, where women are 58% less likely to use mobile internet than men. In sub-Saharan Africa the situation is also grave, with women 41% less likely to access mobile internet than men.
- In fact, the only region where a higher percentage of women than men are using the internet is here the Americas. Let me extend my congratulations to Latin Americas' policy makers and to the region's civil society organizations, which have been so active and effective in campaigning for digital gender equality.
At ITU, we are well aware of the myriad challenges related to digital gender inequality, and also aware of the chronic lack of reliable data on women's ICT access in the vast majority of countries.
But we are also committed to redoubling our efforts to turn this situation around – and fast.
One important area, one quick win or low hanging fruit as I mentioned yesterday, is digital financial services, where women make up a disproportionate percentage of the estimated 1.7 billion unbanked.
Giving people access to financial mechanisms has significant and direct impacts on GDP growth and productivity. And when women earn and manage their own money and get access to financial products and services, evidence shows that they invest a higher proportion of it than men back into their families' health and schooling.
Women's financial inclusion is thus not merely an imperative in its own right, but represents a powerful potential source of economic growth and development.
Digital skills development is another crucial area. Lack of digital skills is potentially the biggest single barrier to digital inclusion. This is particularly so for women and girls, who often lack the educational opportunities routinely afforded their male counterparts.
ITU's flagship Girls in ICT Day raises visibility of the importance of attracting women and girls to ICT studies and careers. In 2019, Girls in ICT Day events were held in 102 countries around the world.
This year, Girls in ICT Day events reached an estimated 20,000 girls. That impressive number testifies to the enormous momentum this event continues to generate, and to the growing recognition of its importance by countries worldwide. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the Americas region for an outstanding effort in hosting 167 events this year!
To widen the net still further, this week in Brasilia we will have the pleasure of meeting 120 school girls and launching the American Girls Can Code initiative, which is being organized by ITU in collaboration with public, private and academic partners.
Through this new global initiative, we hope to give girls a powerful opportunity to transform their lives through ICTs. American Girls Can Code builds on the considerable past success of the TIC TAC events, and becomes part of a new global movement that began with African Girls Can Code, and which will be progressively rolled out across other regions.
Digital skills is of course one of the three core focus areas of the EQUALS Global Partnership, an initiative launched in 2016 by ITU and four founding partners – GSMA, the International Trade Centre, the United Nations University and UN Women. We are thrilled to have ISOC leading the Steering Committee.
Now comprising more than 90 international partners and still growing fast, EQUALS takes a multidisciplinary approach to promoting gender equality in technology access, skills and leadership, as well as conducting ground-breaking, evidence-based research.
The partnership's flagship event is the EQUALS in Tech Awards, which celebrate projects that help women and girls bridge the digital gender divide. The 2019 awards ceremony will be held in Berlin in late November as part of the Internet Governance Forum event, and I hope to be able to welcome many of you there.
In 2013 the Commission, which is co-chaired by ITU and UNESCO, set an important new target for gender equality in access to broadband. That goal is a core part of the seven Broadband Commission Targets related to increasing the number of internet users, improving digital skills and promoting access to digital financial services.
Equality in access to broadband is an important policy goal, because progress towards gender equality in internet access has stalled. In fact, ITU estimates that the digital gender divide is actually widening in all but a tiny handful of countries. We need to target the reasons for this growing gap in access to technology, and take rapid action to redress them.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Despite the challenges, the development potential of bringing millions of unconnected women online is enormous.
The transformational impact could be huge – for the education of the world's youth, for family health care, for the economic opportunities that a new generation of female digital entrepreneurs could help grow.
A recent study by the global consultancy McKinsey found that US$12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025, simply through advancing gender equality.
The year 2020 will mark several milestones on the road to women's empowerment: the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 5-year review of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
So next year will be an important moment for the international community to hold itself accountable, to assess progress, and identify gaps and opportunities for more effective collaboration on gender equality and the empowerment.
At ITU we are committed to working ever more closely with a growing community of stakeholders from government, from industry, from civil society, and from academia. Collaboration will be our key to success, and we count, as always, on your invaluable support.
Thank you.
