Closing the digital gender divide in ICT
Loading player...
This year, SA’s Women’s Month falls during one of the most challenging periods in our history – the global Covid-19 pandemic. As we emerge from the lockdown, we find a country facing greater inequality than ever before. However, we have also seen the power of information and communication technology (ICT) to reduce this inequality.
As always during times of economic difficulty, it is women who bear the brunt of the hardship. They are the ones forced to support families and raise children with whatever means they have at their disposal. Today, key to enhancing women’s economic power is improving their connectivity and their digital skills.
This is a very real prospect, and it is incumbent on all stakeholders in the digital economy that we build programmes and initiatives to narrow this digital gender divide.
That divide is not just about fewer opportunities; it also threatens women’s lives. A recent report by the International Telecommunication Union found gender inequalities in the access to communications technology and in its design, and how it’s used in disaster risk management.
Women who are already disadvantaged through digital exclusion, rural marginalisation and gender inequalities, face yet another risk if they live in disaster-prone areas.
Fewer women in tech jobs
In the workplace, the situation is not much better. According to industry association Women In Tech, of an estimated 236,000 tech jobs in SA, only 23%, or 56 000 of them, are held by women. Globally, the WEF reports that the largest gender gaps are to be found in areas such as cloud computing, engineering, data and artificial intelligence – the emerging jobs driving the new economy
Fixing this will take real commitment, but the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) offers us opportunities to make a big difference.
In a recent article, United Nations Development Programme deputy regional director, in Asia and the Pacific Valerie Cliff says that, “as robots and artificial intelligence transform global production, skilled workers with college degrees will emerge the winners”.
However, Cliff points out that as these benefits are often distributed unevenly, women tend to be disadvantaged.
The way to avoid 4IR entrenching the digital gender divide is through conscious investment in upskilling women for the new era. In Africa, the only continent where women are more likely to be entrepreneurs than men – digital empowerment comes with an enterprise development opportunity.
As Dr David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-China ...
As always during times of economic difficulty, it is women who bear the brunt of the hardship. They are the ones forced to support families and raise children with whatever means they have at their disposal. Today, key to enhancing women’s economic power is improving their connectivity and their digital skills.
This is a very real prospect, and it is incumbent on all stakeholders in the digital economy that we build programmes and initiatives to narrow this digital gender divide.
That divide is not just about fewer opportunities; it also threatens women’s lives. A recent report by the International Telecommunication Union found gender inequalities in the access to communications technology and in its design, and how it’s used in disaster risk management.
Women who are already disadvantaged through digital exclusion, rural marginalisation and gender inequalities, face yet another risk if they live in disaster-prone areas.
Fewer women in tech jobs
In the workplace, the situation is not much better. According to industry association Women In Tech, of an estimated 236,000 tech jobs in SA, only 23%, or 56 000 of them, are held by women. Globally, the WEF reports that the largest gender gaps are to be found in areas such as cloud computing, engineering, data and artificial intelligence – the emerging jobs driving the new economy
Fixing this will take real commitment, but the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) offers us opportunities to make a big difference.
In a recent article, United Nations Development Programme deputy regional director, in Asia and the Pacific Valerie Cliff says that, “as robots and artificial intelligence transform global production, skilled workers with college degrees will emerge the winners”.
However, Cliff points out that as these benefits are often distributed unevenly, women tend to be disadvantaged.
The way to avoid 4IR entrenching the digital gender divide is through conscious investment in upskilling women for the new era. In Africa, the only continent where women are more likely to be entrepreneurs than men – digital empowerment comes with an enterprise development opportunity.
As Dr David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-China ...