Women taking a picture from a mobile in Cox's Bazar
Although women make up close to half the world's population, 259 million fewer women have access to the Internet than men.
Photo:Carly Learson / UNFPA Asia and the Pacific

DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality

Our lives depend on strong technological integration: attending a course, calling loved ones, making a bank transaction, or booking a medical appointment. Everything currently goes through a digital process.

However, 37% of women do not use the internet. 259 million fewer women have access to the Internet than men, even though they account for nearly half the world's population.

If women are unable to access the Internet and do not feel safe online, they are unable to develop the necessary digital skills to engage in digital spaces, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields By 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM areas. Yet today, women hold just 22% of positions in artificial intelligence, to name just one.

Bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality. Their lack of inclusion, by contrast, comes with massive costs.

The United Nations Observance of IWD, under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, recognizes and celebrates the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education. The observance will explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities, and it will also spotlight the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence.

photo illustration of a woman handing computer hardware

Power on with this UN Women material!

The official UN Women website is the meeting point to mobilize, contribute, read stories, and find material to encourage your participation. Use the multiple materials created to spread the message through social networks. Girls! Let’s go digital!

Stories

Did you know?

  • Only 63 per cent of women are using the Internet in 2022 compared to 69 per cent of men (ITU, Nov22)
  • By 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM areas. Yet today, women hold just 22% of positions in artificial intelligence, to name just one. (WEF Report)
  • A study of 51 countries revealed 38 per cent of women had personally experienced online violence. (2022 Gender Snapshot Report)

#Poweron

Events

United Nations observance of International Women’s Day 2023

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 10–11.30 a.m. EST

The event will provide an opportunity to highlight the role of all digital field in improving access to digital tools and be followed by a high-level panel discussion and musical performances.

Join UN Web TV to participate. 

A girl with virtual glasses and a woman and man discussing images in a screen

In the face of escalating global crises, we stand at a crossroads: allow technology to widen existing disparities and further concentrate power in the hands of the few, or put it to work on behalf of a safer, more sustainable, more equitable future for all. The choices we make today will profoundly impact our path forward. Here are four steps we can take in the right direction.

Profiles of different women and a man and symbols of connectivity.

The Commission on the Status of Women – an intergovernmental body dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment – addresses the problem of the digital gender gap in its 67th session (6-17 March). The group revisits the gendered impacts of innovation and identifies recommendations for a more inclusive and equitable digital evolution. Follow all the meetings that are happening these days and check its social media material.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.