By Anca Voinea
The International Cooperative Alliance’s Gender Equality Committee (GEC) marked International Women’s Day with a statement on the importance of gender equality in the digital domain.
Celebrated every 8 March, International Women’s Day has been observed by the United Nations since 1977. This year the day takes the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, in an attempt to recognise and celebrate the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.
GEC’s statement highlights that women are under-represented in information and communications technology (ICT) jobs, top management and academic careers while men are four times more likely than women to be ICT specialists. The statement points out how only 0.5% of girls aged 15 wish to become ICT professionals, compared to 5% of boys (OECD, 2018). Moreover, only 1% of applications for positions in Artificial Intelligence are from women (UNDP, 2021)
“As noted by the UN Women, the lower integration of women and girls in the digital world diminishes their chances to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields,” adds the statement.
Some of the factors that led to women and girls being under-represented in the sector include gender norms and stereotypes, the affordability of internet and digital devices, a lack of literacy and digital skills, gender bias in design and gaps in access to services, lack of employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the digital sector, cyber violence and women’s safety.
How can co-operatives help to address the issues? The statement argues that co-operatives are pioneers in fighting gender biases and breaking the digital gender gap.
“Cooperative values and principles create a solid ground to generate dialogue and change, which are crucial to combat gender inequality,” it says.
The GEC sees platform and tech co-operatives in particular as tools to address the gender digital gap by promoting transparency, democracy and community ownership. But other co-ops can also play a role, adds the statement.
“Yet, digital inclusion and participation are not only exclusive for the digital economy, but they are key in all sectors of the economy,” reads the text. “Co-operatives are bringing measures to foster gender equity in the context of digitalszation by offering equal opportunities for women and men to hold ICT positions, flexible work arrangements as well as access to digital tools; by promoting digital education among women; and by organising awareness-raising campaigns that challenge existing digital gender stereotypes.
“Co-operatives are a driving force for gender equality and equity in the digital world. As noted in the extract from the 2022 World Cooperative Monitor “Large cooperatives: Digitalization, participation and democracy”, the digital transformation provides new opportunities to encourage democratic participation, which is a cornerstone of co-operatives. Women cannot be excluded from this participation and must be involved in all kinds of roles and levels of decision-making.”
There are also wider benefits of a gender inclusive digital world – according to UNDP, achieving gender equality in leadership in the tech industry alone can add US$430–$530bn in global productivity.
Involving women in technological innovation and development will lead to more inclusive and gender-sensitive designs and products while digital education can protect women and girls from gender based violence in digital spaces, adds the statement.
“The ICA Gender Equality Committee strives for the full inclusion and participation of women and girls in innovation and technology,” it says. “As a society, we cannot waste the talent, ideas, and skills of half of the population. We will keep working so that our girls dream just as much as boys of becoming mathematicians, software developers or agro-engineers. Anchored in its values and principles, the co-operative movement provides a suited environment to effectively bridge the digital gender divide and advance towards sustainable, inclusive, and empowered communities.”
The UN is holiding a high-level event for the day at its headquarters in New York, bringing together technologists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and gender equality activists to provide an opportunity to highlight the role of all stakeholders in improving access to digital tools.
Keynote speakers include António Guterres, UN secretary-general; Sima Bahous, UN Women executive director; and Mathu Joyini, chair, 67th Commission on the Status of Women.
