I am Woman. I am Fearless. I am Sexy. I am Divine. I am Unbeatable. I am Creative. A voice of the future, So speak to me kindly. Happy International Women’s Day my darling.
International Women’s Day is a global day when women are recognized for their achievements: both social, economic, cultural, and political, without regard to their linguistic, ethnic, cultural, or economic backgrounds. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.
Marked annually on 8th March, IWD is one of the most important days of the year to:
- Celebrate women’s achievements,
- Call for positive change advancing women,
- Educate and raise awareness for women’s equality,
- Lobby for accelerated gender parity and,
- Fundraise for female-focused charities.
This year, IWD is being celebrated under the theme DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for gender equality. #EmbraceEquity.
Did You Know?
- By 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM areas. Yet today, women hold just 22% of positions in artificial intelligence globally,
- As of 2022, Only 63 percent of women were using the Internet compared to 69 percent of men,
- A survey of women journalists from 125 countries found that 73 percent had suffered online violence in the course of their work.
DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality
Our lives depend heavily 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.
I’m shocked by these figures because, from the earliest days of computing to the present age of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, women have made untold contributions to the digital world in which we increasingly live.
Their accomplishments have been against all odds, in a field that has historically neither welcomed nor appreciated them.
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.
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 #EmbraceEquity campaign seeks to encourage important conversations on Why equal opportunities aren’t enough and Why equal isn’t always fair.
