The Commonwealth is inviting women and girls to share their experiences with the digital world in a short video message.
About 90 per cent of jobs now require digital skills to some degree. However, women remain underrepresented across the digital sector. For instance, women make up only 17 per cent of the global tech industry workforce and they globally are 12 per cent less likely than men to use the internet.
Launching on International Girls in ICT Day, the ‘Digital Skills for Her’ campaign seeks to promote digital skills for women while drawing attention to the acute opportunity gaps in the sector.
All video submissions will be compiled into a short film, which will be screened at the upcoming Commonwealth Women’s Forum and other events. The challenges and opportunities highlighted in the video messages will inform a high-level policy discussion around closing the gender gap in digital skills across the Commonwealth.
Ahead of the launch, Carina Kabajunga, the Commonwealth’s head of the ICT section, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the digital gender divides that are often easily ignored in good times.
“The world now clearly understands that our current digital system does not favour everyone equally. It is high time to rethink and repair this broken system. We know any rebuilding efforts will fail if they do not take on board the views of women and girls.
“So, with this campaign, we turn our platform over to women and girls in the Commonwealth so that their perspectives and experiences can guide our approach in influencing the highest level of decision-making around the digital economy.”
Joining the campaign
Female Commonwealth citizens of all ages can join the campaign by:
- recording a 90-second video message to explain their experiences with the digital world; and
- we-transferring the video message to webteam@commonwealth.int before 14 June 2021.
Submissions must be an original message and must be in English or Sign Language.