WUNRN
http://ignite.globalfundforwomen.org/gallery/technology-womens-human-rights-issue
TECHNOLOGY IS A WOMEN'S HUMAN
RIGHTS ISSUE
Musimbi Kanyoro,
USA / Kenya
Global Fund for
Women CEO Musimbi Kanyoro explains why access to and control over technology is
critical for the future of women's human rights, and explains how IGNITE: Women
Fueling Science & Technology will change the conversation about women's
role in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and information
communication technologies (ICT).
From the Internet
to mobile phones, technology enables us to connect with each other and the
world around us in new and innovative ways. As technology becomes an
increasingly essential part of every aspect of human existence—from education
to employment, politics to creativity — the ability to access, navigate, and
shape technology is critical to women’s participation in all sectors of
society. Yet there is a serious gender divide when it comes to technological
access, literacy, and influence. Women and girls are missing, excluded, and
dropping out – whether it’s online, in the classroom, or in the world of work.
A global
technology revolution is taking place, and if women and girls aren’t part of
it, the future for women’s human rights is bleak.
A GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION IS TAKING PLACE, AND IF
WOMEN AND GIRLS AREN’T PART OF IT, THE FUTURE FOR WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS IS
BLEAK.
Global Fund for
Women’s new online multimedia projectIGNITE: Women Fueling Science and
Technology is a global platform to demand change. IGNITE gives voice
to girls and women who are demanding a place at the table. It shares the
stories of women and girls leading innovations in science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) and information and communication technology
(ICT), and it demonstrates how addressing the global gender gap in science and
technology will unlock creativity, propel innovation, and create equality.
In the wake of the
Arab Spring, the United Nations declared Internet access to be a basic human
right. Yet at the end of 2013, only 40% of the world’s population has
access to the Internet. Women are coming online more slowly and later than men,
with an estimated 200 million fewer women than men online in 2014. If nothing
is done to address this gap, it is projected to grow to 350 million within
three years. Mobile phones are more and more essential to daily life (indeed,
more people around the world own mobile phones than toothbrushes), but women
are 21% less likely to own a mobile phone than men.
At Global Fund for
Women we are passionate about this issue because the organizations we work with
tell us that access to technology—for themselves and the women they exist to
support—is critical to advancing women’s human rights. In fact, in a survey
commissioned in 2013, fully 80% of our grantee partners wanted greater access
to and fluency in technology. Those women and girls on the ground are telling
us that now is a pivotal moment to invest in technology to fuel women’s human
rights.
Beside the lack of
access to technology, we also know that too few women are leaders, innovators,
and decision makers in an increasingly technological and connected world.
The results of
this gender technology gap are two-fold. First, women and girls experience
inequality because they are less able to access and use existing technology,
making it increasingly difficult for them to access and participate in
education, politics, healthcare and economic and community life. Second,
because women and girls have effectively been left on the sidelines of the
global technology revolution — considered “consumers” but not “creators”—today’s
technology does not reflect the diversity of women’s experiences, imagination,
or ingenuity. By limiting the participation of women and girls in science and
technology, we too often limit ourselves to only half of the world’s ideas.
Bringing women
online and embracing their leadership and ideas will not only help bring gender
parity, it will have a global economic impact. Recent studies have estimated
that 600 million additional women and girls online could boost GDP by up to USD
$18 million. Studies also show gender diversity in the workplace results in
better collaboration and greater diversity of solutions and results – surely
something everything every academic institution, company, and government should
be looking for.
Our governments
and the international community have an obligation to enable and protect the
human rights of women and girls everywhere: including their rights to
meaningful use and development of technology. By removing barriers to women and
girls’ access to technology, we will enable opportunities for connection,
education, engagement and imagination. The value of these opportunities to
women and girls’ greater equality is unquantifiable. We have no way of knowing
what new ideas, inventions and solutions this access will unleash. But can you
imagine?
GET INVOLVED!
Join me and the
Global Fund for Women as we call for more equal access to technology for women
around the world, and for more equal representation of women in science and
tech fields, by signing our IGNITE petition. We will deliver the Petition and
your signatures to the Executive Director of UN Women on International Women’s
Day in March 2015; as well as to the Director General of UNESCO and the
Secretary-General of ITU. We will also deliver the Petition and your signatures
to the Chair of the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in
March 2015; and to the President of the General Assembly of the United
Nations. Sign the petition now >>
We also want to
hear from you! Add your story to the Be the Spark collection and
help us flip the script on women and girls in science and technology.
You can also
support our work to ignite change on the ground today! Your investment in
Global Fund for Women’s Technology Fund will help women around the world use
technology as a tool to build power and drive action. Help us increase women’s
access to and control of technology, and help grassroots organizations use
technology to advance women’s and girls’ human rights. Support women and girls
using technology to address the world’s most challenging problems. Learn more about the Technology Fund and
the types of grantees your donation could support.