DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality

The twin engines of innovation and technology have the potential to drive transformative shifts in society that can not only accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but also pave the way for gender equality. Historically, women have been marginalized not only because of their gender but also their age, ethnicity, education level, income, disability, or migratory status. Social innovations can break these barriers and increase awareness, access, and the availability of opportunities. Mobile banking ventures, e-learning platforms and other technological innovations are already yielding positive results globally. However, not all women are represented across core innovation sectors. This problem can be tackled by strategic cross-sector partnerships involving academic and non-profit institutions, civil society groups, government institutions, the private sector, and donor organizations. All of these actors can collaborate on partnerships that fuel industry-wide change. Improving the ability of women to access technology will spur innovation.

Furthermore, connecting women innovators will forge collaboration and encourage mentorship. There is tremendous power in the ‘meeting of minds.’ Digital transformation supports the growth of women in a variety of ways: earning income and growing employment, opening up networking prospects and improved access to knowledge and information. Promoting digital inclusion also has the added benefit of improving efficiency through digitization of government services and tackling unemployment. In developing countries such as Kenya, empowering women entrepreneurs could pave the way for informal businesses to shift to the formal sector and expand.  Closing the digital gender gap must therefore be considered as priority by governments throughout the world.

Women also have a role to play to ensure they are not left behind as the digital wave continues to send ripples through the global economy. Big data and analytics, ICT tools development, access to remote working opportunities and blockchain technology are all promising avenues to empower women.

It is critical for women innovators to have an enabling ecosystem that allows the to participate in the digital economy. Programs that enable women innovators to access financing, resources, training, and mentorship will play a key role in transformation.

Article by Shailja Sharma, SBS Faculty Member and Leadership and Career Coach