by Grace Anaja
The Generation Equality youth and adolescent leads and UN Women convened a CSW67 Youth Forum. It was a hybrid event that took place on Saturday March 11, 2023. The aim of the forum themed ‘Feminist and Intergenerational Digital Futures: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality‘ was to explore and assess the gendered nature of digital inequality and share concrete and practical recommendations to influence the Agreed Conclusions.
Here are a few things we learnt.
The youth are said to be the largest population in the world today. Addressing gender equality requires the experience, expertise and leadership of young people. They need to be at the center of conversations around gender equality, shaping, reshaping and expanding them. The way we live, communicate, earn a living, elect officials, and build relationships and communities through technology affects our world. Even those who do not have access to technology and are unable to use it are affected. Since youths are at the forefront of technological innovations, they must seek to create spaces for safe, affordable and positive engagements.
During the panel sessions, the speakers made recommendations concerning youth involvement and gender equity with technology and in digital spaces.
One of the panelists, Omowumni Ogunrotimi, the Lead Director of Gender Mobile Initiative spoke on the prevalence of sexual harassment and ‘sex for grades’ globally. In Nigeria, statistics reveal that about 70% of female undergraduates have experienced sexual harassment with survivors being unable to speak up. Though there have been conversations about sexual and gender based violence, they have struggled to elevate our social consciousness to the systematic nature of sexual violence in environments of learning. These environments are meant to be spaces that define the learning and educational output of young people. In some cases, the cost of education is expensive and unaffordable for a lot of young people. More commitments needs to be made to prioritize safe education transmittal spaces where young people have access to education and can thrive without experiences of sexual violence, and commitments to resourcing youth initiatives and youth-centered efforts in the communities they occupy.
There is an emerging need for increased digital safety approaches for young women and girls. Some girls do not have access to any form of technology, not even mobile phones. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the disadvantages of the lack of digital tools, digital literacy and poor network connection for school girls with lessons that were on Zoom, Google Classroom, Skype and other digital platforms. The digital gap cannot be closed without the inclusion of young women and adolescent girls. They need to be included in all spaces.
Furthermore, for women refugees who have had to leave their homes for safety due to conflicts and crises, virtual safe spaces provide platforms for them to share their experiences and they found a sense of belonging that had been missing. These spaces are not just for support but places where women can realise the potential of their voices, organise and mobilise change. These spaces also allow them to advocate for other women, youth and refugees. They require safe and secure channels to share their needs and demands with other stakeholders using gender sensitive approaches.
There is no global framework and as such, governments should regulate policies that affect women and girls’ empowerment and the private sector, involve them in decision making, be transparent and be held accountable for their actions. International institutions and governments need to leverage their institutional powers so that communities can access technology and use it in a safe way without the threat of surveillance.
There is no doubt that technology has a lot of power and it is due to privatisation. The only way to revert that power is by putting the power in the hands of the community, a community-led space that can hold it and make something of it. For instance, data in itself is not objective. The way you interpret it, make it acceptable and present it is what gives it meaning. Accountability can happen when these digital tools are in the hands of the community, of the youth and then they are contextualised. The feedback from the community on how the digital tool exists and what it is then translates to its use to power the actual potential for change and gender justice that it has. Therefore, technology is a catalyst for creating strong sustainable movements.
Additionally, programs should be created to teach young women and girls digital skills to benefit from the power of technology. They should also be taught leadership skills as a roadmap to getting more women in senior management positions in technology companies and as entrepreneurs and creators, creating software and cutting edge tools.
Donors and philanthropic institutions are not left out as they can support women’s economic empowerment through income generation – getting more money into the hands of more women, using digitalization as an enabling tool beyond gender inequalities like access, social norms or affordability.
In all, we must continue to encourage and support women and youth to lead locally driven and sustained campaigns for digital safety, ensure their inclusion and those of minorities in all digital practices such as conferences, workshops, etc., provide financial and technical support to women led initiatives related to digital literacy, safety and awareness raising activities, and promote digital literacy through education and advocacy.
We cannot achieve gender equality in the digital space working in silos. We need partnerships and coalitions and as the saying goes, if there is no seat at the table, take a seat and put it there yourself!
