Reflections on international women’s day: Was the woman part of it at all?

Reflections on international women’s day: Are women part of everything?

I have lived almost 30 years since adulthood, and I can confidently confirm that, the world has never experienced what COVID-19 has done. The distinctive feature of novel viruses is that they limit humans to different environments and give them the opportunity to work remotely.

This means relying on virtual and digital platforms to perform tasks that normally require physical presence and contact to complete. International Women’s Day 2023 is expected to focus on the priority theme for Session 67 of the Commission on the Status of Women which is “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.

This year’s theme is baptized as DigitALL; Innovation and technology for gender equality. In addition, the principle is to understand what the gap is between women and the world in the digital space and the shortcomings that exist in the extraordinary, how these relationships can be repaired and give an equal voice to expand the collective goals.

In order to understand the gaps, it is important to understand the challenges that these gaps present; for example, since the arrival of COVID, and the migration of activities to digital platforms, one challenge has been presented is the inability for rural women to appreciate the same opportunities and use them properly.

The representation of the voice that in some form assumes the position of the food basket remains in the shadows because the transition does not assume. Before the pandemic, such voices were heard through forums, town hall meetings and sprinter groups that offered better ideas and incentives to do better; unfortunately, the position has had to remain in a primitive situation where women are isolated as a result of gender inequality.

So while the world and the UN continue to explore the frontiers of the digital age where everything is done on a virtual platform, it is very important to discover the unfortunate threats that the female gender faces behind Agriculture, water, fisheries and other affected industries. by sudden experience in the world most of them are primary workers or secondary workers. The principle established to confirm how negative influences affect the results of women who are denied education, and cannot access incentives moved to a digital platform that can be done through the occurrence of the COVID virus.

There is also a need to anticipate the real status of women in the digital age and ascertain how they can play an important role in it. Laith (2023) maintains that, in the digital age, the status of women and girls in the real world has become inseparable from their online counterparts. We live in 2023, we cannot separate gender equality and technology. Women are still systematically underrepresented in technology and innovation.

This means not only the loss of high-paying jobs, but also the opportunity to shape the digital world in which we live. Although targeted efforts have given women and girls access to new opportunities, Laith claims that many doors remain barred due to the influence of gender norms. When it comes to science and technology, stereotypes in our society limit women’s participation and educational opportunities. So we have no foundation to increase the influence of women in the tech industry.

According to the UN Women’s Bulletin (2023), Women and girls remain underrepresented in the creation, use and regulation of technology. They are more likely to use digital services or pursue careers in technology, and are more likely to face harassment and violence online. This limits not only digital empowerment itself but also the transformative potential of technology as a whole – the exclusion of women from the digital sphere has cost low and middle income countries $1 trillion in GDP over the last decade.

We are at a crossroads in the face of a growing global crisis: allow technology to widen existing disparities and further concentrate power in the hands of a few, or use it for a safer, more sustainable, and fairer future for all. It further provides four steps to achieve equality in the digital space, namely, closing all gaps in access and digital skills, supporting women and girls in STEM, creating Tech that meets the needs of women and girls, and better addressing gender facilitated by technology. based violence.

It is important that we agree to challenge the isolation of women in the digital space. To achieve this, the first thing to do is to establish government policies to be properly placed in the context of society. This is defined as meaning that the world must accept to develop or encourage policies to guide the use of digital platforms by all and all especially women. The sad reality is that in the physical world where women are verbally abused, and colonized, there is a high level of patriarchy that is replicated on virtual platforms.

This generates a conversation about the inequality defined above where women in rural communities are neglected during the pandemic because they can hardly afford the internet or do not have access to platforms that offer equal opportunities.

There is a need to consciously provide policy and implementation committed to migration as much as possible, girls or women who are vulnerable and live in rural communities, where a lot of food and raw materials come from these digital platforms. This affects productivity and global returns.

Happy International Women’s Day.

By Mrs Gifty Oware-Mensah

Deputy Executive Director, National Service Scheme

CEO, Berry Ladies Football Club

Read the Full Story