Nominations are now open for the second GEM-TECH Awards 2015
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Following last year’s successful first edition of the GEM-TECH Awards, UN Women and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) announce the launch of the 2015 Gender Equality and Mainstreaming in Technology (GEM-TECH) Awards nominations.
“[In 2014] we celebrated the achievements of many amazing GEM-TECH winners from around the world, as well as some outstanding Global Achievers who have really been making a difference to gender balance in the technology sector. ITU is delighted to support our GEM-TECH partner, UN Women, in the 2015, and encourage all those committed to using ICTs to empower women to submit their entry to the awards competition,” said Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of ITU.
This year, the global community commits to a new UN framework for sustainable development for the next 15 years and in the current draft, the use of ICTs is included as an important means of implementing gender equality commitments. The year 2015 also marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. One of the pillars of this platform is Media, including information and communications technology. The GEM-TECH Awards are an opportunity to highlight ways in which women’s meaningful access, use and development of technology can be achieved and to inform thinking and investments as we look forward.
“If we want to end gender inequality by 2030, we need to use all the tools at our disposal, aim for bold and transformative changes and ensure that women are leaders in critical 21st century sectors. ICTs hold incredible promise and influence. We must do our utmost to accelerate their positive application for gender equality and to achieve equality within the technology sector itself. We look to GEM-TECH for exactly this focus and inspiration,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women.
The 2015 GEM-TECH Awards ceremony will take place in New York in December alongside the celebrations of the World Summit on the Information Society +10 outcome and commitments.
The 2015 awards will focus on the following three categories:
- Application of Technology for Women’s Empowerment: Recognizing applications of technology across all sectors, and particularly the pillars of the Beijing Platform for Action, for the empowerment of women and to achieve gender equality.
- Women in the Technology Sector: Recognizing success in the promotion of girls and women as creators, drivers, leaders and decision-makers in the technology sector.
- Gender-Responsive Technology Governance, Policy and Access: Recognizing efforts to bridge the gender digital divide through strategies, policies and regulations that ensure enabling and foundational factors such as access, connectivity, security, digital literacy and citizenship, and more advanced skills-development are gender-responsive.
Nominations of civil society, government, international organizations and private sector stakeholders can be made here until 31 July.
For more information on the 2014 and 2015 GEM-TECH Awards please see: http://www.itu.int/en/action/women/gem/Pages/award-2015.aspx.