International Girls in ICT Day

On International Girls in ICT Day, 27 April, UN Women joins ITU, the United Nations agency on information and communication technology, and girls and women around the world to drive global attention to the need for their full and equal access to ICT education.

The technology sector is one of the fastest growing industries globally, but experiencing skills gap. The European Commission, for example, has predicted a skills gap of over 800.000 ICT jobs in Europe by 2020; and the U.S. Department of Labor predicts around 1.4 million IT jobs in the same timeframe [1]. The sector holds enormous opportunities for women with the requisite skills. But stereotypes and discrimination continue to deprive girls of the chance to excel in this field. Globally, there is a 12 per cent gender gap in internet use; in the world’s least developed countries, the gap widens to 31 per cent [2]. Enhancing the use of ICTs to empower women is an explicit target of Sustainable Development Goal 5.

UN Women statement on International Girls in ICT Day 2017
Women are at risk of losing out on tomorrow’s best ICT job opportunities, whether in the public or private sectors, or as an employee or entrepreneur… Read more»

Voices from girls and women in tech

From where I stand: “Technology sees skills before gender and disability”
Casar Jacobson, a disability rights activist and a UN Women Youth Champion, shares her personal story of living with hearing disability and persevering to carve out a place in the world of work. She stresses on the power of technology in ensuring that no one is left behind. More»

From where I stand: “Their expressions when they created their first website were priceless”
In the small town of Tafila, in the southern part of Jordan, a social enterprise started by young Jordanian women is teaching teenagers, including girls, computer programming. More»

Women breaking barriers and optimizing opportunities in a digital world
In order to level the playing ground and advance women’s leadership in the ICT sector, UN Women is working with partners around the world to close the gender digital gap. More»

Take five with Joy Chebet Bii: Why does digital literacy matter for women and girls?
Joy Chebet Bii is a 20-year-old living in Nairobi, Kenya. Joy, a student in mathematics and computer science at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, is a Mozilla Club captain.  Mozilla Clubs teach web literacy skills to women and girls in Cape Town and Nairobi. More»

From where I stand: Ileana Crudu
When Ileana Crudu, now 19, finished high school in 2016, she had completed one year of training as a participant of GirlsGoIT, a UN Women-supported initiative that breaks down gender stereotypes in the ICT sector. Ileana is now a relentless ambassador encouraging girls to study technology. More»

Hacking to combat sexual harassment in Philippines
In Quezon City, three out of five women experience sexual harassment in public spaces. As part of UN Women’s Safe Cities Global Flagship Programme Initiative, the Metro Manila Programme held the first-ever hackathon in May 2016, to seek mobile technology solutions to sexual harassment and violence against women and girls in public spaces. More»