Shirin Sharmin :
Women empowerment means the mechanism through which women take ownership of their own lives, regain control, and develop the capacity for strategic decision-making. In order to empower women, one must first become stronger on all fronts -spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, and economic. A woman’s level of empowerment is greatly influenced by a wide range of variables, including her age, social status, education level, and geographic location (urban vs. rural). Woman empowerment can be greatly accelerated through the digital transformation.
It is well established that technological advancement is a major chauffeur of progress. All aspects of development including economies and government are impacted by digital transformation around the globe. According to recent studies, over 70 per cent of the new employment nowadays demands digital capabilities. However, most of the people around the world still don’t have access to the digital tools and the scenario is awful for women and people in underdeveloped nations.
The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled a global shift toward data-driven and digital technologies, which are currently used for education, employment, and recreation. The importance of digital literacy has surpassed that of traditional literacy. Digital skills have never been more valuable than they are now as we approach the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is characterised by the rising use of automation and artificial intelligence. However, the digital revolution has neglected a vital aspect of society in many countries, including Bangladesh: our women and girls.
Even though Bangladesh has made incredible strides in expanding women’s and girls’ access to digital technologies, many people are still unable to fully benefit from the digitalisation process. According to the 2020 GSMA study on mobile gender gap, women in Bangladesh are 52 percent less likely than men to use mobile internet. Particularly women residing in rural areas experience greater technological disenfranchisement than their urban counterparts, restricting their access to information, digital services and opportunities. Additionally, many women and girls who work online experience cyber violence, which discourage them to continue further. We require a secure comfortable internet that does not stifle women’s voices or endanger their safety.
The most pervasive and demeaning forms of discrimination against women are those that are based on a preconceived notion. Discrimination against girls starts even before they are born. Due to the preference for boys over girls, female infanticide is still occurred in our country. A girl’s agony at birth is just the start of a lifelong battle to be recognised and heard. Also, women participation in the work force is still 42.68 per cent (according to BBS, 2023). The faster conversion of the available female population into human resources has failed. As a result, both the economic progress of women and the nation as a whole has been hindered.
Women represent only for 29 per cent of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce globally. Gender-based limitations on girls’ access to information and communication technology are prevalent around the world especially in rural areas. For women, in order to lead and actively affect change, we need to increase their involvement and leadership in the digital world. Women’s access to finance can be improved by digital technology, helping them avoid making long commutes. Health outcomes can also be improved by using technology in healthcare.
We need to start by investing more heavily and consistently in expanding the technological literacy and familiarity of women and girls. This will provide them the ability to effectively engage in the digital economy and have access to services like online banking, healthcare, and education. Women will be able to manage both domestic and outside paid works more easily with the help of e-commerce and other technology-based businesses.
Basic abilities alone won’t be enough, though; we also need to support women and girls in the ICT industry by helping them advance their skills in fields like coding, where they are still woefully underrepresented. We need to boost young women’s possibilities to pursue employment in STEM fields, which are predicted to account for 75 per cent of occupations by 2050, by improving their digital literacy and providing them with female role models. Government, academics, civil society, and, most importantly, the commercial sector will need to work together on this.
Women and girls must have access to safe internet environments. In a poll conducted in 2022 by ActionAid, 359 Bangladeshi women reported experiencing cyber assault, or nearly 64 per cent of them. Regrettably cyberbullying and violence against women and girls are frequently not treated seriously, which discourages them from accessing the internet and puts their right to free expression in danger. In addition to developing legal and policy frameworks that inform and safeguard girls and women against cybercrimes, we must address the destructive social norms of violence. In addition to assisting women and girls in recognising, reporting, and recovering from online abuse, we must also step-up civic education efforts and engage directly with offenders – often boys and men – to eradicate the damaging social norms and power structures that motivate their behaviour.
According to UN Women’s 2022 Gender Snapshot, the exclusion of women from the digital world has cost developing nations’ economies $1 trillion in the past ten years. If nothing is done about this, the loss will rise by 50 per cent by 2025. Beyond financial gains, expanding women’s equal and secure access to digital technology presents enormous opportunity to address humanitarian and development issues and to inspire original and creative solutions that address women’s needs and advance their empowerment.
Therefore, women’s participation in the digital world is essential for sustainable development and not merely an issue of gender equality. Furthermore, without women and girls having active roles, the government’s goal of “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041 cannot be realised in the country. To bring revolutionary technologies into the hands of people who have lagged the furthest behind, we must work harder and smarter. We must close the gender gap in the digital sphere.
(The writer is a PhD researcher and serving as an Assistant Professor at the School of Business and Economics at Presidency University).
