The 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women
On the invitation of the International Council of Women, one of the oldest international non- governmental organizations, and in cooperation with other stakeholders, including the UN agencies such as UN-WOMEN and UNDP, the ICSW co-organized a parallel event entitled “Women’s empowerment through education and training in the digital age”. The event took place in New York on March 6, 2023, during the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Its aim was not only to analyze factors pertinent of the current gender gap in innovation, technology and education, but also to explore viable strategies and actions that lead to gender equality and to the empowerment of women and girls. Another important dimension of the side-event was exploration of practical measures and best practices to create an enabling environment to counter gender-stereotypes related to women's empowerment and to women's training in technological fields in the digital age. In this light promoting positive female role models in education, the job market, the public arena was seen as essential.
The speakers representing the above-mentioned UN entities highlighted various gender aspects of education and training seen by and large as gateways to women's empowerment and gender equality. It was convincingly demonstrated that education is a development multiplier which provides societies with the tools to respond to the ongoing changes in the digital age. SDGs 4 and 5 also commit countries to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education in information and communication technology, science and engineering toward the goals of bridging the digital divide and the empowerment of women. Innovation and digitization have great potential to bring transformative change to improve the social and economic lives of women. It offers opportunities for female empowerment and for a more equal female participation in education, labour markets, financial markets, and entrepreneurship.
The welcome remarks were delivered by Martine Marandel, President of the International Council of Women. Dr Sergei Zelenev, Special Representative of ICSW to the United Nations, made a presentation concerning gender aspects of the digital equity in the intergenerational context.
