Investment in high-speed Internet is not enough. Gender-smart digital policies and entrepreneurship education are also needed

On October 2 2020, G20 Global Solutions released a co-authored brief highlighting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the digital gender divide. Written with global thought leaders Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke, CEO of W4.org and Margo Thomas, CEO of Women’s Economic Imperative, "COVID-19 Response Strategies, Addressing Digital Gender Divides" advances action strategies to support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment are advanced. 

Why are gender-smart digital policies needed?

·       In 2019, close to half the world’s population—approximately 3.6 billion people—remained offline. 

·       In developing economies, women comprised 52%, versus 42% of men who did not use the Internet.[i]

·       In low- and middle-income countries, 433 million women are unable to connect to the Internet.[ii]

·       The EQUALS Global Coalition has warned that, “the digital space is becoming more male-dominated, not less so… .”[iii] Yet, most publicly-funded technology policies and programs are gender-blind.[iv]

Our Global Solutions brief documents the consequences of gender blind digital policies and programs, including girls’ and women’s limited access to life-enhancing and life-saving information, mobile banking, micro-finance, e-commerce, e-learning, e-agriculture technologies, health services, apps to combat gender-based violence, and social media campaigns to confront stereotypes. 

The brief also offers illustrative gender-smart interventions to enhance their access to technology.  Government Investment in digital technologies is not enough. Gender-blind policies and entrepreneurship programs dilute the impacts of investment in digital infrastructure.

For example:

·       In the September 2020 Speech from the Throne, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described how entrepreneurs have had to “rethink their approaches” and adapt “more digital options...” The Government of Canada then pledged to invest further in rural broadband, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and Northern communities, “…to ensure that all Canadians, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed internet.” 

·       Documented in a related co-authored study, Technology adoption and gender-inclusive entrepreneurship education and training (Orser, Riding, Li, 2019) describes how gender biases are evidenced in federal digital adoption programming. The study highlights how Canada’s largest historical investment in digital adoption programming failed to account for the needs of women-identified entrepreneurs. This is notable given that Canada is a leader in innovative digital technologies and women entrepreneurship policy. No government is immune to gender and other intersectional biases in the design and delivery of digital adoption and entrepreneurship education programming.

The articles present yet more evidenced about the need for gender-smart policies and programming as governments plan for economic recovery. The original insights in the G20 Global Solutions and Technology adoption and gender-inclusive entrepreneurship education and training illustrate why governments and educators must work closely to close gender digital divides.   

Suggested actions

Closing the gender digital divide requires an understanding about how gender biases are embedded within policy design and program delivery, including within entrepreneurship and tech adoption interventions. To inform decision-making and influence others, consider the following actions:

·       Review the Global Solutions article to learn more about the impacts of the pandemic on the digital gender divide and potential response strategies.   

·       Review the Technology adoption and gender-inclusive entrepreneurship education and training article to learn about ways that gender influences in digital adoption can be addressed in entrepreneurship education programming.  

·       Consider how your organization’s policies and programs acknowledge gender influences in digital adoption and ways to strengthen inclusion in program design and delivery.

·       Post an article about one or more organizations working to close the gender digital divide through gender-smart policy or program interventions. Regional insights and illustrative cases are needed! So too are regional case studies of gender-smart digital policy and entrepreneurship education programs.

·       Learn about Women’s WorldWide Web [W4.org]. W4 is working to ensure that girls and women everywhere have access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, the exercise of their rights, and political participation—all of which benefit girls and women and—all of which benefit girls and women and their families and communities. 

·       Share this article with others who are concerned about the gender digital divide and inclusive entrepreneurship education and training. This includes policymakers and politicians who are responsible for public investments in entrepreneurship education and digital technology.

[i] International Telecommunication Union. (ITU, 2019). New ITU data reveal growing Internet uptake but a widening digital gender divide. [Press Release]. Retrieved from https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/2019-PR19.aspx

[ii] UNESCO, EQUALS Coalition. (2019). I’d blush if I could: Closing gender divides in digital skills through education. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000367416.page=1

[iii] UNESCO, EQUALS Coalition. (2019). I’d blush if I could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000367416.page=1

[iv] Orser, B., Riding, A., & Li, Y. (2019). Technology adoption and gender-inclusive entrepreneurship education and training. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. Access at https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJGE-02-2019-0026/full/html

[iv] Orser, Riding, Li (2019).