Increasing Access to Technology for Inclusion - Gender Strategy Thematic Notes Interview Series

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Increasing Access to Technology for Inclusion - Gender Strategy Thematic Notes Interview Series

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00:13 First,

00:14 there is the issue of access to quality connectivity infrastructure.

00:19 Many people in rural areas are still unconnected,

00:22 particularly in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

00:25 Women represent a large proportion of these rural populations.

00:29 There is research by the World Bank in Nigeria

00:32 which shows that expanding connectivity can contribute to reducing poverty,

00:37 but it can also Women's participation in the labor force.

00:41 In addition to connectivity,

00:42 there is the issue of affordability of digital devices.

00:45 Women are still around 18% less likely than men

00:49 to be smartphone owners.

00:51 Then there's the issue of digital skills or digital literacy.

00:55 Digital skills range from the use of mobile

00:57 phones to knowing how to navigate the internet

01:00 to much more complex skills such as programming and coding.

01:04 And as challenges still persist in women's access to quality education,

01:09 it is perhaps not a surprise that many women do not

01:12 have the skills to be able to use digital technologies,

01:15 and this is an important issue because with digitalization,

01:19 The characteristics of the future of jobs are changing and we need to ensure that

01:24 women have the competencies and the skills to be able to access these jobs.

01:29 Related to this is a third point,

01:31 which is that with digitalization,

01:34 many services are becoming more digital,

01:36 and this includes both the private.

01:38 Sector and public sector services.

01:40 According to IFC research,

01:43 if

01:43 the gender gaps in e-commerce in Africa and Southeast Asia are addressed,

01:48 this means that around $300 billion could be brought into the market.

01:53 Finally,

01:53 there are a couple of cross-cutting factors that are important to highlight.

01:57 The first one is that with increased access to digital environments,

02:01 women are now also facing

02:03 harassment and gender-based violence online

02:07 that can put off many women from using digital technologies.

02:11 The second factor is that with the emergence

02:13 of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence,

02:17 there is a risk

02:18 that biases get introduced into algorithms.

02:22 And finally,

02:22 there is sex desegregated data that is still lacking for us to

02:27 be able to understand the use of digital technologies in more depth

02:31 and identify the gender gaps.

02:36 So one of the key foundational challenges

02:39 here is the challenge of access and affordability

02:42 of devices and of access to internet and data for women.

02:46 In order to close that gap,

02:47 one of the key critical steps that governments and stakeholders can take

02:52 is to review how affordable devices are in

02:55 their respective regions and in their respective countries.

02:57 We know that in many countries,

02:59 importing smartphone devices adds on additional taxes.

03:03 View of those tax frameworks

03:05 is Absolutely essential to see how to scale up

03:08 usage of technologies,

03:10 especially among segments that tend to have lower access to financial

03:14 resources to actually be able to invest in devices and services.

03:18 And we know also that

03:20 women,

03:20 particularly in households,

03:22 have lower access to assets,

03:24 including digital assets.

03:26 The other key piece in access and affordability,

03:28 where we see governments make a lot of

03:30 investments and a lot of successful investments,

03:33 is also Expanding the broadband network in their respective areas.

03:37 The other piece of this is digital skills,

03:40 particularly more advanced digital skills and STEM education,

03:44 where also we see very strong,

03:46 very large,

03:47 persistent gender gaps

03:48 that hold back women's participation in the digital economy

03:52 in helping shape the digital economy

03:55 and particularly in sort of the frontier

03:58 services like artificial intelligence and machine learning.

04:01 One of the key areas.

04:02 closing gender gaps in STEM education and digital skills that comes from really

04:07 making sure that girls and women are included in access to education,

04:14 and there is a particular focus

04:16 on equipping them with basic digital skills with literacy and numeracy,

04:21 but also channeling them into more advanced digital skill programs.

04:25 And this is something that needs to be scaled up,

04:28 but really making sure

04:30 that there is A solid curriculum,

04:32 that there is a solid network of trainers and

04:35 partners who can deliver these services at scale,

04:39 especially in geographic areas where

04:42 access to education and access to digital education may not be widespread.

04:47 Critical aspect here

04:48 is looking at women not just as passive consumers,

04:52 but also as designers and as makers.

04:55 The third big piece here where we see success and where we see a need.

04:59 scale up

05:00 is on digitalization of

05:03 businesses and of supply chains and value chains

05:05 where women-led businesses tend to be more concentrated.

05:09 This is particularly true in retail and so supporting one,

05:12 the initial participation of women-led businesses in e-commerce,

05:15 but also providing them with targeted interventions like training programs,

05:20 like financial management programs,

05:21 and particularly in helping onboard them onto

05:24 digital platforms and e-commerce platforms is critical.

05:33 So,

05:33 the World Bank Group gender strategy update

05:35 comes at a very critical time overall for

05:38 the World Bank Group where we're in

05:39 the process of developing our evolution roadmap,

05:41 which really sets out the vision for what the future of the bank looks like.

05:45 The key

05:46 role that the strategy update will play will be to lay out a framework

05:50 for how the combination of interventions to support

05:54 closing of gender gaps and access,

05:56 usage of technologies,

05:57 development.

05:58 New technologies and deployment of new technologies

06:01 both in digital businesses and e-commerce and ed tech

06:06 and digital health and just across the board

06:08 will help address global challenges,

06:11 not just for women and young girls,

06:13 but also broadly for populations in the countries where we operate.

06:17 That starts from enriching our analytics and really

06:20 making sure that the country level diagnostics.

06:23 The regional reports,

06:24 the flagship outputs that we have,

06:26 and the knowledge that we develop

06:28 really takes a look at

06:30 the role of digital technologies and unlocking the opportunities

06:35 that are provided and that World Bank investments can provide

06:39 for client countries.

06:40 The second piece is also profiling successful investments of providing a sort

06:45 of framework for scaling up those investments across our Client countries.

06:49 And then finally,

06:50 the key piece here is really providing a holistic view

06:54 of what digital inclusion means and what the closing

06:57 of gender gaps in digital inclusion will mean,

07:00 not just for women and girls,

07:02 but also for our client countries for inclusive economic growth

07:06 and for um an improvement in health outcomes and education outcomes

07:11 and economic outcomes.

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transcript

First, there is the issue of access to quality connectivity infrastructure. Many people in rural areas are still unconnected, particularly in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. Women represent a large proportion of these rural populations. There is research by the World Bank in Nigeria which shows that expanding connectivity can contribute to reducing poverty, but it can also Women's participation in the labor force. In addition to connectivity, there is the issue of affordability of digital devices. Women are still around 18% less likely than men to be smartphone owners. Then there's the issue of digital skills or digital literacy. Digital skills range from the use of mobile phones to knowing how to navigate the internet to much more complex skills such as programming and coding. And as challenges still persist in women's access to quality education, it is perhaps not a surprise that many women do not have the skills to be able to use digital technologies, and this is an important issue because with digitalization, The characteristics of the future of jobs are changing and we need to ensure that women have the competencies and the skills to be able to access these jobs. Related to this is a third point, which is that with digitalization, many services are becoming more digital, and this includes both the private. Sector and public sector services. According to IFC research, if the gender gaps in e-commerce in Africa and Southeast Asia are addressed, this means that around $300 billion could be brought into the market. Finally, there are a couple of cross-cutting factors that are important to highlight. The first one is that with increased access to digital environments, women are now also facing harassment and gender-based violence online that can put off many women from using digital technologies. The second factor is that with the emergence of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, there is a risk that biases get introduced into algorithms. And finally, there is sex desegregated data that is still lacking for us to be able to understand the use of digital technologies in more depth and identify the gender gaps. So one of the key foundational challenges here is the challenge of access and affordability of devices and of access to internet and data for women. In order to close that gap, one of the key critical steps that governments and stakeholders can take is to review how affordable devices are in their respective regions and in their respective countries. We know that in many countries, importing smartphone devices adds on additional taxes. View of those tax frameworks is Absolutely essential to see how to scale up usage of technologies, especially among segments that tend to have lower access to financial resources to actually be able to invest in devices and services. And we know also that women, particularly in households, have lower access to assets, including digital assets. The other key piece in access and affordability, where we see governments make a lot of investments and a lot of successful investments, is also Expanding the broadband network in their respective areas. The other piece of this is digital skills, particularly more advanced digital skills and STEM education, where also we see very strong, very large, persistent gender gaps that hold back women's participation in the digital economy in helping shape the digital economy and particularly in sort of the frontier services like artificial intelligence and machine learning. One of the key areas. closing gender gaps in STEM education and digital skills that comes from really making sure that girls and women are included in access to education, and there is a particular focus on equipping them with basic digital skills with literacy and numeracy, but also channeling them into more advanced digital skill programs. And this is something that needs to be scaled up, but really making sure that there is A solid curriculum, that there is a solid network of trainers and partners who can deliver these services at scale, especially in geographic areas where access to education and access to digital education may not be widespread. Critical aspect here is looking at women not just as passive consumers, but also as designers and as makers. The third big piece here where we see success and where we see a need. scale up is on digitalization of businesses and of supply chains and value chains where women-led businesses tend to be more concentrated. This is particularly true in retail and so supporting one, the initial participation of women-led businesses in e-commerce, but also providing them with targeted interventions like training programs, like financial management programs, and particularly in helping onboard them onto digital platforms and e-commerce platforms is critical. So, the World Bank Group gender strategy update comes at a very critical time overall for the World Bank Group where we're in the process of developing our evolution roadmap, which really sets out the vision for what the future of the bank looks like. The key role that the strategy update will play will be to lay out a framework for how the combination of interventions to support closing of gender gaps and access, usage of technologies, development. New technologies and deployment of new technologies both in digital businesses and e-commerce and ed tech and digital health and just across the board will help address global challenges, not just for women and young girls, but also broadly for populations in the countries where we operate. That starts from enriching our analytics and really making sure that the country level diagnostics. The regional reports, the flagship outputs that we have, and the knowledge that we develop really takes a look at the role of digital technologies and unlocking the opportunities that are provided and that World Bank investments can provide for client countries. The second piece is also profiling successful investments of providing a sort of framework for scaling up those investments across our Client countries. And then finally, the key piece here is really providing a holistic view of what digital inclusion means and what the closing of gender gaps in digital inclusion will mean, not just for women and girls, but also for our client countries for inclusive economic growth and for um an improvement in health outcomes and education outcomes and economic outcomes.

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Increasing access to technology for inclusion gender thematic policy note interview

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Increasing access to technology for inclusion gender thematic policy note interview

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