On 27 May, Geneva Gender Champions Houlin Zhao of ITU, Nazrene Mannie of GAN, Ambassador of Spain Aurora Díaz-Rato Revuelta, and New York Gender Champion John Frank of Microsoft connected online for a Time to Talk Conversation on Technology and Gender Equality.
The four Champions have all set a personal IGC commitment related to gender equality and technology, along with 16 other Champions across the network of the International Gender Champions.
The group exchanged on the different persistent challenges and current opportunities identified from their personal and professional experiences, all of which illustrate how we can and must do better to spark collective solutions towards a more equal and diverse digital sphere through cross-sector collective action.
The group of Champions expressed ways in which we need to approach our digital challenges in new ways rooted in gender responsiveness. Today, technology is often a part of the ecosystem of people’s daily lives – albeit in an unequal way. Our values of equality between men and women and our intersecting identities must be reflected in all of the technology we use today. A clear message resulting from the discussion was a warning that should we fail to close the digital divide from a gender-responsive standpoint, we will have a generation of girls, young women, and women who are left behind.
Action must follow a fruitful discussion, and Champions agreed to follow up on the initiatives and ideas that came up.
