This year’s theme is:

“DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”

 

Women must be a force of change for women!  We ARE the catalyst for change!

Embedded in every woman and girl is the potential to build the life she deserves.  All she needs is the opportunity to show her power.

What is the main role of a woman in our society? 

Women Matter!

We celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023, because sisterhood is global!   Women are the primary caregivers of children and elders in every country of the world. International studies demonstrate that when the economy and political organization of a society change, women take the lead in helping the family adjust to new realities and challenges.  Yet, women are discriminated against because they are women.  In cases around the world, we hear devasting tragedies occurring to women.

In countries throughout the world, women, young and old, are denied the rights to employment, suffer battery and other family violence, marital rape, sexual frustration and betrayal, personality sub summation, property rights, child custody, suicide, child marriages of children under the age of 13.  In fact, a platitude of abuse that is untold in many instances is done against women.  And this information is just scraping the surface of the abuse of women around the world!

We have got to do better with addressing women’s rights across the world.  Women are more than just child bearers and sexual objects.   We, women, are your mothers, grandmothers sisters, aunt, niece, and friends, and we deserve to be treated with love, respect, and dignity.

Why we Celebrate National Women’s Day:

From the National Archives EEO Special Emphasis Observances: March is National Women’s History Month

From the National Archives EEO Special Emphasis Observance:  March is National Women’s “National Women’s History Month was established by presidential proclamation in order to draw attention to and improve the focus on women in historical studies. It began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female textile workers protested unfair working conditions and unequal rights for women. It was one of the first organized strikes by working women, during which they called for a shorter work day and decent wages. Also on March 8, 1908, women workers in the needle trades marched through New York City’s Lower East Side to protest child labor and sweatshop working conditions, and demand for women’s suffrage. Beginning in 1910, March 8 became annually observed as International Women’s Day. Women’s History Week was instituted in 1978 in an effort to begin adding women’s history into educational curricula. In 1987, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to include all of March as a celebration of the economic, political, and social contributions of women.”

International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic, or political.

Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women’s conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.

22%

Women make up only 22 per cent of artificial intelligence workers globally.

44% 

A global analysis of 133 AI systems across industries found that 44.2 per cent demonstrate gender bias.

73%

A survey of women journalists from 125 countries found that 73 per cent had suffered online violence in the course of their work.

Women and girls remain underrepresented across technology creation, use, and regulation.  They are less likely to use digital services or enter tech-related careers, and significantly more likely to face online harassment and violence. This limits not only their own digital empowerment but also the transformative potential of technology as a whole—over the past decade, women’s exclusion from the digital sphere has shaved $1 trillion off the GDP of low- and middle-income countries.  Modern STEM education promotes not only skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, higher-order thinking, design, and inference, but also behavioral competencies such as perseverance, adaptability, cooperation, organization, and responsibility

Technology and innovation do not benefit women and men equally.  In the Digital age, there is a global unbalance that perpetuates bias, inequality, and violence against the lives of women and girls.

In the online sphere, gender-based violence also forces women and girls to self-censor and deplatform, limiting their ability to engage and participate virtually. As social media becomes an increasingly crucial space for both socializing and organizing, it has also become a key site of gendered disinformation, misinformation, sexist hate speech, and more—all of which undermine women’s online expression and movement.

In fact, technological progress is outpacing progress toward gender equality.  We must demand digital equality by removing all barriers to accessing the digital world.  We must to educate and train women and girls in STEM (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The need for STEM programming in education developed out of concern that future generations were lacking the critical skills needed to succeed in the current and future economy. STEM programming teaches innovation, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration among many other skills proven to lead to success.)

Modern STEM education promotes not only skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, higher-order thinking, design, and inference, but also behavioral competencies such as perseverance, adaptability, cooperation, organization, and responsibility

For women who face intersecting forms of discrimination, including women of color, women with disabilities, and LGBTIQ+ people, the risk is even higher. Same with women in the public eye—journalists, politicians, and women’s rights defenders, for example—who face significantly higher levels of hate speech and other violence than their male counterparts.

We must enable women to create technology that meets their needs.  And, we must seek to eliminate online gender-based violence.

This 8 March, we are calling on governments, activists, and the private sector alike to power in their efforts to make the digital world safer, more inclusive, and more equitable. Facing a multiplicity of global crises, we have a chance to create a better future—not just for women and girls, but for all humanity and all life on Earth. Join us.

Women and girls remain underrepresented across technology creation, use, and regulation. They are less likely to use digital services or enter tech-related careers, and significantly more likely to face online harassment and violence. This limits not only their own digital empowerment but also the transformative potential of technology as a whole—over the past decade, women’s exclusion from the digital sphere has shaved $1 trillion off the GDP of low- and middle-income countries.

This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.

The United Nations Observance of IWD recognizes and celebrates the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.

IWD 2023 will explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. The event will also spotlight the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence.

Bringing women and other marginalized groups into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality.

Bringing women and other marginalized groups into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality. Their lack of inclusion, by contrast, comes with massive costs: as per the UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2022 report, women’s exclusion from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the gross domestic product of low- and middle-income countries in the last decade—a loss that will grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025 without action. Reversing this trend will require tackling the problem of online violence, which a study of 51 countries revealed 38 percent of women had personally experienced.

A gender-responsive approach to innovation, technology, and digital education can increase the awareness of women and girls regarding their rights and civic engagement. Advancements in digital technology offer immense opportunities to address development and humanitarian challenges and to achieve the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals. Unfortunately, the opportunities of the digital revolution also present a risk of perpetuating existing patterns of gender inequality. Growing inequalities are becoming increasingly evident in the context of digital skills and access to technologies, with women being left behind as the result of this digital gender divide. The need for inclusive and transformative technology and digital education is therefore crucial for a sustainable future.

The United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day under the theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, will be marked by a high-level event on Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. EST. The event will bring together technologists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and gender equality activists to provide an opportunity to highlight the role of all stakeholders in improving access to digital tools and be followed by a high-level panel discussion and musical performances.  Love is the answer to injustice, inequality, success, efficiency, and peace.

We need more women in the fields of:

1. Leadership and political participation

From the local to the global level, women’s leadership and political participation are compromised. Women are underrepresented as voters, as well as in leading positions, whether in elected offices, civil services, the private sector, or academia. This occurs despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change, and their right to participate equally in democratic governance.

2. Ending Violence Against Women

Violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights. Its impact ranges from immediate to long-term multiple physical, sexual and mental consequences for women and girls, including death

3. Economic Empowerment

Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path toward gender equality, poverty eradication, and inclusive economic growth. Women make enormous contributions to economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing unpaid care work at home.

4. Peace and Security

UN Women supports women’s full and equal representation and participation in all levels of peace processes and security efforts. UN Women leads on implementing the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda through research initiatives, data collection, learning exchanges, and documentation of good practices to inform policy and programming.

5. Humanitarian Action

Humanitarian efforts must recognize the fact that women and girls—like men and boys—have much to contribute in preparing for, and responding to, crises. Women must be included in decision-making about the forms of assistance and protection they need. Humanitarian action can also present opportunities for new and more progressive gender roles and relationships to emerge.

       6.  Governance and National Planning

National plans, policies, institutions and budgets are where governments begin to translate commitments to women into practical progress towards gender equality. Too often, however, they overlook measures to ensure that public services respond to women’s needs and priorities.

7. Youth and Gender Equality

The force and inspiration of our youngest leaders are critical drivers for accelerating progress on sustainable development and gender equality.

8. Women and Girls with Disabilities

Recognizing that gender-neutral approaches to disability inclusion perpetuate discrimination and vulnerability, UN Women has made concerted efforts to promote disability inclusion and gender equality, including by establishing and strengthening partnerships and contributing to amplifying the voices of women and girls with disabilities.

9. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

In 2015, countries agreed on the need for comprehensive financing for development, adopted a new sustainable development agenda, and charted a universal and legally binding global agreement on climate change. Concluding a negotiating process that spanned more than two years and featured the unprecedented participation of civil society, governments united behind an ambitious agenda that features 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030.

10. HIV and AIDS

Gender inequality contributes to the spread of HIV. It can increase infection rates, and reduce the ability of women and girls to cope with the epidemic. Often, they have less information about HIV and fewer resources to take preventive measures.

Women of the world,  we can make a difference in the lives of other women, children, and men, but we have to stand up for our rights as citizens of the universe. You’re life matters because your life is important to the world.  You Matter!  Your life matters.  It’s time to use your God-given gifts and talents to make a difference in somebody’s life and in the world.

“No one can figure out your worth but you.”  Pearl Bailey

References:

https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day/stories

https://www.unwomen.org/en/where-we-are/africa

https://www.freedombusinessalliance.com/stories/