Remarks by the UN Resident Coordinator a.i at the International Women’s Day Mini fair focusing on Innovation & technology for gender equality

I am honored to be part of the International Women’s Day celebrations and deliver these remarks on behalf of the United Nations System in Sierra Leone. International Women’s Day is an opportunity for the UN to join its partners worldwide in celebrating women and their critical role in achieving gender equality and the broader 2030 Agenda.

The theme for 2023 is: “DigitAll: Innovation and technology for Gender Equality”. Today, we need to consider how to remove barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing the digital world; we need to identify and commit to new approaches to technology and innovation tailored to women and girls’ needs. And we need to have strategies for more women to be employed and promoted in the technology sector to transform innovation ecosystems.

In Sierra Leone, much has been done to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. First, congratulations are in order to the Government and all stakeholders for the immense strides in enacting the GEWE law. The Government’s Free Quality School Education Programme aimed at computer skills and financial inclusion is an essential step in this direction. Building on these, we should all reflect on how Sierra Leone’s economy would benefit from more women and girls empowered in digital and technology careers.

Honourable Minister, Distinguished Ladies, and Gentlemen, globally, women and girls are underrepresented in technology creation, use, and regulation. They are also less likely to enter technology-related careers but are significantly more likely to face online harassment and violence.

While recent reports show that 58% of women in low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs) now use mobile internet, 234 million fewer women than men are accessing it (GSMA-Gender Mobile Gap Report, 2022). This limits not only their digital empowerment but also the transformative potential of technology. According to UN Women (2022), women’s exclusion from the digital sphere in the past decade shed an estimated $1 trillion off the GDP of (L&MICs).

Honorable Minister, Distinguished Ladies, and Gentlemen, in the face of global crises, we have a choice to either allow technology to widen existing disparities and further empower the few, OR create a safer, more sustainable, more equitable future for all.

Digital technology is opening new doors for the global empowerment of women, girls, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and other marginalized groups. From gender-responsive digital learning to technology-facilitated sexual and reproductive healthcare delivery, the digital age represents an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate all forms of disparity and inequality, and provide youth with the requisite information and skills to make positive life decisions.

From this 8 March, governments, activists, and the private sector should strive to make the digital world safer, more inclusive, and equitable. Today’s mini-fair demonstrates how this can be done in Sierra Leone. We need to build on it by intensifying our efforts to create an opportunity for a better future—not just for women and girls, but for humanity.

I thank you all for your kind attention.