Tech is changing the world for women. It gives them tools for learning, money matters, and health. These tools help women grow personally and professionally. Tech is empowering women globally by breaking old rules and making it easier for women everywhere.
The use of cell phones has helped women in Africa become financially independent. For example, in Kenya, M-Pesa helps 37 million users. It has lifted 194,000 families out of extreme poverty since 20071. Also, the Women in Tech® Global has helped over 67,000 women with their programs2.
Still, there are 327 million fewer women with smartphones than men1. But, efforts to close this gap are making progress. For instance, in South Asia, steps to give women affordable phones are working.
Tech helps with education for women too. It makes learning cheap and easy to get to. Women can learn new things from anywhere3. The Women in Tech® shows how tech helps women learn. It works in 54 countries and wants to help 5 million women by 20302.
Find more about how technology empowers women on their platforms.
Key Takeaways
- Technology empowers women by providing access to education, financial services, and healthcare.
- M-Pesa has helped elevate 194,000 Kenyan households out of extreme poverty1.
- Women in Tech® Global has positively impacted over 67,000 women through skilling programs2.
- Globally, 327 million fewer women own smartphones compared to men1.
- Technology-enabled learning is cost-effective and accessible3.
- Women in Tech® initiative aims to impact 5 million women and girls in STEM by 20302.
Introduction to Tech Empowering Women
Technology is a key force in empowering women. It goes beyond gadgets, affecting society as a whole. Tech impacts women globally, changing lives and improving various fields.
The global impact of technology
Tech has a big impact on women around the world. For example, the Women in Tech Global Network helps many. It has 20,000 members on six continents, pushing for fairness in tech4. By 2030, tech will empower 5 million women and girls4. These efforts show tech’s role in growth and fairness for women everywhere.
Breaking barriers for women in underserved regions
Helping women in less served areas is key to tech progress. Tata Communications’ Mpowered gives these women new chances. In Africa, 200 girls joined an ICT event in Ethiopia, boosting local communities5. In Thailand, a training showed how tech can help women in farming5.
Awards and events like the Women in Tech Global Awards spotlight these efforts. Around 150 girls learned about tech at the ITU in Geneva5. Supporting these causes creates more chances for women and girls, leading to a fair digital future.
Tech helps women in big ways, leading to social change. It offers tools and platforms for better futures. For more on this, discover more here.
The Role of Social Media in Women’s Empowerment
Social media helps empower women by letting them speak up and join global gender equality movements. These online spaces let women share their experiences and push for change, skipping the usual media barriers.
Giving a Voice to the Voiceless
In the Arab states, by 2021, about 66% had internet. Yet, only 56% of women could go online, compared to 68% of men6. Still, social media has given women a strong voice. The “My Stealthy Freedom” Facebook page, advocating for women in Iran, reached a million followers in 20196.
Joining Global Movements and Campaigns
Social media has been key in supporting global gender equality campaigns. In Morocco, the #RIPAmina push helped cancel a law in 20146. The #Abolish522 movement in Lebanon fought a marriage law, showing online teamwork’s strength6.
Also, hashtags like #LetAfghanGirlsLearn and #FreeHerFace spread wide to help Afghan women. They faced Taliban rules like school bans and having to hide their faces6. These cases show how social media lets many unite for gender equality.
Similarly, 60% of tech empowerment projects were in Sub-Saharan Africa, aiding women in health, farming, and more7. These efforts show that social media and education can really improve women’s lives.
To learn more about social media’s impact on women’s empowerment, you can click here6. The role of artificial intelligence in social media and content creation is also key, as you can see here7.
Women in Technology: Overcoming Challenges
Women make up 47% of the workforce but only 24% of tech jobs in the US. This shows a big gap for women in technology8. It’s a major obstacle for gender equality in this sector.
There’s also a pay gap, with women in tech earning 3% less than men. They often get lower offers than men 63% of the time8. For example, female data scientists earn 20% less than their male colleagues8.
To better this, steps towards inclusivity are crucial. Women in Technology (WIT) helps by educating and supporting women. They aim to reduce barriers and increase gender diversity in tech8.
Globally, there’s progress too. The Women in Tech Global Awards in 2018 celebrated women’s achievements. Likewise, the Women in Business Expo in London aims to support women in tech9.
Girls Code Up by Codemotion encourages inclusivity with workshops for women. Flexible work and networking help women juggle life and work. This supports their success in tech10.
Having support networks is key to overcoming obstacles. They allow women to get advice and feel part of a community. Mentorship and support systems are very important10.
Companies with diverse genders in tech are more innovative. This shows inclusivity is good for everyone. It improves the company’s performance and creativity8.
Working together for gender equality in tech is vital. Supporting women in technology helps the industry grow. It leads to a balanced and innovative tech world.
For more about overcoming these challenges, visit Women in Technology. To learn about virtual assistants’ future, go to this article.
Innovations and Inclusivity in Education
To fix the gender gap in STEM, it starts with education and training for women. There are global efforts to boost women’s role in technology.
STEM Education Initiatives
Groups like Girls Who Code and Women Who Code are key. They help young women get into tech. They offer role models, learning tools, and job chances. This builds confidence and STEM skills in women.
Female student groups in schools and coding camps are making a big difference. They show that technical training and consistent mentorship help women chase tech careers11. Companies are also seeing the value of diverse teams. This diversity enhances creativity and problem-solving in tech12.
Training Programs and Workshops
There are tech training programs for women. These programs teach important tech skills. Coding bootcamps are very popular. They teach coding fast, focusing on languages like JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. This is great for women wanting tech careers11.
Bootcamps offer flexible schedules and job help. They meet women’s needs well. With more computing jobs coming, training women is key. Coding bootcamps help with this goal12.
Workshops allow women to learn together and network. Tech clubs at universities provide mentorship and skills workshops. Through training, women get technical skills and vital networking for their careers11.
Tech Empowering Women Globally: Real-Life Examples
Around the world, technology helps women become more powerful. The M-Pesa service in Kenya is one example. It lets women easily get to financial services through their phones. They can send money, pay bills, and get small loans right from their phones. This tech gives women the power to run their businesses and handle their money.
In Africa and Asia, many women have changed their lives with tech. The UN has a tool that uses AI to find mean words against women online13. In Asia, Women in Tech Asia teaches women important tech skills. These efforts help make sure women and girls are included and advanced by AI. They show we need women’s ideas in tech and AI13.
Women like Katherine Johnson helped America’s first space flight succeed14. Ada Lovelace Day celebrates women’s big achievements in STEM since 200914. These actions help more women in tech become known. They inspire future women to break new ground in tech.
Tech has made women’s lives better. It’s made them more money and improved their status. Projects like BYP Network and Digital Mom Talk show tech’s big role. They prove tech is key in lifting women up everywhere14.
To ensure a fair digital future, we need to keep focusing on tech for everyone. We must make tech that includes women and retrain for today’s tech world globally13.
Female Tech Leaders: Driving Social Change
Women in tech are changing how we see them. They are leading tech for good projects. These projects aim to make the world better. Their work is changing rules and helping people, especially in areas usually run by men.
Prominent female leaders in tech
Susan Wojcicki was Google’s first marketing manager. She later became YouTube’s CEO15. Sheryl Sandberg was the COO of Meta Platforms. She started LeanIn.Org to help women lead15. Jacky Wright is a big name at Microsoft US15. Ellen Pao, co-founder of Project Include, fights for everyone to be included in tech16.
Impact on global philanthropy
Gwynne Shotwell has been with SpaceX from early on. She’s helped with many space trips15. Odunayo Eweniyi helps people manage their money better with her projects16. Ann Mei Chang uses her knowledge from Google and others to support fairness and good tech16. Nabiha Syed makes sure tech news focuses on important issues16.
Many groups aim to support women in tech. They want to make sure women and men have the same chances. A big community of 3,800 women, with most in lead roles, shows how they are making a difference17.
Forbes praised Susan Wojcicki, Sheryl Sandberg, and others. They were in the top 50 women in tech for 202417. Their success stories encourage new female tech leaders. This helps women do even more for the world.
Digital Inclusion for Women
Making tech fair for everyone is key to a better world. Programs like Women in Tech Global work hard to help. They give computers, start learning places, and teach digital skills in countries like India, South Africa, Brazil, and Burundi18. This help gives women the tools they need to succeed. You can learn more about it here18.
Learning digital skills is crucial for women. It helps them find jobs they can do from home, start their own businesses, and handle their money19. These efforts make sure women have the same chances as everyone else. They also help both people and communities grow. The internet makes education fair by letting women study from anywhere19.
In India, around 123 million girls are getting into science and tech education. This is making STEM fields almost equally male and female. This shows how important it is to close the tech gap18.
The Women in the Digital Economy Initiative is working to close the tech gap between men and women. They focus on three things: easy access, good products and tools, and teaching skills. The goal is to cut the gap in half by 203020. Many partners are helping by giving help and money that really make a difference20.
In the United Arab Emirates, women are a big part of the tech world. For example, 55% of students in “The Digital School” are women, and 34% of the Emirates Mars Mission team are women too18. These steps show how important it is to include everyone in tech.
Tech plays a big role in helping women and making digital learning easier for everyone. When we close the tech gap, women can join in on tech, making the tech world better for everyone globally19.
Conclusion
In this century, helping women in computing and engineering is key to global progress. We’ve seen technology break barriers and bring people together. Still, there’s a big gender gap in digital areas. The United Nations reports that women face twice the sex discrimination men do. This shows the big hurdles women face in digital spaces21.
More digital literacy and fair laws are important to bridge this gap. Sadly, only 41% of high-level jobs are held by women. And only 14% are in cloud computing. This shows women are not often seen in tech jobs22. AI and automation are changing industries like manufacturing. They show us that using technology fairly can help us do better and be more sustainable (read more23).
We can help women around the world with tech by making digital tools for their needs. Companies like Amazon, Siemens, and Hilton use tech to make hiring fairer. They inspire others to do the same22. We need to give more resources, improve digital skills, and support fair tech policies. To learn how digital tech helps women’s economic power, check CSIS (learn more21).
Source Links
- How Tech Is Empowering Women Around The World – https://www.tatacommunications.com/blog/2020/03/international-womens-day-2020-how-tech-is-empowering-women-around-the-world/
- Who are we? – Women in Tech® Global Global International Organization – https://women-in-tech.org/who-are-we/
- Empowering women through technology: building an inclusive and skilled global workforce – https://yourstory.com/herstory/2024/12/empowering-women-through-technology-building-inclusive-workforce
- Women in Tech® Global – https://women-in-tech.org/
- Empowering young women and girls to pursue careers in ICT – https://social.desa.un.org/sdn/empowering-young-women-and-girls-to-pursue-careers-in-ict
- The Role of Social Media in the Fight for Women’s Rights – https://www.iemed.org/publication/the-role-of-social-media-in-the-fight-for-womens-rights/
- Women’s Empowerment Through the Use of Technology – https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1210&context=teachinglearning_fac_pubs
- Tips to Overcome Challenges for Women in Tech (2024) – https://www.careerflow.ai/blog/women-in-tech-challenges
- Milestones – Women in Tech® Global – https://women-in-tech.org/milestones/
- Empowering Women in Tech: Overcoming Barriers and Achieving Success – https://www.codemotion.com/magazine/dev-life/empowering-women-in-tech-overcoming-barriers-and-achieving-success/
- Empowering Women in Tech: How Students Are Shaping the Future of Technology – https://www.womentech.net/blog/empowering-women-in-tech-how-students-are-shaping-future-technology
- Empowering Women In Tech: The Importance of Diversity & Innovation – ALX Africa – https://www.alxafrica.com/empowering-women-in-tech-the-importance-of-diversity-innovation/
- Now Is Our Chance to Govern AI for Women’s Empowerment – https://unu.edu/article/now-our-chance-govern-ai-womens-empowerment
- The Women Who Changed The Tech World – https://www.globalapptesting.com/blog/the-women-who-changed-the-tech-world
- 6 Inspiring Female Tech Leaders: International Women’s Day – https://mystudylife.com/womensday/
- Women Who Code – Empowering women to excel in tech careers – https://www.womenwhocode.com/blog/women-in-tech-advancing-social-justice
- Female Tech Leaders: a community driving change for women in tech and web3. – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/female-tech-leaders-community-driving-change-women-web3-dxide?trk=organization_guest_main-feed-card_feed-article-content
- Increased Women’s, Girls’ Participation in Digital Technology Crucial to Economies, Global Sustainability, Speakers Tell Commission, as Session Continues – https://press.un.org/en/2023/wom2224.doc.htm
- Empowering Women Through Digital Inclusion: Navigating Roles and Responsibilities in the Tech Era – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/empowering-women-through-digital-inclusion-navigating-k3swc
- Women in the Digital Economy Initiative | Basic Page | U.S. Agency for International Development – https://www.usaid.gov/women-digital-economy-initiative
- Empowering Women in Tech Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Approach – https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1127
- Leveraging Technology for Women’s Empowerment at Work – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leveraging-technology-womens-empowerment-work-ria-boa7e
- Technology as the key to women’s empowerment: a scoping review – BMC Women’s Health – https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-021-01225-4
