To tackle the gender digital divide, the UN Women Rwanda country office said it plans to have the first boot camp under the African Girls Can Code Initiative in April this year, whereby it will train 60 girls aged between 17 and 22.
Those who have completed S6 and are interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), are eligible for the coding training, it indicated, adding that two girls will be selected from each district of the country.
The African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) was launched in 2018 with the aim to address the gender digital divide, as a partnership between UN Women, the African Union Commission (AUC), and the International Telecommunication Unit (ITU).
It seeks to train African girls in critical coding and tech skills, setting them up to be computer programmers, creators, and designers.
In its first phase, the initiative has trained 600 girls and developed a guide on mainstreaming ICT, gender, and coding in national curricula across the continent.
As International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8, under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, the UN Women is calling on governments, activists, and the private sector alike to power on in their efforts to make the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in Africa, 35 per cent of men were using the internet, while the rate was 24 per cent among women, as of 2020.
Yet, according to the UN, “Our lives depend on strong technological integration; attending a course, calling loved ones, making a bank transaction, or booking a medical appointment.
Everything currently goes through a digital process,” adding that today, women hold just 22 per cent of positions in artificial intelligence, to name just one.
In an interview with the media ahead of International Women’s Day, the UN Women Representative in Rwanda, Jennet Kem, talked about various aspects including major achievements made so far in line with women’s rights, the challenges that remain, including gender digital divide and negative social norms and stereotypes that hold women back, and how to tackle them.
International Women’s Day 2023 is going to be celebrated on a note of technology and innovation and how we leverage these to promote women’s empowerment, and gender equality.
I appreciate and really acknowledge the strength that has been made in Rwanda with regard to women’s rights.
