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UN Women – Nokia partnership:
Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment through online solutions
In 2024, UN Women and Nokia embark on the second phase of their global partnership, scaling-up the successful results of phase 1 (Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Kenya 2022-2023) to five regions. The global partnership aims to facilitate women’s empowerment through tailored online solutions.
Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development recognizes that “information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies”. Under Sustainable Development Goal 5, the international community, including the private sector, has committed itself to enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women everywhere.
The UN Women – Nokia partnership sets out to increase women’s engagement in the online world, according to country contexts and priorities. In 2024, the programme is being implemented in Argentina, India, Jordan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia and Türkiye.
In the Philippines and India, this initiative will focus on enhancing employability opportunities for women from selected underprivileged communities. In the Philippines, UN Women and NOKIA will provide certified trainings to women in male dominated tech environments, especially in fiber splicing roles. In India, the partnership will focus on empowering women in STEM through upskilling in tech/telecom industries, soft kills, mentoring support and networking opportunities for women based on the South African Pilot Framework from Phase 1.
The collaboration between UN Women and Nokia introduces an innovative partnership model to advance gender equality and women's empowerment by leveraging global resources and local expertise to achieve our common objectives. The partnership is founded on a strong ethos of collaboration between UN Women and Nokia, which sees Nokia personnel across the globe participating in the direct implementation of projects alongside UN Women, as sustainable development partners. The project design and implementation are fully aligned with UN Women’s global Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and contribute to Nokia’s implementation of the Women's Empowerment Principles.
Empowering women in STEM through Mentorship
UN Women India Marks World Youth Skills Day 2025: "Towards Access, Inclusion, Opportunity"
Date: 17 July 2025
Photo: UN Women/Sarabjeet Dhillon
New Delhi, India – UN Women India, in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to India, Nokia, Micron, and LinkedIn, hosted a multi-stakeholder dialogue today to celebrate World Youth Skills Day 2025 under the theme "Towards Access, Inclusion, Opportunity."
The event addressed India's critical skills paradox: while 43 per cent of the country's STEM graduates are women, the highest proportion globally, women represent only 27 per cent of the STEM workforce.
"At the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, our goal is to ensure that every young Indian, regardless of gender or background, has the opportunity to unlock their potential," said Shri Rajit Punhani, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. "Skills are the most powerful equalizer in a rapidly changing world, and young women must be seen as active architects of transformation." Punhani highlighted several government initiatives, including the National Scheme for ITI Upgradation, the establishment of five national Centres of Excellence, and the Digital Public Infrastructure, Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH), for future-ready skills including AI, robotics, and IoT.
Shri Vibhu Nayar, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, emphasized the government’s focus on tribal youth during Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh: "Our objective is to ensure that young women from these communities have access to relevant skills, enabling them to participate meaningfully in the country's economic development."
Ms. Ewa Suwara, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to India, described the initiative as a practical expression of the EU Gender Action Plan: "Europe's own experience shows that higher female participation in STEM and technical roles drives productivity, innovation and GDP growth, bringing more prosperity."
The high profile event, which witnessed the participation of industry leaders and government officials, was supported by Mr. Shombi Sharp, the UN Resident Coordinator in India, and concluded by Ms. Kanta Singh, the UN Women Country Representative ad interim.
Key Programme Announcements
- COMPASS @ EquiLearn Platform Launch: A new mentorship platform was launched with more than 50 mentors from companies including Nokia, Capgemini and Aditya Birla Capital, serving an inaugural cohort of 200 young women from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The platform's closed loop referral system pairs mentees and mentors by sector and career stage.
- Energy Dozen 2.0: UN Women and FSR Global announced the launch of this program, featuring senior women mentors for newcomers to the clean-energy industry.
- Nokia-UN Women Mentorship Playbook: A new guide for firms wishing to embed structured, gender-responsive mentoring into their workplaces was released.
The event featured a high-level panel discussion titled, ‘Skilling Young Women for Tomorrow's Industries’, with senior officials from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat state departments, alongside representatives from LinkedIn and Biocon, discussing strategies to build gender equity into the talent pipeline. Read more >>
Bridging Dreams: UN Women and Nokia Unite to Mentor 100 Young Women in STEM
Date: 4 September 2024
Photograph from the industry roundtable on the role of advertising in building human rights and inclusion in Mumbai. Photo: UN Women
Mumbai, India — UN Women and Nokia launched the Mentorship for Young Women initiative under the WeSTEM project on September 4, 2024. The program targets 100 final-year female students from technical diploma courses in tribal-dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh. Twenty senior women leaders from Nokia will mentor these young women, focusing on digital literacy, resume crafting, and interview preparation.
According to World Bank data there are more Indian female graduates (43 per cent) in STEM than in developed nations like the US (34 per cent), UK (38 per cent), Germany (27 per cent) and France (32 per cent). However, getting a STEM education has yet to translate into jobs for women in India, with women holding just 14 per cent of STEM jobs in India.
Women in STEM face a lot of challenges, including a lack of role models, pressures to conform to societal norms and trappings of domesticity, stressors related to marriage, childbirth, etc. They experience an inordinate amount of responsibility associated with the running of households and elder care, physical safety during the commute to work, sexual and other types of harassment in workplaces, and a whole host of other issues
This initiative aims to bridge the gender gap in STEM fields. The launch, attended by government officials and industry leaders, highlighted mentorship as a powerful catalyst for change.