Linking women to bridge the digital gender gap
Date:
Author: Susan Ferguson
What do women want? We found one answer while working with them under our flagship programme, Second Chance Education. They want decent work and to develop skills to become financially independent. And thus was born the LINK Women project, which upskills women to participate in the digital economy and bridges the current gender gap in the digital sector.
The project will introduce young women to various opportunities across industries, with a focus on using the LinkedIn platform to build connections. This is a three-year regional partnership between UN Women and the job networking site LinkedIn.
This is crucial for a country such as India, which is at the cusp of rapid transformation in terms of evolving employment opportunities, urbanization and innovation.
The great digital divide
Despite rising literacy levels and a strong emphasis on women’s education and training in India, women are reportedly still disadvantaged when it comes to education, skill development and employment opportunities. In rural areas, the female literacy rate is 65 percent, while the male rate is 81 per cent.1Young girls face a range of barriers to remaining in schools, especially those from marginalized backgrounds.
This is also reflected in women’s access to digital skills. Though COVID-19 has helped millions of Indians adopt a digital-first life, women have lagged behind when it comes to digital skills. When it comes to access to the Internet, Indian women are 15 per cent less likely to own a mobile phone, and 33 percent less likely to use mobile Internet services than men who use the Internet, compared with 59 per cent of men.
Bridging this gap is essential as the demand-supply gap for digital talent is expected to rise by more than 3.5 times by 2026.3 If women remain digitally illiterate, they will be disadvantaged in a job market where digital proficiency is fast becoming the most sought-after skill.
Linking women to bridge the digital divide
The LINK Women project will help in bridging this opportunity gap. UN Women and LinkedIn will leverage their respective expertise to support women’s economic empowerment.
The LINK Women project is underway since July 2022 for an initial period of 15 months in Mumbai Metropolitan region and the Pune district of Maharashtra, with an aim to upskill 2,000 women. The project’s dual aim of closing the digital gender gap and achieving improved gender parity in the workforce is in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the UN Agenda 2030.
The LINK Women project aims to create a cadre of women equipped with advanced digital and employability skills: women who are ready to compete for better jobs and close the opportunity gap.