UN Women, UNESCO and Egypt collaborate to reduce the digital divide of women in technology

UN Women has collaborated with the UNESCO Regional Office for Science in the Arab States and the Egyptian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture to promote the quality of information available on the Internet for women in the fields of science and technology, especially on the Arab Wikipedia website, and to organize an innovative workshop of group writing for young men and women at the headquarters of the UNESCO And the Egyptian National Committee on the occasion of International Women's Day.

"This activity is part of its Wiki4Women initiatives," said UNESCO Director-General Dr Ghaith Frees. "The Wiki4Women initiative reflects UNESCO's commitment to making a positive and sustainable contribution to women's empowerment and gender equality."

Through the presence of female role models in the digital space and the provision of information and expertise to every woman and girl, a digital environment free from harassment and hatred is encouraged, which supports the work of UNESCO to create sustainable and inclusive societies.

For her part, Professor Ghada Abdel Bari, General Secretary of the Egyptian National Committee, said: "The 2017 Presidential Statement is a real opportunity to assess the situation and achievements of Egyptian women in all fields." Promote the role of women in achieving the goals of sustainable development by 2030, as well as an indispensable opportunity for decision-makers and decision-makers to renew their interest in supporting women.

"Women's articles now account for only 4.2% of all articles written on the Arab Wikipedia, while the overall gap rate is 15%," said Ms Perta Aleko, representative of UN Women in Egypt. Its history and Wiki4Women) to reduce the gender gap on the Internet and the importance of young people and young volunteers who participate in the resolution of this problem. "

We believe that women's participation in innovation and technology should be the rule and not the exception. As part of our support to the implementation of Egypt's vision by 2030, we must ensure that digital solutions – perhaps the most effective innovations to accelerate progress towards gender equality and women's empowerment – are key elements in narrowing the gender gap.

More than 130 young men and women from Cairo participated in the Arab edition training workshop on women's issues in science and technology, which provided a number of biographies of women leaders in the field of science and technology. science, technology, engineering and mathematics for review and publication on the Wikipedia site. Arab.

During the workshop, several women leaders in the fields of science and technology gave speeches, such as: Ms. Abeer Shakwir, Advisor to the Minister of Information and Communication Technologies for Social Responsibility and Services, Ms. Esraa Al Babli, the first non-hearing dentist, and Ms. Heba Saleh,

The workshop was opened by Zeinab El-Wakil, Deputy Secretary General of the Egyptian National Committee for UNESCO, Dr. Bishar Imam, Water Sciences Expert at the UNESCO Regional Office for Science in the Arab States and Ms. Maha Ratab, communications and support analyst at the United Nations Organization for the Advancement of Women in Egypt. in the society.